In college we would ice bath the the day before an upcoming race to help with inflammation. The first few of the season were brutal. Especially because the trainer would circulate the water. I think current take is that it slows down and restricts blood flow and the “stuff” that helps you improve. Can’t speak to the validity or research to that. I can say ice baths did help me feel good on race day though.
As for the better sleep, better mood… I could see that if the ice bath helped with soreness and helped not be cranky after a hard workout but are they really working out that hard? It is likely mental. And the losing fat stuff is just nonsense.
We have a ice tank at work- I use it almost every day I work. I don’t have one at home because ice isn’t free there and cold plunge tanks are $$$$$$$.
In Florida, with it being 1.2 million degrees in the summer, its a great reset post-workout so you stop sweating and actually cool down. I feel better after and seem to recover better after using it. I usually get the water down to the low 50’s and stay in 5-10 minutes. For full disclosure- this “therapy” has been around forever… …For many years we went to NC to do “training camps” and ride huge days. We’d always sit in the cold stream afterward to recover. That worked too…
I found this to be a fairly informative article that goes through the purported benefits and talks about what’s know, what’s supposition and what’s snake oil:
Personally, I feel that the stress relief aspect has worked for me. Idea being that plunging into cold water activates a very primordial flight-or-flight response, and that doing this repeatedly and learning to control it helps to re-program the autonomic nervous system so you’re generally less prone to getting all stressed about BS at work/at home etc.
I think you just need to live somewhere nice like Ottawa, Canada instead of taking a cold water plunge.
If you want cold, go outside. Will be -11c tomorrow morning. It is a balmy -6c currently.
I get this experience daily while walking the dogs. Frozen hands and face are a frequent occurrence.
I did once have to jump into the pool in the winter when the dogs broke through the ice. I really didnt think my 30seconds or so in the pool was fun. The legs were definitely cold for some time.
