Ice ICe baby
I was first intrigued by ice bath/cold exposure back in the year 2021 watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians when the Poosh spa day was aired on the show. They all go to do an ice bath and Kim K freaks the eff out lol. I had heard of ice baths in the past for like football players but I never really knew how good it is for literally everyone. I started hearing more and more about it when I got into listening to The Skinny Confidential Podcast, the more I learned the more I was convinced this needed to be part of my life.
I first tried ‘cold plunging’ in my bathtub, which was fine but I felt like it wasn’t cold enough and I wasn't getting submerged enough because my tubs depth is actually quite sad (one day i'll have one of those big fancy deep tubs), but at this time, I do not. I switched to cold showers in the mornings and let me tell ya that WAKES you up like nothing else.
Whether you take a cold shower or do a cold plunge, done right is said to help decrease inflammation, boost immunity, increase circulation, boost mood, elevate energy, better sleep and pain management. From what I have gathered it is also said to help with mental toughness. Putting yourself in a hard situation and getting yourself through it can then make other hard situations ‘easier’ or help you use the tools you need to get through it.
Obviously a cold plunge isn’t going to solve everything, but the benefits are pretty intriguing. For me, I notice the benefits in energy, mood, and stress relief. In the mornings when I dunk in, it takes away my breath a little and I start breathing fast to make up. I then have to focus on my breath and bring it back to steady to be able to get through my whole 2,3,4 minutes I am in there. Going from almost a panic state to regrouping myself and practicing breath has really helped me with stressful outside situations as well.
Even in mom-hood, I find it easier to stop and focus and regroup when things are getting wild and chaotic.
If all you can get in is a cold shower, that is still great for you! You can also use code: KAYLEIGH04248 at checkout at us.nurecover.com and get 15% off (right now I believe the entire site is 20% off but if you are reading this later in life 15% off is still nice!) There also are other sites that have portable ice baths if that site doesn’t speak to you. OR there are lots of DIY ice baths that you can try out too! Even better there are real, nice, fancy ice baths to purchase too.
I’m no ice bath/cold plunge expert, but I figured I’d bring you along with me to learn and try out new ways to improve all around health! If you are interested in learning more here are a couple resources I enjoyed:
Huberman Lab: Using Deliberate Cold Exposure For Health and Performance https://open.spotify.com/episode/3W4Y9Zb9SEr8E4OKdA3yiC?si=v_p_PdugTKqCTZgCLDDG9w
The Skinny Confidential Cold Plunge Blog Post
https://www.theskinnyconfidential.com/wtf-is-a-cold-plunge/
Also, check out iceman_hof on instagram - he is INTENSE but soooo interesting!