Alright alright alright alright alright, cold exposure therapy, which includes practices like cold plunges, ice baths, and brisk cold showers, has gained popularity in the past 5-10 years for its purported health benefits. The Wim Hof method, developed by Dutch extreme athlete Wim Hof, has gained cult level traction online and evolved into a worldwide movement promoting the benefits of cold exposure, saunas, and Hof’s signature fast-paced, energizing style of breathwork and general bad-assery. Groups of Wim Hoffer’s, as they call themselves, even meet up in chilly creeks around the world’s hippie hotspots to breathe and plunge in bone-chilling community. But what if I told you that while cold exposure has plenty of health benefits, you might be chasing a superficial ego boost and drug-like high that ultimately lends itself to a numbed out, WTF am I doing this for, dissociated from reality state, and that a gentler approach to cold exposure is more sustainable for long-term wellness?

How I got into cold plunging

I first took the plunge into this wacky lifestyle in March 2021. I had heard about Wim Hof from my dad, who heard about it from one of his high school weightlifting buddies. My dad and him had always been into bio-hacking for performance, and Wim Hof fit the bill of the kind of hard core old men they aspired to be one day. One cold March morning in upstate New York, I followed my dad over to his buddy’s house because they were going to plunge for the first time, and I just had to see this. I can’t deny that I was a little curious what all the hype was about and I thought maybe I’d give it a try, but I had to feel it out first before deciding. Impulsively, I mustered the courage to jump into a just-thawed stream across the road with them and experienced the brain chemical dump that is cold plunging for the first time.

*Just casually throwing myself into freezing water to get high*

I jumped in, submerged my head and ran RIGHT out of that water—I was not about to hangout in the freezing water any longer than I had to! My brain was telling me RUN, get out of there NOW because you might die if you don’t! Come to find out, that’s my brain moving into a sympathetic state, into fight or flight. And the longer a person stays in the cold, the body actually goes into a type of power-saving freeze mode to survive and mentally and physically cope with the torture. The body releases a host of neurotransmitters and hormones (norepinephrine, cortisol, dopamine, endorphins, and adrenaline to name a few) all at once when exposed to extreme cold, and the body immediately reacts to get out of this life or death situation. The body experiences what’s called a "cold shock response" causing a rapid increase in heart rate and blood pressure, often accompanied by involuntary gasping breaths as the body tries to conserve heat by constricting blood vessels near the skin surface, redirecting blood flow to vital organs and away from the limbs, making movement and coordination difficult.

I want to also add that at the time, I was in an unknowingly shut-down, numbed-out state from being unfulfilled in life and having not accessed my trauma. I was going through life on autopilot, mildly depressed, trying anything I could to feel alive again. Well, it turns out cold plunging is good for mild depression, but it really should only serve as a short-term tool to help move up the polyvagal ladder.

According to polyvagal theory, there are 3 states that can be thought of as rungs to the nervous system’s ladder

Freeze or fawn - the “dorsal” nervous system state, at the “bottom” of our polyvagal ladder, is our oldest and most primitive state that is often engaged after we’ve been in prolonged fight or flight or prolonged avoidance of past trauma. The body tries to conserve energy to protect itself and it may lose some capacity to feel the human experience, almost like it’s subconsciously playing dead. Some symptoms of this are a high pain tolerance, spiritual bypassing (moving on from painful experiences without processing in favor of “good vibes only”), constipation, drug/alcohol abuse, and feeling like you’re unable to leave the house. This is the state I was in before I started cold plunging.
Fight or flight - the “sympathetic” nervous system state, our second oldest branch of the mammalian nervous system, brings our bodies into action to defend against threat. Flushness may wash over us, sweat starts to bead, and our hearts might thump loudly. Stress and tension linger, while emotions like anger and anxiety can intrude uninvited. We may experience gurgle guts as I like to call it and feel the urge to run to the bathroom. Defensive behaviors then spring into action, resembling a chaotic parade of self-preservation. Being prone to angry outbursts, rigidity, diarrhea, and feeling a constant state of hypervigilance can be signs of being stuck in fight or flight. It’s also the state your body is forced into during cold water immersion, explaining the instinctual urge to run and scream for mercy!
Connect and explore - the “ventral” nervous system state, is humankind’s most evolutionary complex state of being. In this place, we thrive. Naturally, individuals prefer to be here unless there's an immediate threat. The safe and social rung of the ladder is a biological imperative, fundamental to our humanity. Here, the autonomic nervous system recognizes safety, fostering closeness, trust, and positive attachments. Bodily functions optimize: blood flows to the stomach for metabolism, the immune system recharges, and cells turnover right on cue. Here, we reach a capacity for deep healing, holding space for others, and openness to new positive experiences.

