The Benefits of Cold Water Exposure

What/Why?

Cold water exposure, also known as cold water therapy/immersion, offers several potential benefits for physical and mental well-being. Some of the physiologic benefits include improved circulation, reduced inflammation/muscle soreness, enhanced immune function, increased alertness and mood improvement, stress reduction, improved sleep, and potential weight loss benefits.

Contraindications include individuals with impaired cardiovascular, respiratory, thermoregulatory, skin, or nervous systems. However, although difficult at first, cold water exposure is usually well tolerated. What most people utilize cold exposure for is to exert "top-down control," the basis of resilience & grit. This involves the prefrontal cortex, the area involved in planning and suppressing impulsivity [1]. Top-down control is a skill that carries over to outside the cold environment, into everyday challenges in life. It allows you to maintain a calm, unclouded mind when confronted with challenges.

This also enhances mood, with there being a prolonged release of dopamine, the main molecule of elevating mood, focus, attention, and positive behaviors [2]

How Do I Get Access to Ice Water? When is the Most Ideal Time?

Start with cold showers! Start with lukewarm water and gradually decrease the temperature. Start with as little as 30 seconds and increase the duration as you become accustomed. From there one can progress to cold baths or ice baths. As for when, it is important to consider that the body tends to heat up after cold water exposure [3]. Take this with the fact that body temperature increases tend to wake us up, it is probably smartest to conduct cold water exposure earlier on throughout the day

Medical Implications

As osteopathic medical students, this is a great opportunity to treat a patient holistically! Cold treatment is something that can be added to a prescription, usually cost-free, and will improve a patient's general quality of life. Cold water exposure is a good idea for patients who engage in sports/exercise, experience pain, in need of physical performance enhancement, experience heightened levels of stress, starting to gain weight, or even certain dermatological conditions. Please make sure that the patient has no contraindications! How does cold water exposure cause one to lose weight? Dr.Susanna Soeberg, a metabolism expert, states that when one forces the body to reheat on its own (without for example going into a sauna after exposure), one will most likely shiver. This shivering causes the release of succinate from muscles, activating brown fat thermogenesis [1]. The key to activating this effect is not huddling or crossing arms once getting out and not using a towel.This will activate shiver-induced thermogenesis, further leading to the "Soeberg Principle".

References

1: "The Science & Use of Cold Exposure for Health and Performance", Andrew Huberman Lab, 5/1/2022

2: Bromberg-Martin ES, Matsumoto M, Hikosaka 0. Dopamine in motivational control: rewarding, aversive, and alerting. Neuron. 2010 Dec.

3: Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Military Nutrition Research; Marriott BM, Carlson SJ, editors.Nutritional Needs in Cold and In High-Altitude Environments: Applications for Military Personnel in Field Operations. National Academic Press (US); 1996. Physiology of Cold Exposure.