Why You Should Consider Cold Water Therapy for Anxiety
Introduction
Anxiety is a mental health condition where a person feels restless, worried, fearful, and irritable. Many of us experience anxiety at some point in our daily lives, such as while waiting for the outcome of a certain situation or while encountering stressful events.
However, for some people, anxiety is a persistent feeling without any apparent trigger. Persistent anxiety affects their productivity and overall quality of life. Such people practice many traditional methods, such as medications, therapies, and meditation, to deal with anxiety. Besides the conventional methods, there is another wellness practice that can significantly help in dealing with anxiety: cold water therapy.
Cold water therapy involves immersing yourself in icy cold water for a specific duration. This practice offers many physical health benefits such as recovery, improved circulation, and immunity boost. However, besides physical health benefits, cold water therapy also influences psychological health.
By producing many psychological responses in the body, cold water therapy leads to anxiety relief. But what are those psychological responses, and how are they associated with anxiety relief?
Psychological Response to Cold Water Therapy
When exposed to cold water, the cold temperature acts as stress for your brain. This results in a series of physiological and psychological responses by the body to deal with the stress. One of the prominent response to cold stress is “fight-or-flight” response.
In fight-or-flight response, your body releases several hormones, including cortisol, dopamine, and endorphins. These hormones influence the nervous system and help you deal with cold stress efficiently. Fight-or-flight responses improve the circulation towards the brain, improving brain functioning. Cold water therapy also activates “diving reflux,” which is a state of increased mental alertness.
In addition to the initial response to cold water therapy, regular sessions can have long-term psychological benefits. Mental resilience is a prime example of the long-term psychological benefits of cold water therapy. Mental resilience is the mental strength that helps you deal with daily stressors. You develop this resilience by willingly exposing yourself to stress, such as the stress of cold temperatures.
How Cold Water Therapy Relieves Anxiety
Psychological responses to cold water therapy lead to many mental health benefits. Let’s discuss each mental health benefit of cold water therapy in detail and see how they are associated with anxiety relief.
Role of Endorphins and Dopamine for Anxiety Relief
Scientific evidence confirms that cold water therapy stimulates the release of mood-enhancing hormones. A 2023 study by the Biology journal shows that cold water immersion causes the release of endorphins and dopamine.
Endorphins and dopamine have a positive impact on your mood and can result in anxiety relief. Endorphins are the happy hormones that occur naturally in your body. They reduce stress, improve your mood, and promote pleasure. Dopamine acts on the brain and gives you the feeling of motivation, pleasure, and enhanced mood.
Enhanced mood, motivation, and feeling of pleasure from hormonal changes can significantly help against anxiety symptoms.
Role of Reduced Stress in Anxiety Relief
In addition to improved mood, endorphins and dopamine released from cold water therapy reduce your stress. Cold water therapy also stimulates the release of cortisol, a hormone that helps your brain against stress.
Regular cold water therapy also produces mental resilience, which plays an essential role in reducing stress. Mental resilience is the property of the mind that helps you deal with stress factors effectively. You develop this property by regularly exposing yourself to the stress of cold temperatures, such as from cold water therapy.
Reduced stress calms your mind and helps you achieve a healthy mental state. Low stress levels also create a sense of well-being and minimize the triggers for anxiety.
Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Anxiety Relief
Vagus nerves originate from the brain and control several involuntary functions in the body, such as heart rate, breathing, and digestion. However, a study shows that activating the vagus nerve can also improve anxiety-related symptoms. Another study also shows a similar result, stating that vagus nerve stimulation can improve anxiety.
Cold water therapy can relieve anxiety by the activation of the vagus nerve. A 2018 study shows that cold water immersion causes the stimulation of the vagus nerve. A 2022 study published in Scientific Reports journal also indicates that diving reflux from cold water immersion can activate the vagus nerve.
Cold Water Therapy vs Conventional Anxiety Treatment
We have studied that cold water therapy has a positive role in improving anxiety-related symptoms. But is cold water therapy more effective compared to conventional methods for treating anxiety? Let’s compare both based on effectiveness, side effects, and accessibility.
Comparing Effectiveness
The effectiveness of many conventional treatment options for anxiety relief is not backed by scientific evidence. People practice those treatment options without knowing how they work.
On the other hand, there are plenty of scientific studies to explain how cold water therapy works for anxiety relief. From the evidence, we know that cold water therapy improves mood, reduces stress, and activates the vagus nerve. Evidence also explains how improved mood, reduced stress, and vagus nerve stimulation can contribute to treating anxiety.
Comparing Side Effects
Some conventional treatment options for anxiety, such as drugs, come with risks of side effects. Reports show that anxiety medicines such as benzodiazepines can cause neurological complications.
On the other side, cold water therapy has very few side effects and health risks. If you are not careful about safety guidelines and preventive measures, cold water therapy can cause hypothermia or strain on the heart.
However, unlike other conventional treatment options, the risks of cold water therapy can be minimized. If you are a beginner, we recommend you consult your healthcare provider before practicing cold water therapy. Also, make sure to practice initial sessions of your cold water therapy under the supervision of an expert.
Accessibility and Cost-effectiveness
Cold water therapy is easily accessible, and almost everyone can incorporate this practice into their wellness routine. All you need is a cold shower or ice bath to enjoy the benefits of cold water therapy.
In terms of cost-effectiveness, cold water therapy also stands out among treatment options for anxiety. Other traditional treatment options, such as regular therapy sessions and medications, may not be cost effective for everyone. In contrast, cold water therapy is virtually free, making it an appealing choice.
However, in case of severe anxiety symptoms or persistent anxiety attacks, you must seek professional advice first. Depending on your condition, cold water therapy may work as a primary treatment practice for you, or it may complement your traditional treatment methods for anxiety relief.
Key Takeaways on Cold Water Therapy for Anxiety
Anxiety is a common mental health condition in this fast-paced world, where people find less time to focus on their mental well-being. Anxiety can be a once-in-a-while problem for some people, but others experience it persistently in their daily lives.
Cold water therapy is a new and interesting approach to deal with anxiety-related symptoms and improve mental well-being. According to scientific evidence, cold water therapy improves mood, reduces stress, and stimulates the vagus nerve. All these psychological changes can help in relieving the symptoms of anxiety.
Cold water therapy has a number of advantages over traditional treatment options. It has a reduced risk of side effects, is easily accessible, and is very cost-effective.
However, you must not consider cold water therapy as a complete replacement for traditional mental health treatment options. Each individual’s response to cold water therapy can be different, so its effectiveness for anxiety relief can also vary. Even if cold water therapy isn’t effective enough for you in anxiety relief, it can be a great complementary practice to your existing treatment methods.
