“Mommy, you going to do the polar plunge today?” asks my 2-year old daughter. “Oooh, mommy, I can time you while you do it,” chimes my 4-year old son.

My young children recognize that submerging myself in cold water has become a fairly regular routine. In fact, my 4-year old even understands why I do it – at least to some extent.

A few weeks ago, on a cold windy evening, he opened the sliding door that leads onto our back deck and stepped outside. When I inquired as to his intention, he responded, “I knew it was a cold night, and I wanted to challenge my body.”

My First Cold Plunge Experience

Prior to my first cold water submersion, I simultaneously laughed and scoffed at the idea of actually doing it, despite my understanding of the many cold plunge benefits.

My husband started cold plunging before me, and I remember him asking if I intended to do it. I laughed and gave some lengthy response about how it would prove too difficult for me given my genes. 

I get cold very easily! In fact, I start shivering when air temperatures reach the 50s! While I live in the mountains and have grown somewhat accustomed to cold weather, let’s just say I love my knee length down jacket and merino wool base layers.

Bottom line – I HATE cold water and being cold.

Well, after several stressful weeks of navigating difficult phases with our young children, I took the plunge – literally.

My son’s seemingly incessant tantrums gave me an intense desire to leave the house and never return.

One day, I felt a particular sense of desperation because of it. This prompted my husband to suggest I cold plunge. Pretty sure I told him to pound sand. But, when he reminded me of the cold plunge benefits and the potential to shift my mindset entirely, my desperation in that moment made me agree, albeit reluctantly.

My husband subsequently filled a bathtub in our house with 58-degree water. He explained that it would feel quite cold but to focus on my breathing and nothing else. We set a goal of two minutes.

At first, my panic prevented me from doing it. But, I finally gritted my teeth and hopped in feet first, butt down, followed by chest and shoulders.

It felt as awful as I had anticipated, and I seem to recall some screaming and profanity. I took very large inhales and exhales, but not the calm, meditative type. It basically mimicked a panic attack. The first 30-45 seconds felt miserable, and I had to seriously fight the urge to jump out.

Then, magically, after about 45 seconds, my body started to calm down, and it felt a little less unbearable. I continued the steady breathing, and I remember my husband saying, “Look what you’re doing right now; take a moment to recognize and appreciate it.”

At the two-minute mark, my husband asked if I could make it one minute more. With teeth chattering, I reluctantly nodded my head. When the timer reached three minutes, I quickly hopped out.

I immediately felt a sense of accomplishment having done something I thought I would never do. A smile spread over my face, and my husband gave me a hug.

Fifteen minutes passed, and I continued to feel elation. I also experienced a large increase in my energy levels, almost as if I could conquer anything.

Shockingly, I had forgotten about the difficulties of raising two pre-schoolers. I felt a sense of contentment that lasted the remainder of the day.

That evening, my husband asked if I intended to do it again, and I told him “yes” without much hesitation.

Fast forward to the next morning – let’s just say I regretted having said that. All I could think about was the first 45 seconds of misery upon laying down in that water. The thought of it elicited panic. However, my husband essentially forced the issue by filling up the tub and reminding me about the many cold plunge benefits.

This time, I stood outside the tub even longer than the first time. I knew exactly what to expect, but somehow that knowledge made it worse.

My mind and body had first-hand experience of the suffering and thereby attempted to stage a revolt against my willpower. I kept replaying the initial shock of the previous plunge over and over in my head.

Finally, after several minutes of mental warfare, I took a few deep breaths and jumped in. As expected, it felt extremely uncomfortable, but I survived. In fact, during my dopamine high an hour later, I convinced myself that the challenge felt minuscule compared to the benefits reaped.

Cold Plunge Benefits

I learned about cold plunge benefits from listening to one of my favorite podcasts – The Huberman Lab. Andrew Huberman, a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine and the host of the podcast, had discussed on more than one occasion the benefits associated with cold water submersion. I confirmed most of these benefits through other sources as well.

1. Enhances Mood

I mainly began cold plunging for mood enhancement. I felt intense frustration with parenthood at the time and needed a healthy coping mechanism.

Turns out, cold water submersion produces the release of dopamine in the brain (source). Dopamine, a feel-good neurotransmitter, provides feelings of pleasure. You may have heard of it as the brain’s reward center.

Additionally, some evidence points to a potential reduction in anxiety and depression (source).

As someone who struggles with anxiety, this appealed to me. On days when I feel nervous or worried or have a lack of patience with the kids, a cold plunge often reduces or entirely eliminates those feelings and thoughts.

