The Benefits of Cold Showers and Ice Baths, and Are They Right for You?

Ice baths have become very popular in recent years. Not only do celebrities like Lady Gaga frequently post photos of themselves taking ice baths, but even the family-sized outdoor ice bath barrels at Costco have made the news for selling out. In fact, ice baths have long been a routine method used by professional athletes for reducing inflammation and rapid recovery. However, recent research on the human body and cold exposure has discovered many other health benefits, ranging from preventing hypertension and type 2 diabetes to helping with depression and chronic inflammation.

Long-term, chronic stress can damage physical and mental health, but short-term stress is actually beneficial for health—such as high-intensity exercise, public speaking, or solving math problems under pressure. The human body naturally seeks warm and relaxing environments. Suddenly being exposed to cold activates the body’s stress response, such as increased breathing, a rapid heart rate, and various adjustments throughout the vascular system, with some blood vessels constricting and others expanding up to twice their size.

Cold showers may boost immunity
A study found that taking a 30-second cold shower daily for 60 consecutive days can reduce sick leave by 30% (doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161749). At the same time, winter swimmers are less likely to catch colds compared to a control group who swam in warm water pools.

May aid weight loss, lower cholesterol and blood sugar
In animal experiments, researchers discovered that mice forced to endure cold three times a week for one month showed increased brown fat, reduced cholesterol, and significantly improved blood sugar metabolism compared to a control group living at a constant 22°C room temperature. However, no human experiments have yet proven this. After all, mouse metabolism is similar but not identical to humans, and these mice were left in 4°C rooms for 1–8 hours—conditions that would likely be fatal for humans.

Helps alleviate depressive symptoms and improve focus
Some small-scale human studies found that immersing in ice water for 3–5 minutes can increase levels of dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins. Moreover, winter swimming has been linked to reduced use of antidepressant medications. This is not hard to understand: human instinct resists cold, so a sudden temperature change can cause a sharp drop in happy hormones like dopamine (bringing happiness down to zero). After a quick cold shower, not only does body temperature recover, but the secretion of hormones like dopamine rebounds beyond baseline. This is similar to the “runner’s high” after long-distance running but more intense.

Reduces inflammation, alleviates pain, and speeds muscle recovery
Ice water baths have been used in athlete rehabilitation training for many years, and there is abundant research on this topic, so we won’t repeat it here. However, it’s important to note that while taking a cold shower or ice bath after exercise can indeed speed up recovery and reduce muscle inflammation, it may also diminish muscle-building effects. Therefore, if your goal is muscle growth, post-exercise ice baths are not suitable for you. Athletes often don’t mind this trade-off, as they prioritize performance and injury prevention.

So, are ice baths right for me?
Not necessarily.
Ice baths are a relatively extreme recovery method. If you are a professional athlete or a seasoned fitness enthusiast, you can try them to see the effects (after all, one or two short-term sessions are unlikely to cause harm). However, for the average person with lower muscle mass (which is related to cold resistance) and moderate exercise levels—especially women, whose endocrine systems tend to be more sensitive than men’s—there may be no real need to try. Jumping into icy water in the dead of winter is not a particularly pleasant experience. Honestly, even sticking to a daily cold shower requires mental preparation for me.

Regular exercise, a healthy diet, sufficient sleep and rest, and stress reduction are the fundamentals of health and longevity, akin to the carbohydrates, protein, vegetables, and healthy fats in a meal—they are essential. Practices like ice water baths are more like seasonings; if you enjoy them, they can make the meal more enjoyable, but they are not strictly necessary.

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