Are you willing to take the ‘plunge’ with cold water therapy?
While there are skeptics who are still convinced it’s all a bunch of hokum, a growing number of people are swapping a warm soak for a freezing dip.
More and more people are questioning whether cold water plunges are a health life hack that can help us live longer or whether they’re the latest internet fad.
We've seen plenty of weird and wonderful therapies from biohacker Bryan Johnson's attempts to live forever, but away from red light therapy and hyperbaric chambers, others swear by ice baths or cold showers as a way to potentially extend their lifespan and just generally make them feel better.
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Posting on his Doctor ER YouTube channel, Dr. Jordan Wagner said he’s ditching the lab in favor of some more practical testing.
On day one of this 30-day challenge, Wagner explained how your body will trigger a ‘cold reflex’ that typically makes you hyperventilate. This is why people tend to struggle when they unexpectedly fall into cold water.
He then called his wife in to help with the experiment, and we’ve got to admit that we feel sorry for her getting entangled with it.
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It’s said that 50°F is the optimum temperature to get the most out of ice baths, with Wagner promoting supposed benefits that include helping your cardiovascular system fight infections, boosting your mood, helping with anxiety and depression, and general circulatory help.
Elsewhere, athletes and sports stars are known to take them because they can reduce inflammation-related injuries.
Wagner went on to question whether cold water plunges can release dopamine similar to the kind you might find in some medications, pointing to a study that suggests an hour of therapy at 57°F increased norepinephrine by 530% and dopamine by 250%.
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There's also the idea that cold water can increase your metabolism and potentially turn white fat into beige or brown fat due to expending more energy to keep yourself warm. Another study claimed that taking a cold water dip once a week (for two minutes), as well as alternating five cold showers in 30-second intervals, can significantly improve a loss of abdominal fat.
Importantly, the YouTuber says that switching between hot and cold showers can help strengthen your veins and arteries, as well as help filter toxins out of the body.
While we don't envy Wagner for 30 days of cold dips, he pointed to three positives when the time was up. Alongside the mental resilience of committing to it, he praised it for helping him with his muscle recovery, and finally, a boost of energy after each plunge.
Even though this might not be some miracle cure in helping us stave off the Grim Reaper, there's a reason why these cold tubs are becoming more popular.