To Plunge or Not to Plunge?
In 2023, cold plunging was the newest health trend on social media. (Granted, I'm only on YouTube and X actively.) Every day, my feed was inundated with influencers documenting their daily dips. Or Andrew Huberman shorts of various interviews discussing the benefits with "only 11 minutes a week". My BIL was already on the trend and invited us to try it out. Now his setup is the dream; self-contained, filtered and always running. We tried it. I personally recommend not letting out all sounds; just sit and quietly deal with it. You can do as you wish, but that's how you get a video of yourself screaming. Everyone present was very entertained. I only made it about waist deep.
At first, I was thinking, yeah, no. This isn't going to work. I absolutely HATE the cold. But my legs were numb for a while and I didn't feel any ache and I slept that night. I was sold. We purchased an affordable version of a cold plunge. We got a deal with Polar Ice Plunge with a water chiller. It was a partially inflatable and resembled a beer coozy-- this is the best way to describe it. It worked well. We kept it outside on our patio and there is only about 1-2 months a year that it is completely frozen, so we take a break during that time. Our first tub lasted about 18 months. We purchased a SereneLife 105 Gallon Insulated Oval Ice Tub from Amazon; it sprung a leak within 3 months. It couldn't hold up to the rigor to cleaning it once a week. Now we are using a plastic horse trough made by Behl Country we got at Big R, and it's doing amazing!! This thing isn't going to fail. The Polar Ice water chiller is still going strong and doing a great job!
I deal with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. Cold plunging sounded like the worst idea. I need tools to help make it easier. I wear scuba socks, and also wrap a towel around my neck. The healthier I am, the easier it is to be in the cold plunge.
My feet and hands hurt the most in the cold water. I usually avoid putting my arms in unless I am in really good shape. My husband is able to pop in, dunk his head, and sit just fine. I need a little help. Initially, I was told to take deep breaths and then let out noise like a low scream to get through the cold, that didn't work. I find that meditating and gratitude affirmations works so much better. Plus, it doesn't make the neighbors think someone is dying. I usually focus on being grateful for the ability to withstand the 3 minute plunge, and after about a minute I relax; it's not so bad.
I know what you're thinking "Then why do it? That sounds miserable?" Well, because the benefits make it worth the discomfort to keep coming back. I have been cold plunging for about 2 years now. We do it at 6:30 a.m. in the morning, and then I spend the rest of the morning warming back up. I am now able to keep my core temperature longer. Before I would be freezing all day. My husband used to call me "2 pants Kate" during the winter because I was so cold all the time.
Being cold and in pain would keep in my bed most days. The cold plunge has been great for strengthening my immune system and increasing my cold tolerance. Another benefit is I stay about 10lbs lighter as well. I do have to exercise to keep muscle tone, but I can get away with 3 days a week vs. 5 days with great results.
The cold plunge, for me, is a daily practice in doing something that's hard. Every morning I have to overcome not wanting to get in the cold water. The first year seemed easier to get in the water. I think it was because I was working and I needed that wake-up to get through each day, so I had more motivation to get in. This year, it has been a bigger hurdle to overcome getting in that cold water. There are so many benefits, but every time I have to say, "Oh [enter explicative here]!", and just get in. Right now, my motivation is that my oldest isn't late for school! But whatever gets you in that tub! There is a study that says the more you do things that are uncomfortable and hard to do, the more you increase your will to live.
However, you don't have to make every day a life and death challenge, the temperature can vary. Some people can get benefits at 60 degrees. We keep ours at about 43 - 48 degrees. Sometimes it is almost easier to get in when it is colder than when the temp is warmer. It is like there is a sweet spot where you go numb. The coldest we go it at about 37 degrees, but any colder we skip that day. There are also some weeks where 40 degrees is too cold, and I'm not getting in below 43 degrees. It really depends.
Andrew Huberman says that you only need 11mins a week to be effective with the cold plunge, anything over that is unnecessary. So we go in for 3 1/2 minutes each morning. I set it to 3 1/2 vs. 3 minutes because at first it took me a little while to get into the water. But I found that the faster you just accept your fate and get in, the easier it is. And just 4 days a week. That's it.
Benefits of Cold Plunge:
With anything, each person's results vary and it depends on how often and consistent you are with cold plunging. I am not a medical professional, so please always consult your doctor before doing anything new, and go at your own pace. I never use the cold plunge when I am feeling sick. I find it harder to use when my health is struggling. And with any health practice make sure you have balance. There are weeks we only get in twice. Or maybe skip a week altogether. It really is a balance and listening to your body. But I will say that we cold plunge 4x a week pretty consistently, because the benefits just keep bringing me back. It becomes a nice morning ritual to wake up and get the day started.