Embrace the Chill
Slowly acclimate your body to prepare for a cold plunge
Although cold plunges come with a tremendous amount of health benefits, they can be shocking at first.
Our bodies naturally have an aversion to cold temperatures that is deeply rooted in our survival instincts.
Baby steps, through increasingly colder showers, can prepare your mind and body to take the leap into a cold plunge.
Why Embrace the Chill?
Cold water immersion (CWI) causes your body to react in ways that reveal the body’s natural healing capabilities.
It’s known to help reduce inflammation, which is why so many athletes take ice baths after training, but there are many more reasons why you should try it, too.
Some of those reasons include a stronger immune system, a faster metabolism, a healthier heart, less depression, and better body temperature regulation.
The American Heart Association does not recommend that people with pre-existing heart conditions participate in cold plunges or contrast therapy.
They also suggest that anyone considering contrast therapy or cold water immersion should acclimate their bodies through increasingly colder showers.
What’s the difference between a Cold Shower and a Cold Plunge?
A cold shower is a great place to begin your journey toward full cold water immersion in a cold plunge.
As the cold water runs along your body in the shower, you’ll notice, it makes your body feel cold pretty quickly, mainly at the level of your skin.
Cold showers are significant, and studies show that adding 90 seconds of cold water to your daily showers leads to 30% fewer sick days.
However, when you fully submerge yourself into a cold body of water (i.e. an ice bath), the cold temperatures reach deeper levels of your body, encouraging a stronger reaction and, thus, more benefits.
30-Day Cold Shower Challenge
Take baby steps toward a cold plunge with increasingly colder showers.
By embracing the chill, you allow your body to work its way up to receive many benefits from cold water immersion.
Start by taking a shower at a temperature that relaxes you, or whatever temperature you normally take a shower in.
Wash your body, shampoo your hair, and all that good stuff. When you’re ready to get out, slowly turn the temperature down.
When the water gets as cold as it can go, let it hit your knees and run down your legs for just 5 seconds.
After that, we’ll slowly work our way up to longer durations of cold water, and toward submerging your entire body in a cold bath.
The head and back are often the hardest parts to let the cold shower hit, so don’t worry, we’ll work up to it.
And, remember, if you can do this, you can do just about anything. 😉💙
#EMBRACETHECHILL
Let us know how your Cold Shower Challenge is going, and follow along for reminders and tips to make your 30-day challenge a breeze.
Warm up in the infrared sauna
Spending time in the infrared sauna before a cold plunge, also known as Contrast Therapy, will level up your cold plunge benefits.
At Hope Floats, we have a private Contrast Therapy room that has an infrared sauna right next to the cold plunge, so you can alternate freely between the two.
Our saunas comfortably fit up to four adults, so bring your friends and loved ones, and reap the benefits together.