Exploring the Benefits and Risks of Cold Exposure: From Icy Plunges to Chilly Showers

Stepping into discomfort might just be the pathway to greater strength, clarity, and wellbeing. This episode dives deep into the increasingly popular world of cold therapy, exploring everything from accessible cold showers to high-tech cryotherapy chambers.

We begin with some personal news about shifting the podcast to a Friday-only schedule, allowing for more thoughtful content creation while maintaining balance. Then we explore the fascinating world of cold exposure and its surprising benefits. Whether you're an athlete looking to speed recovery, someone seeking better sleep, or simply curious about building mental toughness, cold therapy offers something valuable.

The episode breaks down different cold therapy methods, from the beginner-friendly 30-second cold shower to more intensive ice baths favored by professional athletes. We examine the science behind why cold exposure reduces inflammation, improves circulation, enhances mental clarity, and potentially helps regulate sleep patterns. Most importantly, we address the crucial safety considerations everyone should know before diving in—including who should avoid cold therapy and how to start safely without expensive equipment.

Cold therapy represents a perfect intersection of physical wellness and mental resilience training. That brief moment of discomfort might translate into greater mental toughness that serves you in countless other life challenges. Have you tried cold therapy or are you considering it? Share your experience or questions at info@spandexandwine.com or text 913-392-2877. Until next time, pour something in your glass that makes you happy!

Chapters

• 0:00 Podcast Schedule Change Announcement
• 1:49 Introduction to Cold Therapy Types
• 4:42 Benefits of Cold Exposure
• 7:03 Potential Risks and Safety Considerations
• 8:50 Final Thoughts and Call to Action