2. Increases Energy & Alertness

Cold water exposure produces a marked increase in epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) and norepinephrine. These neurochemicals and hormones provide energy and focus (source).

I remember one day in particular when I felt very sluggish, lacked motivation at work, and just felt “blah.” During my husband’s drive to the airport that day, he asked me if I had done the cold plunge. When I told him I had not, he immediately said, “Go do it. There is free dopamine waiting for you in the backyard.”

That reminder, along with knowing the many other cold plunge benefits, pushed me to do it. But, not before arguing with my brain for several minutes. After all, anything sounded better than going outside in 35-degree fog and drizzle to sit in 44-degree water for 5 minutes. 

But, after doing it……GAME CHANGER! It made me feel upbeat, alert, and much more positive!  I could also focus on tasks with less mental distraction and mind wandering.

3. Improves Metabolic Health

After cold water submersion, the body has to work harder, or burn more calories, to heat back up. Therefore, in the short-term, metabolic rate increases. If done on a routine basis, these short metabolic increases could produce a cumulative effect, thereby assisting with weight management.

Additionally, cold water submersion and subsequent shivering helps to convert white fat (energy storage, and what most people think of as “fat”) to brown fat (source).

In contrast to white fat, brown fat is adipose tissue that keeps mammals warm and has a high metabolic rate. Compared to adults, babies and children have much higher amounts of brown fat. This likely explains why they choose not to wear coats in cold weather.

Importantly, brown fat assists in the body’s regulation of glucose concentrations in the blood (source).

Lastly, studies have found that repeated cold water immersion increases insulin sensitivity and decreases insulin concentrations (source). In other words, cold plunging improved the metabolic health of the study participants.

For more information on metabolic function and health, check out this post.

4. Builds Mental Resilience

Of all the cold plunge benefits, I find this one perhaps the most important.

By voluntarily facing and conquering a stressor (yes, cold plunging is a stressor, albeit a good one, just like exercise), we can gain more control over our minds.

Winning the argument with my brain when it tells me to stay inside and enjoy the warmth rather than brave the elements and experience discomfort, feels like an accomplishment.

After all, it seems most humans rarely, if ever, deviate from comfort. It makes sense, right? Doesn’t voluntarily experiencing discomfort sound foolish and perhaps even masochistic? Well, I would argue “no” for several reasons:

5. Reduces Inflammation & Promotes Muscle Recovery Post-Exercise

You’ve likely seen professional athletes on TV or in pictures soaking in a cold plunge tub after a game or practice. Sports trainers have encouraged this practice for decades, so their athletes must reap benefits from it.

Well, studies show that cold water immersion reduces inflammation and delayed onset of muscle soreness following resistance training (source). Even short intervals (under 5 minutes) of cold water exposure can decrease muscle soreness post-workout (source).

Cold Plunge Tub Options

Since neither my husband nor I can fit in a bathtub sufficient to immerse our entire bodies in the water, we initially created a cold plunge tub using a livestock tank from Tractor Supply.

We kept it in our backyard and filled it up with water from a hose connected to our well which naturally hovers between 54 and 56 degrees.

However, air temperatures in the mountains dictated the temperature of the water on any given day. Let’s just say my husband often stood outside during the winter breaking through a layer of ice.

In the summer, we had to add bags of ice to bring the temperature below 50 degrees. Sometimes this required numerous, large bags, as the cold plunge tub sat in an area exposed to direct sunlight the majority of the day. It quickly became time consuming, expensive, and somewhat annoying.

In addition to the lack of an automated cold plunge chiller, we struggled with keeping the tub water clean. Even though we made a cover for the tub, we somehow still found small bugs and other outdoor debris floating in the water.

We also frequently used the cold plunge tub after workouts, so we had to consider other contaminants like sweat, dead skin cells, etc. We purchased a fish tank filter, which prevented us from having to drain and clean the tub quite as often, but it had a limited impact.

These factors resulted in our ultimate decision to purchase one of the many cold plunge tubs currently on the market.

After considering several options, we purchased the Contrast Plunge, for several reasons.

1. It includes a high horsepower portable cold plunge chiller that will keep the water as low as 37 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. It has a filtration system that includes UV sanitation.
3. Contrast Plunge comes in both tub and pod options with two sizes (“classic” and “comfy”). For reference, my husband is 6 feet 2 inches with an average build and fits inside the classic version of the pod.
4. Portability (many cold plunge tubs are made of porcelain or wood and weigh far too much to realistically move).
5. Price – it cost less than most other options that provided the same or similar product and benefits.