A healthy nervous system can easily climb up and down these 3 rungs as needed to adapt to its circumstances. The aim, according to polyvagal theory, is not to always be in ventral (that would be crazy if I felt open to connection and exploration when a bear is chasing after me), but to move up and down this ladder as needed and not get stuck on the lower rungs.

Well with cold plunging, I was ripped out of my freeze state into fight or flight, and after getting warm and experiencing that brain chemical dump, I was feeling more ventral and blissful than I had ever felt in my life. Getting warm and safe is a key part to healthy cold plunging, and I’ll return to that later. After plunging and heating up, I wanted to preach the benefits of the cold and go on and on about this natural high to anyone who would listen. I became a proselytizing, cold plunging, new age loon, with a holier than thou approach to wellness that put me far above others in my own mind. Oh I also decided to go ~ vegan ~ around this time, but that’s a story for another day!

But a good part of me was in love with the high itself because I simply wanted to feel alive.

I couldn’t get enough of the cold. I watched the clock at the end of every work day until I could drive to my favorite cold creek for a plunge. First it would be 2 minutes, then 5, then next thing I know, I’m hanging out in an ice cold glacial stream for 10 minutes. I’d get out of the cold, hop in my car, blast some music and the heat, and drive home blissed out & recharged. It gave me something crazy and fun to look forward to in my otherwise unfulfilling life. I became addicted to cold plunging and the short-term mental health benefits it provided for me. Not only that, I felt that I was reaching a higher state of being because I had ascended my body’s cues for danger and could hangout in cold water all day without flinching.

Not only was cold plunging helping me with my mental health, but I had also been healing from a stint of excruciatingly itchy eczema, and cold water helped tremendously with that inflammation. I found that when I woke up in the middle of the night, hot and itchy, unable to go back to sleep, I would stumble over to the shower and force myself into the cold water to relieve my skin. I would reduce inflammation, feel some instant relief, and fall back to sleep.

However, too much of a good thing can be harmful, and there’s a balance to find with cold exposure. Super-cold temperatures aren’t necessarily better for everyone and can even overload the body with stress so much that that you go BACK into a freeze state. After about 18 months of consistent cold plunging, I started to become numb and immune to the benefits I used to get from it. In the winter of 2021, I was breaking holes in icy Rocky Mountain lakes to dip my numbed out, acne covered body into colder and colder water, and no amount of cold could relieve my mental anguish. My body had seemingly become allergic to the cold, and I developed cystic acne all over my face. Annoyed and frustrated that I was doing all of the “right” things but had untreatable acne and digestive issues, I decided to go to an acupuncturist to hopefully find some answers. According to my acupuncturist Maria Baraybar-Lee, a 25 year practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, I needed to cool it on the cold plunges and vegetables in favor of more nourishing, warming activities and foods.

*This was the start of the worst acne and digestive symptoms I’ve ever had, but I was doing all the “right” things according to popular new agey dogma? Make it make sense*

That’s right, cool water — rather than freezing cold — can provide powerful health benefits without overloading the nervous system.

And for people like me, naturally thin, cold, and emotionally repressive by nature, cold plunging (and a vegan diet) are actually some of the worst things for hormonal and constitutional balance. Plunging was great to me when I was healing from eczema, and along with a vegan diet and mental health improvements, I had made a full recovery from having chronically itchy skin. After which I had started to veer into the opposite direction, which was also not fun. I had skin and digestion that was screaming out for relief from too much cold by filling with pus and gas in my body’s attempt to heat itself up.

For those experiencing excess heat, which includes symptoms like chronic inflammation, high blood pressure, irritability, and insomnia, a short-term cold plunging routine can do wonders as part of a broader holistic plan to help regulate symptoms. Learn more about TCM from Maria herself, also located at 1529 York St. in Denver, as I’m still a novice and have yet to find a more knowledgeable, intuitive TCM practitioner.

So let’s talk pros and cons of cold exposure and how to do it smarter and less ego driven than me:

Benefits of Cold Exposure Therapy

Improved Circulation: Cold exposure causes blood vessels to constrict and then dilate, which helps improve circulation and strengthens the cardiovascular system. This process can make the blood vessels more elastic, reducing the risk of issues like high blood pressure over time.
Boosted Immunity: Exposure to cooler temperatures stimulates the production of white blood cells, which help fight infections. Studies have found that people who engage in regular cold therapy tend to have stronger immune systems.
Enhanced Mental Clarity and Focus: The shock of cold water often brings immediate clarity. This is partly due to the release of norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter associated with focus and mood elevation. Cold exposure has even been linked to reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety. It’s also been linked to feeling like you’ve reached ~ ascension ~ because you’re so damn high on your body’s ice cold tingly rush—but your life isn’t a 5 gum commercial!!!
Reduced Inflammation: Cold therapy has an anti-inflammatory effect on muscles and joints, making it popular among athletes for recovery. It helps flush out waste products and reduces swelling, allowing for faster healing and less muscle soreness. But again, it’s important to not overdo the cold because too much of it can actually impede athletic performance by slowing down the natural inflammation, breakdown, rebuild, and repair cycle of muscles post-exercise.
Increased Resilience and Stress Tolerance: Regular exposure to the cold can help build mental resilience. When voluntarily putting the body through a mild form of stress, tolerance for other stressors in life can improve, which is part of why people feel mentally stronger after cold plunges. I can speak to this benefit, but I believe it’s important to not overdo it. Sometimes it’s wiser to face your feelings head on and stare at a wall or something rather than run away from yourself by pushing, forcing, striving, constantly.