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Spandex and Wine podcast. So before I dive into today's topic, I wanted to share a quick update with you. Starting next week, episodes are going to shift to just Fridays. I'm not going to do Tuesday episodes anymore. I've held on to this for a long time and I've thought about this for a long time. But this will give me the space to line up more guests and to give myself a little grace. My schedule, as you guys know, has gotten pretty full these days, and this adjustment will let me keep showing up with quality content rather than stretching myself too thin and then just kind of throwing episodes together. So I think that this is going to be a good change. And I felt like Fridays would be good because that would give me time for all week to prepare, right? So on the episodes where I don't have guests, it will be exploring topics. I'll still do an affirmation starting next week. So we'll have that affirmation piece. We'll probably always have some type of topic that I will talk about as well. And then just tie in a guest as also. And it might be just a really short guest, it might be a long episode. Who knows? We'll just see where this goes. And I just want to say thank you so much for giving me the space to do that and continuing to listen. This is, you guys are just so great. I love it when someone comes up to me and they're like, oh my gosh, I just listened to your podcast. Or yes, I do this, or I don't do that, and I agree with you, or I disagree with you. I think that's great. And I always want to hear from you. Um, I know I say it at the end of almost every episode, but please, please feel free to reach out to me. Um, again, you have my information. I just continue to put it out there. The email is info at spandexinwine.com. And then my text line is 913-392-2877. Okay, so let's get into today's wellness topic, cold therapy. So I know for a long time on my social media, on Instagram especially, I would see people talking about ice ice baths and cold plunges and cryo chambers and all of the things, right? And so I just wanted to break it down just a little bit with the information that I know I would love to hear from you. Um, but first, let's just start with different types of cold therapy. So cold showers. That's the easiest place to start, you know, just turning down the dial colder for the last 30 to 60 seconds. I've been doing this a lot, and I especially do it in the summertime. One thing that I love about it is, you know, when you get out of the shower and you are so hot and it's so hot outside, and you just continue to sweat, it's disgusting. So when I am rinsing out my conditioner or if I'm not washing my hair that day, I always crank it down. Um, some days colder than others, and I give myself, you know, about 30 to 60 seconds. So I think a cold shower is a great place to start, a super easy place to start. Um, also ice baths and cold plunges. So I know when my sons, actually, I feel like my youngest did this more than my oldest. I don't know if my oldest ever did this, but he would do ice baths after soccer games and long runs or training sessions that he did. Um he would totally immerse himself in very, very cold water. So typically 50 to 59 degrees for two to ten minutes. You see athletes doing this, um, you've seen it in movies, you've seen it, you know, when they show locker rooms and things like that. So that's another type of cold therapy. Um, cryotherapy chambers, so the high-tech and uh popular in recovery studios, things like that. So standing in a chamber cooled with liquid nitrogen for two to three minutes. I personally have never done this. I've known a couple friends that have tried it. Um, I can't say that they had huge success. I can't remember. Um, and then another easy way is localized cold packs or ice therapy. So, like, think of icering icing an injury, an ankle, or something like that. And there are studies on that too, that there is a place for ice in the beginning of an injury, and I think it's 24 to 48 hours, and then after that, it should actually be heat. Um, because uh they are showing that you know, inflammation can be good. It's it's part of the healing process. I mean, we hear so many things that are bad with inflammation just within the body, but then also with injuries. But starting with ice, definitely a great idea. And then, you know, consulting your physician as or your chiropractor to know when exactly you should switch that over to heat. So, benefits of cold therapy. I just talked about um inflammation, it helps reduce inflammation and muscle soreness. And athletes have used cold therapy for years, like I mentioned when I said the cold baths, um and it does really help bounce back uh faster after workouts. So you might want to try that. It also helps with circulation. So the cold exposure constricts blood vessels, and once you warm it back up, it improves blood flow. So some people in the shower even go from hot to cold to hot to cold, so it goes back and forth and back and forth. Um, again, all of this consult with your physician and make sure that it is good for you, and we'll talk a little bit more about that in just a minute. Um another benefit is mental clarity and stress reduction. I know you wouldn't think that when you jump into something cold, but cold plungers, what they do is they trigger a release of endorphins, um, which can leave you feeling energized and focused. I mean, you can't help but be in the moment, right? If you're in a really cold bath and feeling all of your extremities, or maybe not if you're there for too long. Um it's very, very good for resilience training and um, I think for mental strength as well. There's something empowering about voluntarily stepping into discomfort. It can translate into greater mental toughness in other areas of your life. And I agree with that when it comes to anything like running or fasting. I know I think I shared that when I did my three-day fast recently, um nutritionally supported fast. So it wasn't it wasn't just starving myself. Um, but it is so empowering knowing that you can do that and just mind over matter. Uh, another benefit of cold therapy is better sleep. So some studies suggest that cold therapy or cold exposure helps re-regulate the um circadian rhythm and that will help lead to deeper sleep. So if you're someone that experiences poor sleep or insomnia, it might be something that you want to try. Again, I would start with the showers, and um, it's the cheapest way to go, and I think the safest. I know when I had mentioned this, I don't know if it was last year or the year before, to a chiropractor, and one of the dangers that he said was the shock to the system. So jumping into very cold water without easing in can cause like a gasp reflex or even fainting, and especially if you have heart conditions. And so that was one thing that he was saying. He thought it was, you know, it was okay for most people, but if you have any kind of heart condition, um, then he said he would stay away from that. And I mean, that makes total sense. And some people don't know if they have heart conditions or not. So if you're not sure, definitely consult with your physician. Um, or maybe don't try it. Maybe start with just the shower and it's not crazy cold at the end. Um, other dangers and things that you need to consider joint and muscle strain. So if you stay in too long, it can actually cause more stiffness and slow healing instead of helping. And I think that's why they say also to just do the ice in the beginning of an injury and then apply heat because you need some of that inflammation to heal the body. There's also a risk for hypothermia. So the time and temperature matter longer is not better. It's best to stick with safe guidelines. And I would really encourage you to go with very short at the beginning until you build that up and how you until you know how your body is going to react to that. Um, and I already mentioned this, but any kind of pre-existing conditions such as cardiovascular issues, respiratory conditions, um, definitely if you're pregnant, consult your doctor first. Um comfort versus benefit. So, not everyone needs to plunge into 40-degree water for 10 minutes. Even shorter, milder cold exposure, like the 30-second cold shower, can bring benefits. So I think you're safe to start there. Um, I think that cold therapy can actually be a tool in your wellness toolbox, but it's not a magic bullet. Really, if this something promises to be a magic bullet, then I think you should steer clear of that. All of this is about experiencing or experimenting rather with what feels good for you, being safe while you do it for sure. You don't need an expensive cryo membership to get all the benefits. Uh, you know, I've just said it about seven times here in the episode that a cold shower at home can be a great first start. So I'm curious what you think. If you are willing to give cold therapy a try, or if it's a hard pass for you, you know I would love to hear from you. You can email me, you can text me. Info at Spandex and Wine 913-392-2877. I would love to hear about your experience, um, what you have tried. Like I said, I enjoy the cold at the end of a shower. Um, not always in the wintertime, sometimes it's not quite as cold, but I do think it really helps me. So would love to hear from you. And thank you so much again for your grace with allowing me to just take this back to one episode a week. That's gonna be a big stress reliever for me, even though the Tuesdays have been super short. Um, I kind of like the shorter ones too. I wonder how you feel about that. So let me know that too. I will start posting more in our Facebook group. Also, I've kind of backed off of that. I probably need to go do a live and um just touch space with all of you. So thank you, thank you for listening. And until next time, pour something in your glass that makes you happy.