[Image: OdinIceBath / Facebook]
Ice baths seem like a new fad, but cold-water immersion has been around for a very long time.
The Edwin Smith papyrus, which is dated to about 3,500 BC, mentioned cold applications for skin irritations, and a wee bit more recently, a Scottish physician named William Cullen was famed for the use of cold-water immersion to treat various ailments in the 18th century.
In the latter part of the 20th century, athletes started to use cold water to speed up recovery and optimise performance. Today, ice baths have become a wellness trend, with influencers and celebrities all sharing the wisdom of freezing your butt off.
Not convinced by the wellness gurus on TikTok, researchers from the University of South Australia analysed data from 11 studies comprising 3,177 participants and published their findings in the peer-reviewed, open‑access journal Plos One.
The findings suggested that “cold-water immersion (CWI) delivers time-dependent effects on inflammation, stress, immunity, sleep quality, and quality of life, offering potential practical applications for stress management and wellbeing support”.
When you take an ice bath, the cold water reduces your body and skin temperature. This change in temperature narrows your skin’s blood vessels and moves blood to your core as your body tries to stay warm. When you get out of an ice bath, your blood vessels expand and pump the oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood back to your body’s tissues, including your muscles. – which helps reduce inflammation that can cause pain and muscle soreness after exercise.
Limited research has also shown that cold-water immersion may improve your mood improve self-esteem and decrease tension and anger.
It would seem that, for once, influencers are correct, and an 8-20-minute ice bath does indeed do wonders for your health.
[Source: Guardian]