How Cold Water and Ice Baths Boosts Alertness and Productivity

Growing up, my neighbor had a heated pool and kept it pretty warm, upwards of 88 to 90 degrees.

Every day during the summer, we would swim in this water and my mom would tell me how unrefreshing it felt (but I was little and didn’t know any different). Fast forward to present day, I still like the warm water, which is why we vacation and swim in Aruba and not in the lakes of northern Maine like my wife did growing up.

The idea of swimming in cold water just didn’t seem fun but now I understand the perspective of feeling refreshed. On the flip side, I once saw my dad get into a hot tub in Palm Springs when it was 110 degrees outside and I thought he was nuts. So, I guess it is all about personal preference and perspective.

That said, I watched a documentary called Limitless with Chris Hemsworth. In the second episode, he challenges himself to do a cold plunge into a lake. The science behind this is that the cold water opens up your arteries and you get increased blood flow in your body which drives increased oxygen to your brain. More blood flow and more oxygen (again I am not a doctor or scientist), means you are more alert. Being more alert means being more productive.

As a side benefit, I also heard that if you leverage the cold water/ice bath like this, even for 30 seconds, it helps keep your body temperature lower for a few hours and you burn more calories. There were stories of the Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps, using a pool that was pretty cold each morning and he was burning 12,000 calories a day (extreme I know but I heard he attributed burning some of those calories to the cold water swim).

Since I don’t have a pool at my house and ice baths aren’t practical on a daily basis, I have used the last 30 to 45 seconds of my shower with the ice-cold water. I have been doing it every day for about a year now (started out at 5 second). I can tell you it definitely wakes you up. Honestly, the first few times I did it, I felt like my body was seizing up but over time, I have mentally prepared myself (that concept of mind over matter) and it has been helping. I am trying to get to more seconds each day, but it is a work in progress.

Are you ready to make the plunge? If so, let me know how it goes.

Cover photo credit to Ian Parker