The Big Chill: Cold Water Therapies For Children And Adults
The human body is wild. The brain and the gut, our two internal command centers, ceaselessly conspire to attack and eliminate anything in the environment that might disrupt our stasis. The Pharmacological State would have most believe that their product(s) are the magical cure-all, essential to healing whatever ails us. But if you quiet your mind enough, you will hear your body scream in protest, as it works overtime to clean up that crap from your system.
The truth is that nature is the miracle that provides us with an antidote for everything, including our mental health. This blog is where we share natural, often unconventional revelations to mend the mentally wounded. The “Big Chill” refers to idea that cold water is your spiritual Shangri-la.
COLD WATER THERAPY
An Instagram search of the hashtag #coldwaterswimming shows a hefty 224,000 posts, while the hashtag #coldwatertherapy reveals an impressive 112,000 posts. Cold water showers, cold baths, any cold-something exposure will do. Our friends at News-Medical.net explain what happens to our skin suits when the cold creeps in: “The cutaneous thermoreceptors are stimulated; this, in turn, results in the stimulation of the thermoregulation center in the hypothalamus. The thermoregulatory system operates to maintain a constant core temperature of ~37°C. When exposed to cold water, the constriction of the blood vessels supplying blood to the periphery (vasoconstriction) and shivering, results in the generation of heat by muscle contraction; this additionally increases the metabolic rate. Moreover, heart rate is decreased, and blood pressure (both diastolic and systolic) is elevated.” – Obviously.
Discover Monk says that “the physiological process of cold binging activates electrical nerve impulses which extend from the brain to the nervous system, and demonstrate similar effects to antidepressants.” Cortisol, a stress hormone, is also released from your adrenal glands, which maintains this state for minutes, sometimes hours, while a surge of beta-endorphin hormones in the brain provides pain relief and gives a sense of euphoria. Norepinephrine, a hormone, and neurotransmitter, is released into your blood, improving your focus, attention, and mood. It’s also the primary driver behind the anti-inflammatory effects of cold-water therapy, and the benefits it can have for people with chronic stress, anxiety, and depression, and insomnia.
Here are 6 major health benefits associated with cold plunges and cold therapy:
Reduced Inflammation
This is a big one since most of us walk around with chronic inflammation and don’t even realize it. Submerging yourself in the chilled water instantly numbs the nerves that surround your joints and muscles, causing the release of hormones and endorphins. Studies show the release of hormones and endorphins acts as an analgesic, which relieves inflammation and alleviates muscle strain and joint pain. Chronic inflammation has been associated with depression, both in inducing symptoms, as well as depressed mood and stress favoring an inflammatory phenotype. This has been demonstrated in both animal studies and human studies through inflammatory cytokines (which cold plunging has been shown to lower). Anxiety is often associated with an increased heart rate, but also, more recently, with inflammation. When you experience a lot of stress, inflammatory values in your body also increase, which can also be tackled by cold therapy, decreasing inflammation levels, and therefore decreasing anxiety with it.
2. Improve Circulation + Heart Health
Good circulation is critical to your overall health and well-being. Poor blood circulation negatively impacts your performance, and stresses your heart. The side effect of this is that you begin to feel fatigued, have headaches, muscle cramping, and high blood pressure. Cold water immersion improves blood circulation, which improves health, boosts your metabolism, immune system, and improves heart health. Ultimately, you strengthen your whole core. Immersing your body in ice-cold water causes blood to surge through your veins and protect your vital organs. Your heart is then stimulated to circulate blood more efficiently, ensuring that every vessel in your body gets supplied with fresh blood carrying the oxygen and nutrients it needs. Studies have found that cold water immersion can lower your heart rate by up to 15 percent and make you feel calmer, and therefore less anxious.
3. Boosts Mood
As the cold water envelops the entire body, norepinephrine, an anti-stress hormone and neurotransmitter, and epinephrine/adrenaline are released which is what makes you feel so invigorated. Several studies are now being conducted on using cold water therapy and cold showers to help treat depression. For example, this study showed that cold hydrotherapy can relieve depressive symptoms rather effectively. This 2007 study found evidence that cold showers can help treat depression symptoms, and, if used regularly, might even be more effective than prescription antidepressants!
4. Increased Mindfulness + Lowered Stress Levels
Some people even use regular ice baths to help them sleep better or to lower their stress levels. Meanwhile, others use cold plunges to help them reconnect with themselves and find their inner peace.
While it is critical for fight-or-flight responses, chronic stress can be dangerous. Cold water exposure can help reduce stress levels and the related symptoms because by lowering cortisol levels.
5. May Reduce Bi-Polar Disorders + Their Symptoms
Cold therapy is a non-invasive, holistic treatment option for treating bipolar affective disorder. Bipolar disorder can be extremely severe in some people and oftentimes results in manic depression and self-harm. Bipolar drug treatment is common but not always effective, and never the best solution. Studies show that breathing exercises and cold therapy can help treat bipolar and have even helped patients reach remission.
6. Heightened Immune Response
Making cold water therapy part of your regular routine could help your body deal with physiological stress. In fact, in a 2019 proof of concept trial, a group of researchers from the Netherlands found that combining cold exposure and breathing exercises elicited an enhanced immune response from study participants.
As for my personal take on the matter:
Cold Water Therapy works because it’s so intense and obnoxiously uncomfortable, that it captivates the totality of your focus and being, leaving no consciousness left to be anywhere other than the immediate moment. The NOW, it’s where humans belong.
So, the next time someone says, “chill homie,” you can say, “Oh what a good idea, maybe I’ll do that, thank you.”
Matthew
Here are some Cold Water Therapies to check out:
Ice Barrel
4 Ways To Practice Cold Water Therapy
How To Get Started
