Ice Baths: Not All They’re Cracked Up To Be?
What’s it all about then?
Ice baths, or cold water immersion, have grown massively in popularity in the last 5 to 10 years.
As the name suggests, it involves putting your body into cold water (with ice or without) for a short period of time.
Famous proponents include Wim Hof, AKA the Iceman.
Though to call him a proponent may be an understatement. He’d known as the Godfather of cold water therapy. He credits “the cold” as saving his life.
Let’s check out ice baths and see if they’re worthy of the hype.
What are the benefits?
The benefits are plentiful, and with plenty of scientific backing for those benefits, too.
In line with the increased popularity of cold showers, ice baths and suchlike, the number of scientific studies into the topic has increased at a commensurate rate.
Almost all studies show highly positive results, in some way or other.
Many results show its ability to improve mental health, providing immediate relief or longer-term mental health benefits.
Its positive effect on several hormones and neurotransmitters have demonstrated its effectiveness in improving overall psychological wellbeing.
Headline Benefits
Benefit
Scientific Study Evidence
Science Rating
[From limited 
to rock-solid 
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Significantly improved focus, energy, mood
Increased noradrenaline aka norepinephrine (boosts alertness, attention. Increases blood flow to the brain, potential euphoric feeling)
Increased self-reported vigour and esteem; and reduced tension, anger, depression, fatigue, confusion
Decreased stress
Reduced cortisol (the stress hormone)
Increased noradrenaline aka noreponephrine (helps manage stress) – as reported in above section
Any downsides?
With a practice like this, there are of course some risks. You are giving your body a certain amount of shock.
Those with medical conditions, especially heart conditions should consult a doctor before doing an activity like this.
Innate Vitality Score
We can look at what the scientists measure. But the whole point of Reality Science that is the bedrock of Innate Vitality, that we look at what the numbers suggest and then make rational inferences about the underlying energetic factors at play.
One of the descriptions that a lot of the scientific literature speaks of regarding cold water therapy and its similar activities is increased resilience.
Resilience is a word we like to see when we’re investigating the Innate Vitality score of a practice. If it can genuinely be described as improving your resilience in some way, it’s a great sign that it’s boosting your Innate Vitality.
That’s because resilience speaks to an ability to be strong in the face of whatever your personal circumstances are or when challenging events happen that affect your body or mind.
This characteristic is very much in line with a key core principle of Innate Vitality – that the power of vitality comes from within, regardless of what’s going on around you.
Resilience also has a connotation of toughness – in a good way, a toughness of both mental and physical aspect.
Your true nature is absolute, indefatigable spirit of toughness – another reason this practice is so holistically good for you.
Another reason we hold ice bath in high regard for Innate Vitality is because they boost your sense of aliveness.
Most of us lead such relatively sedate lives, and that has its good and bad aspects. Safety is great, and we need it too, but sometimes you also need a spark of aliveness, a frisson what fires up your brain with energy.
The increase in noradrenaline, as well evidenced in the scientific literature, is a pretty good correlate for the kind of aliveness we’re talking about.
That’s because noradrenaline provides a great spurt of focus and alertness.
Your true, natural state does not know stress – not the constant low-level stress that many of us live with every day.
Your true state knows stress as a burst of hormones that come to help you when you’re in danger and then subside quickly when they’re not needed.
Cold water immersion is shown to decrease cortisol, the stress hormone. One study showed that cortisol levels are significantly lowered even as much as 3 hours after a cold water session.
Cold water immersion, then, can be described as a highly effective way to reduce stress.
It’s a great way, therefore, to remove the inner-world fog that gets in the way of your Innate Vitality and allow your true nature, which is entirely free of lingering, long-term stress and knows only the fleeting, momentary life-saving stress we described earlier.
But wait – what even is this Innate Vitality you keep talking about?
If you’re not familiar with our site we rate methods, activities and products for their ability to “unlock” your innate vitality, that is, the explosion of self-perpetuating healthful properties that is your true, natural state.
Anything that boosts your deep, core feeling of wellbeing has great value in this regard (check our our Somavedic review for a product that can do this really well).
That’s why we rate things like watching your favourite TV comedy show as a highly valuable activity (as with all things, that doesn’t mean it’s what you should do all the time!).
At the other end of the spectrum, it’s interesting to realise that the activities that best promote some of the biological markers for that feeling of safety in your nervous system are those which appear (to your nervous system) to put your life at risk.
But it makes sense when you think about it. Your body ultimately wants to keep you alive, not to sound like Roy Keane but that’s its job!
So when you’re in a situation of extreme stress, such as being submerged in freezing cold water, your body will flood your system with the right chemicals and hormones to preserve you for as long as possible.
Please note that even though it’s sparked by an outer event, these chemicals are still coming from within your body.
You are the power. Let that sink into your psyche more and more.
Outer world events and things you put in your body can provide the impetus but you can hone your ability to change your inner chemistry, more and more, over time.