We opted for the pod version, rather than the tub, so it would take up less space in our garage. I find getting into the pod (basically, a vertical tub) a little trickier given its height, but fortunately its surprising stability allows for sitting on the sides without rocking or swaying.

The Contrast Plunge, comprised of the same material as inflatable paddle boards, has made the plunging experience much more convenient, and for the price, seemingly one of the better options.

Some of the other cold plunges we considered include:

1. Polar Monkeys – https://polarmonkeys.com/
2. The Ice Pod – https://podcompany.com/
3. Inergize – https://inergizehealth.com/

Cold Plunge Temperature, Time, & Safety Considerations

When graduating from the indoor bathtub to the outdoor cold plunge tub, I psyched myself out about the lower water temperature. Remember, my initial plunge was 58 degrees. But my husband convinced me it wouldn’t feel much different. To my pleasant surprise, he was right.

I subsequently concluded that any water temperature below 60 degrees produces an initial “shock” to the system. As the temperature decreases to the mid to lower 40s, the initial shock stings a little more, but not to the extent I had expected. The colder temperatures actually have more of an impact a few minutes in when the skin starts to sting and the shivering response begins.

The body seemingly adapts to cold water, at least to some extent. In hindsight, I think the first two times I plunged at 58 degrees felt more miserable than the first time I did it at 45, or even 39, degrees. And I discovered that after routinely plunging at temperatures below 45 degrees, higher temperature produce less of a dopamine “high.”

Ultimately, I think the “ideal” temperature will vary a bit from person-to-person, especially when starting out. But over time, in order to obtain all the cold plunge benefits referenced above, I suspect most people will plunge in temperatures at or below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

That said, please do not start with frigid temperatures. For those lacking experience with cold water exposure, start out around 60 degrees and decrease the temperature over time.

Speaking of time – start out slowly with this, too. I recommend anywhere from 30 seconds to a couple minutes at first and then work your way up to as much as five minutes, depending on the water temperature.

I typically stay in the water for three minutes with a temperature ranging from upper 30s to mid 40s. However, one might experience cold plunge benefits at those temperatures from only 1-2 minutes exposure.

The Huberman Lab recommends a minimum of 11 minutes per week to reap the cold plunge benefits (source). Ideally, spread the 11 minutes out over 3-5 plunges on separate days.

If you have a heart condition or any health issues, please speak with your doctor before attempting cold water immersion.

Encouragement & Suggestions

If I can cold plunge, so can you! I promise! For starters, tell yourself you can, and say it out loud. It might sound ridiculous, but like I said, most of the difficulty lies in winning the war with your mind. Try saying it on multiple occasions over a period of time, and slowly you will work up the courage.

Don’t have a bathtub? A cold shower will likely provide many of the same benefits. I tried a cold shower….once. I immediately jumped out and never did it again. In my opinion, the ease of jumping out from under the running water makes it too easy to escape.

In contrast, getting out of a deep tub or pod requires more effort.  Plus, I love my hot, relaxing showers. I want to keep showers and the cold plunge tub two separate experiences. However, some people find cold showers perfectly adequate, if not better, and a more convenient and practical option.

Tips for Success:

Should you wish to experience the many cold plunge benefits, try this:

• Baby Steps: If you lack experience with cold water submersion, start with a temperature in the upper 50s. Aim to stay in for a minute or two and work your way up to three or more minutes. Also, doing it post workout, especially an intense one, feels less painful to me. After a HIIT workout, I often have the mentality of “I can do it. No biggie.” I attribute this to the adrenaline rush and the higher core body temperature that results from exercise.
• Moral Support: Develop a buddy system, or at least find someone willing to cheer you on. I would not have done it without the encouragement and support of my husband. While we do not plunge at the same time, we encourage each other and discuss our experiences with it. It feels less isolating that way.
• Jump In: DO NOT get in the water slowly! Historically, I did this when getting into pool or ocean water even though it took much longer and did not make the process any more comfortable. At cold plunge temps, the water will feel COLD no matter what, and easing into it gives our brains more opportunities to talk us out of it. Plus, it will just prolong the experience. If I don’t jump in, I know I won’t do it. Therefore, I don’t give myself that option.

GOOD LUCK! And please share your experiences and/or post any questions below!

Medical Disclaimer: I am not a physician or a medical professional. The content shared on this jessicatrone.com is for informational purposes only, is not a substitute for the advice of medical doctors and should not be used to prevent, diagnose, or treat any condition. Consult with a physician prior to beginning any fitness, health, or wellness regimen or routine. The content on jessicatrone.com is based on the opinion and personal experiences of its author and is solely for educational and informational purposes. Jessicatrone.com is not liable for how you choose to implement and use the information contained in it.