Can Water Plunges Really Reduce Anxiety For You?
So you’ve got chronic anxiety and you’d like to find something that you could do to have a positive effect on that, right? If that was me and someone told me that having a freezing shower or having an icy cold bath would reduce my anxiety, I think I might be just a bit skeptical. I’d probably think that the initial shock of the icy water might give me a heart attack, so rather than curing my anxiety, my fear would be that it would kill me. Can water plunges really reduce anxiety for you?
Truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction. There is scientific evidence to prove that cold water therapy has both mental and physical benefits. Cold exposure has been proven to encourage greater production of a really good neurotransmitter which affects your mood in a positive direction.
How Does Cold Therapy Work?
Cold therapy can be done in various different ways. You could take a cold shower, jump in an ice bath, or go swimming in cold sea water during winter. Just speaking for myself, I prefer adjusting very slowly to changes in temperature. You would never see me jumping into an ice bath! Thankfully, water temperatures of between 10 to 15 degrees is what normally qualifies as a cold plunge. Typically you spend a minute or two in that cold water before getting out again.
The first thing that happens is called vasoconstriction. This basically means that your blood vessels tighten and the available space for blood to flow gets smaller. This means your blood flow to your skin and to your extremities decreases. Athletes, footballers, and indeed, every extreme athlete from any sport know the benefits of cold plunges to help reduce chronic inflammation and muscle soreness.
Secondly, immersion in cold water promotes the release of endorphins which helps to reduce or eliminate feelings of anxiety and depression.
Is Cold Plunge Good For Your Nervous System?
The sudden shock of the cold temperatures found in an ice bath, a cold shower, or when cold water swimming, activates your parasympathetic nervous system in reaction to it. In essence, you go into a “fight or flight response”. Your heartbeat increases, and you start pumping out stress hormones. Your cortisol levels increase. But isn’t this what happens when you get anxious, I hear you say? Researchers have theorized that the benefits of a cold plunge lie in experiencing the extreme level of stress so that every other situation produces less stress.
Self-Hypnosis Audio For Reducing Anxiety Symptoms
Self-hypnosis can be a great tool to reduce anxiety and feel calmer every day for the rest of your life.
Does Cold Water Immersion Have Mental Health Benefits?
A number of significant mental health benefits have been noted from the regular practice of cold plunge therapy. They include:
- Stress Reduction: It sounds counterintuitive but regularly exposing the human body to temporary extreme stress such as is experienced when you jump into ice-cold water actually trains the body how to deal with stress more effectively. Over time, this can have the effect of reducing your perceived stress levels.
- Better Mood: Many cold immersion enthusiasts claim that they feel “great” after their cold water plunges. This increase in mental well-being is because of the significant increase in endorphin production as a result of your cold water exposure.
- Better Sleep: This is connected with the improved mood associated with regularly abruptly reducing your core body temperature. A better mood leads to better sleep.
- Improved Cognitive Function: People who suffer from brain fog due to stress or anxiety have noted significant improvements in mental clarity in the immediate aftermath of cold water immersion.
- Greater Social Connection: Many people who have gotten into cold water immersion have done so because they have seen TV programs or documentaries involving Wim Hof, who is probably most famous for his cold water immersion exploits. This is why cold-water swimming has become popular over recent years. It is now quite normal to see mobile saunas at the beach during colder weather. The idea is you get really hot in the sauna and then you get really cold by jumping into the seawater. A social scene has grown up around these activities and there are now clubs you can join where there are regular meet-ups to engage in this activity. This social aspect can also help with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.
Can Cold Plunging Help Your Anxiety?
Have you ever heard of your vagus nerve? Well, if you haven’t, you should pay attention to it because it’s the nerve most associated with the flight or flight response. It typically runs from the base of your brain all the way down to your lower back and is mainly responsible for the following functions:
- Heart rate
- Blood pressure
- Mood
- Digestion
- Immune System
It is this system in your body that can help you to be calm and to feel secure and safe. The cold shock response essentially resets the vagal nerve, or leads to improved vagal tone as some researchers have found. What this means for you is that, by regular and sudden cold water immersion, you can train yourself to become calmer quicker. In other words, you may still get anxious at whatever trigger you experience but it should subside much quicker, letting you return to a state of calm.
