So, how on earth can standing naked in freezing cold water help your mental health? It has the power to improve your mental toughness in ways you never thought possible. Increasingly, athletes and other peak performers are using regular ice baths not only for physiological repair but also to build mental resilience and character.
Why You Should Take an Ice Bath
An ice bath or cold water immersion is the process of immersing your body in very cold water which ranges between 50-60°F/10-15°C for 5-15 minutes. People will usually take a bath tub with cold water and much ice or dip themselves in very cold river or lake. The cold environment is characterized by a rapid chill, which causes physiological responses to maintain warmth and is quite uncomfortable to experience.
This extreme stimulation elicits a stress response.
Submersion of the body in ice water elicits the sympathetic nervous system – the response often referred to as the ‘‘fight or flight'. Your heart rate rises, breathing becomes faster, blood pressure rises and stress hormones such as cortisol are released into the bloodstream. Your brain thinks the cold is a danger and gets the body ready for it. This stress response can be unhealthy if activated too frequently, but in the short-term it enhances concentration and clarity. The environment of extreme conditions requires your focus and attention and you can only exist in it.
Most people then have a period of steady, intense, and focused attention, which helps the mind to become less erratic as a result of cold stress. When getting out of the ice bath, people describe feelings of a calm and clear mind, and being full of energy.
Hormesis as a Way to Enhance Mental Endurance
The positive effects that stem from short-term yet highly intensive cold exposure, are called hormesis in the fields of environmental biology and psychology. Hormesis is the concept which can be described as a positive effect of exposure to stressors as they stimulate self-repair and growth process when applied in moderate amounts. The shallow threat of the cold helps build psychological toughness because individuals know how to remain peaceful and stable while experiencing extreme physical pain.
Through developing mental strength to withstand the chill, ice baths strengthen the muscle of ‘grit'- the passion and perseverance that enables individuals to achieve their intended goals despite hardships. Cultivating and enduring the gruel and self control to bear adverse situations instills a dogged ‘mind over matter' attitude that can enhance mental health as time goes on.
The neuroscience that explains the mental boost.
It also has the effect of releasing major neurotransmitters and neurochemicals that help one feel happy and improve their cognitive abilities. Cold exposure increases the level of beta-endorphins and improves mental toughness in the same manner that exercise does, resulting in endorphin “rush”. The cold also increases the concentration of dopamine, and noradrenaline, the neurotransmitter that is associated with focus, motivation, and concentration.
Additionally, exposing your body to cold temperatures will cause the brown adipose tissue in your body to be active. Brown fat is used to produce more heat that is necessary in warming the body's core and organs. The activation of brown adipose tissue also leads to the release of endorphins together with norepinephrine and dopamine to enhance mood and increase metabolism.
When people are defrosting from an ‘ice bath' then most of them have psychological states of being ‘fully awake' where everything is perceived in full focus. The cold water immersion places a ‘rose-tinted glasses' effect over the cognitive processes, nourishing positive mental processes and a cheerful, but calm disposition.
Research on these mental health benefits show that, like other forms of exercise, consistency is the key.
This is to mean that while the use of an ice bath will give a direct boost to the dopamine and the stimulation of the brain, long-term effects require continued use. When cold water immersion becomes a part of life, it erases the brain's perception of stress and adversity all together. You are taught how to find an inner source of strength, which calms and endures discomfort and is then able to transform it into motivation and mental toughness when facing everyday life challenges.
Ice baths create mental resilience by conditioning into your mind the reality that you are capable of much more than what you think. It becomes a habit as people develop a kind of confidence to embrace and overcome barriers and other challenges in life. The same way that muscles develop and get even larger after exposure to stress, your brain also keeps adding on mental thickness the more you engage in cold water immersion.
Conclusion of the Mental Benefits
Submerging oneself in ice water makes one awake and create mental resolve in their hearts. Just as in the case with heat, the extremely cold environment triggers the body's survival instinct which has the effect of calming the mind amidst stimuli stress. Every time you sit in the ice baths and feel each shiver, you are mentally preparing yourself and hence building up your strength.
As freezing baths or showers become routine, they establish the virtue of perseverance and tenacity as valuable assets in any endeavor. The practice gets a variety of neurochemical bonuses from dopamine to endorphins too and at the same time trains your brain to remain calm and composed when extremely painful. In total, by practicing cold showers as a lifestyle, you gain a strong and resilient mental state ready for any obstacles life might present.
