Cold water immersion lowers heart rate, constricts blood and lymphatic vessels, and shunts blood back to your core to maintain its temperature. This sends oxygenated blood to your internal organs and pumps lymph fluid through nodes. This flushes waste out of the body and triggers white blood cells to destroy foreign bodies. Cold exposure also reworks the fat cells in your body. White fat is storage, brown fat is metabolic, and cold plunge encourages stem cells to form brown fat which will increase your resting metabolic rate. (Meaning you’ll burn more calories in a rested state because your metabolic system has improved).

The surge of cold increases your brain’s production of norepinephrine and stimulates the sympathetic nervous system. The skin also houses a high density of your body’s cold receptors, so immersion in cold water sends huge electrical impulses from your peripheral nerve endings up into the brain. This alleviates symptoms of anxiety and depression and improves alertness, focus, and cognition. Regular cold water use has existed for centuries and is one of the best holistic ways to treat anxiety and depression. The mental challenge of the cold plunge in itself is a great way to practice focus, breathwork, and embracing discomfort. Over time ice baths or cold plunges will make your body and mind more resilient to viruses, foreign pathogens, and external stress.

・ Nordic Cooling Shower

・Cold Plunge

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