Why do you feel so good after a cold plunge?
Introduction
Cold plunging, or cold water immersion, is a wellness practice that uses cold to produce many changes in the body. The changes from cold influences the physiological and psychological systems of the body. As a result, a person experiences a wide range of health benefits.
Among many health benefits, a prominent benefit of a cold plunge is that it makes you feel good after a session. You feel good because a cold plunge produces many positive psychological changes in your body. It enhances mood, increases energy, and improves your sense of well-being.
People who practice cold plunges regularly, such as athletes and wellness enthusiasts, endorse the psychological benefits of cold plunges. The psychological benefits of cold plunges are not just based on an individual’s personal experiences. There are plenty of scientific studies that explain why you feel so good after a cold plunge.
In this article, we will discuss the psychological benefits of cold plunges based on scientific evidence. This will explain why you feel good after a cold plunge. We will also explore some other health benefits of cold plunges and see how cold plunges can be a remarkable addition to your wellness routine.
Psychological Benefits of a Cold Plunge
It is the psychological response of your body to a cold plunge that makes you feel good. When you expose your body to cold water, your body makes several changes to adapt to the cold temperatures. These changes result in the following psychological benefits:
1. Release of Mood-Enhancing Hormones
One of the primary reasons behind feeling good after a cold plunge is the hormonal changes in the body. Studies show that when you immerse yourself in cold water, your body releases endorphins.
But what are endorphins, and how do they contribute to a good mood?
Well, endorphins are the natural hormone in your body that regulates mood. Your body releases this hormone in response to stress and pain. Endorphins reduce stress, relieve pain, and enhance your overall mood.
The extremely cold temperature of cold plunges acts as a stressor for your body, and your body releases endorphins in response. You feel positive changes in your mood while immersed in the cold water. The improvement in mood feels more prominent after completing the cold plunge session.
2. Enhanced Focus and Clarity
The exposure to the cold stimulates the temperature receptors on your skin. Sudden exposure to cold and the activation of sensory receptors alert your mind. The mind reserves all its focus on dealing with the cold temperature, resulting in overall enhanced focus and clarity.
Another major factor that contributes to enhanced focus and clarity is adrenaline release. Studies show that cold water immersion stimulates the release of adrenaline in the body. Adrenaline is a hormone that prepares the body for the “fight or flight” response.
When you are taking a cold plunge, the fight-or-flight response results in a series of changes. These include improved blood supply to the brain, reduced pain sensitivity, and enhanced activity of the visual, auditory, and other senses. Improved blood supply to the brain promotes efficient brain activity and mental functioning.
Overall, the experience of a cold plunge gives you a quick mental boost and enhances mental focus and clarity. This helps you feel active and good after a cold plunge.
3. Sense of Accomplishment
Stepping into a cold plunge is like willingly accepting a challenge for yourself. In this challenge, your mind and body address cold temperatures as stress and try to overcome that.
At the start of a cold plunge, you experience discomfort. However, when you stay in the cold water for a desired duration, irrespective of the discomfort, you feel nothing less than a feeling of accomplishment. It gives you a sense of satisfaction, which enhances your overall mood.
4. Mental Resilience
Regular experience with cold plunges has another underrated benefit on mental health. It creates mental resilience and helps you fight stressors in your daily life. But how?
As discussed earlier, stepping into a cold plunge is like accepting a challenge for your mind and body. Your mind adapts to dealing with the stress and discomfort of cold water over time. This adaptation creates mental toughness and improves your ability to manage stress and discomfort in your everyday life.
Other Health Benefits of a Cold Plunge
Even if you take a cold plunge for its psychological benefits only, you will also experience many physical health benefits. Some of the most common physical health benefits of cold plunges are:
1. Reduced Inflammation and Recovery
The most discussed benefit of cold water immersion among athletes and fitness experts is reduced inflammation and recovery. People who perform intense physical activities, such as athletes, are at a higher risk of inflammation and muscle damage.
Cold plunging reduces inflammation by causing vasoconstriction — the narrowing of the blood vessels. When you enter cold water, the body reduces blood supply to the muscles to reserve energy. Reduced blood supply helps reduce inflammation at the affected site.
When you perform physical activity, muscle waste, such as lactic acid, starts to build up in the muscles and prolongs the recovery. Studies show that cold water immersion improves circulation, which helps remove lactic acid from the muscles. Flushing wastes from the muscles promotes quicker recovery.
2. Improved Circulation
Exposure to cold water pushes the body to initiate a stress response. In the initial phase of stress response, your body reduces heart rate and blood supply to the tissues to reduce oxygen consumption. However, when you stay in the cold water for longer, it stimulates the sympathetic nervous response.
Sympathetic response causes many changes in the body, including increased heart rate and blood pressure. This repeated cycle of decreased heart rate followed by increased heart rate from regular cold plunging improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system. It also improves the circulation of blood to the tissues and enhances their functioning.
3. Better Thermoregulation
Thermoregulation is the body’s property to maintain its internal temperature. Many body systems work best at the optimal temperature, and your body constantly tries to maintain that optimal temperature.
Similarly, when you are in cold water, the body constantly tries to maintain its internal temperature. Over time, repeated exposure to the cold trains your body to efficiently deal with temperature changes. Improved thermoregulation helps your body maintain optimal temperature for efficient body functioning.
4. Immunity Boost
Improved circulation from a cold plunge also influences the immune system. Better circulation helps the efficient flow of immune cells — white blood cells — in the body. While it is not among the commonly discussed benefits of a cold plunge, scientific evidence proves its validity.
A study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology reveals that cold water immersion activates the immune system. Another study from the International Journal of Circumpolar Health also explains the influence of cold water immersion on immunity.
Conclusion: The Uplifting Power of a Cold Plunge
Cold Plunging is a popular practice among sports communities and wellness enthusiasts. People who practice cold plunging regularly claim that it makes them feel good and enhances their mood. These claims are not just individual statements but are backed by scientific studies.
Science explains that a cold plunge causes different psychological benefits in your body, making you feel good. Cold water immersion stimulates the release of endorphins, the natural feel-good hormones. Endorphins increase your energy, enhance your mood, and create a sense of well-being.
Other psychological benefits of a cold plunge that make you feel good are enhanced focus, mental clarity, a sense of accomplishment, and mental resilience. The benefits of regular cold plunging are not only limited to psychological health, but they also offer many other health benefits. These include reduced inflammation, quicker recovery, improved circulation and thermoregulation, and immunity boost.
In summary, cold plunging or cold water immersion is a remarkable wellness practice for uplifting mood and improving mental health. The extensive benefits of cold plunges make it worth incorporating into your regular wellness routine.