Self-Hypnosis Audio For Reducing Anxiety Symptoms
Self-hypnosis can be a great tool to reduce anxiety and feel calmer every day for the rest of your life.
Why Does Cold Water Stop Panic Attacks?
The physical sensations involved in a panic attack, such as a racing, thumping heart, breathing quickly and shallowly, etc. are all symptoms of the fight or flight response. When the body comes in contact with cold water, a natural reflex called the “dive reflex” is triggered. This is where your body immediately starts to conserve oxygen. In order to do that, it slows the heart rate and breathing. This result in a panic attack ending quickly.
If you were to take a freezing cold shower for instance, your panic attack would likely subside immediately. Regular, repeated cold water immersion could even prevent panic attacks by training the body to reduce fight or flight symptoms.
How Often Should You Do Cold-Water Immersion?
Before embarking on your cold water adventure, you should have a chat with your doctor to make sure that you can tolerate the extreme stress response that you are likely to experience. For instance, if you have a heart condition or any other underlying medical conditions, it is vital to get good medical advice before beginning.
Provided your doctor says it is safe for you to do some form of cold water immersion, the next step is to choose what way you would like to do it. You could do it at home by means of a cold shower of ice bath or you could choose to do it outdoors by means of cold-plunge tubs or cold-water swimming. Once again, safety should always be your number one priority. If you are swimming in a cold sea, you need to be aware of the risk of drowning and take the appropriate precautions.
It is best to start slowly. Start with doing it twice a week and maybe only stay in the cold water for approximately two minutes each time. You can gradually build it up to four sessions a week if you wish. You can also increase the length of time you spend in the water, but it is also advisable to do this slowly so that your body gets used to it. You can eventually aim for five to ten minutes of immersion in icy cold water.
Self-Hypnosis Audio For Reducing Anxiety Symptoms
Self-hypnosis can be a great tool to reduce anxiety and feel calmer every day for the rest of your life.
What Is Cold Water Swimming?
If the water you are swimming in is less than 15 degrees centigrade (or 59 degrees Fahrenheit), it qualifies as cold water swimming. You find people who are really dedicated to cold water swimmers will regularly swim in much colder water than that with temperatures approaching freezing point. Lakes, rivers, and even the open sea tend to be the places chosen by most people who partake in this activity.
It is essential to appreciate the dangers of cold water swimming. If the water is too cold and you are out of your depth, it is quite easy to get into difficulties. This is not a desirable scenario if you are partaking in this activity by yourself. This is why remaining within your depth is essential if you are alone.
It is much safer to join a group or club that runs regular cold water swimming events. Swimming with others is by far the most sensible thing to do if the stretch of water you are swimming in has unpredictable currents or if you are unsure of the depth of the water.
Will An Ice Bath Improve Your Mental State?
Numerous small studies have shown that ice baths have both mental and physical benefits for most people. For people with anxiety disorders who do not have any other medical conditions, there can be similar benefits. Because more endorphins are produced, people who suffer from chronic pain conditions could also benefit from regular cold immersion. The cold helps reduce inflammation and the extra endorphins act as a natural painkiller, helping to alleviate some of the chronic pain temporarily.
Self-Hypnosis Audio For Reducing Anxiety Symptoms
Self-hypnosis can be a great tool to reduce anxiety and feel calmer every day for the rest of your life.
Self Hypnosis For Anxiety Can Be Another Part Of Your Anxiety Solution
I have scripted and recorded a very powerful self-hypnosis audio to help you overcome anxiety. It’s called “Overcome Anxiety“. On the recording you’ll find a progressive relaxation at the beginning, inviting you to relax both body and mind very deeply. When you are in a trance state, I invite you to let go of your old over-alertness and image a scenario where now, you are remaining completely calm when a triggering thought comes to mind. Listening once a day for thirty days should help you significantly reduce your anxiety levels.
If you’re not sure if it’s suitable for you to listen to a self hypnosis recording, a recent article I wrote called “Is Self Hypnosis Suitable For Everyone?” will help you decide. Presuming that you are a suitable candidate for self hypnosis my article “How Do I Listen To A Self Hypnosis Audio?” will tell you all you need to know to get started.
Author: Paul Hunter
Although thousands of people read his blog every month, Paul's path to success was not an easy one. Click here to read his amazing story "From Unwanted Baby And Adopted To A Respected Self Help Blogger". If you want to send Paul a quick message, then visit his contact page here