Why Cooler Water Might Be Better

While some people gravitate toward ice-cold water for the 5 gum commercial like tingles and the little ego boost it gives them (I can totally say that because I did that), research suggests that water around 60°F is often sufficient to engage the body’s stress response without being overly intense. This temperature is enough to activate the nervous system, moving it into fight or flight without overwhelming it and forcing it back into freeze. Why is this gentler approach better for the nervous system?

Reduced Shock: Going from warm to extremely cold can be a jarring experience for the body. This extreme temperature change can sometimes push the nervous system into a heightened, even frantic, fight-or-flight mode, which can ultimately push someone further down the polyvagal ladder into a long-term freeze state. With slightly cooler water, the body still feels the challenge but without the high shock factor. This can lead to a calmer, more focused mental state afterward.
Improved Adaptation Over Time: Regular, gentler exposure to cooler temperatures helps the body adapt without overloading it. Consistent cooler plunges can encourage the body to become more resilient without pushing it to an extreme, helping maintain nervous system balance. Remember, we’re not trying to numb out and freeze ourselves to death, but to gently chill out the body.
Better Control Over the Response: Extremely cold water can force an intense response that’s hard to regulate. With cooler water, breath control and calmness is easier which is essential for making cold exposure a positive, empowering experience. You want to feel good during and after the plunge, not horrible during and relieved after that it’s over.

Potential Risks of Too Much Cold

While cold exposure has fantastic benefits, too much or too intense cold exposure can put undue stress on the body. Here are some potential risks:

Overactivation of the Nervous System: Extremely cold water can put the body into an intense fight-or-flight mode. This stress response can be helpful in moderation, but overdoing it can actually exhaust the nervous system over time, leading to chronic fatigue and depression.
Risk of Hypothermia: Ice-cold water can lower body temperature quickly, putting you at risk of hypothermia if you stay in too long. Even seasoned cold exposure enthusiasts need to be mindful of this and always limit their time in very cold water. What I’m trying to say is probably don’t try to be cool and stay in an ice lake like a weird stoic monk for 20 minutes.
Possible Increase in Blood Pressure: Cold exposure causes blood vessels to constrict, which raises blood pressure temporarily. For people with existing heart issues, very cold water could potentially increase the risk of cardiovascular events.
Negative Impact on Mood and Energy: Here’s the big one that a lot of people don’t talk about. If you overdo cold exposure, you may experience a dip in mood and energy levels hours later that can cause an energy crash short term and create freeze-like depressive symptoms in the long term. This is because extremely cold temperatures require a lot of energy from the body, which can lead to an energy crash and allow for a freeze state to take hold.

How to Reap the Benefits Without the Burn

For a balanced and beneficial experience with cold exposure, here are some tips:

Talk to a Trusted TCM Practitioner: Visit an acupuncturist or TCM practitioner like Maria who knows a thing or two about constitutional balance. These practitioners of ancient Chinese wisdom can conduct observational assessments of your state of harmony between yin and yang, and of qi and blood, and can provide guidance on what you can expect from cold plunging for your unique body.
Start with Cooler Temperatures: Begin with water around 60°F and see how it feels. This temperature is enough to stimulate the benefits of cold exposure without pushing your system too far. Start with a couple seconds or minutes of cool water at the end of a hot shower to perk you up and activate a mild sympathetic response
Listen to Your Body: If you start to feel overly uncomfortable, it’s okay to stop. Cold therapy is meant to build resilience, not to exhaust you. Each session should leave you feeling uplifted and energized, not depleted.
Gradually Increase Intensity: If you’re new to cold exposure, build up gradually. Start with a short, cool shower at the end of your warm shower before moving into cold plunges. As your body adapts, you can try slightly colder temperatures or longer sessions if it feels right. Just don’t be an idiot and go cutting holes in ice like I did.
Combine with Breathwork: Breathwork techniques can help you stay calm and grounded during cold exposure, allowing you to ease into the experience. This can help make even mildly cold water feel more manageable and beneficial. Try a basic 4 count breathing practice (4 counts on the inbreath, 4 counts on the outbreath) while doing cold exposure.
Finish on a Warm Note: Warming up after cold exposure, by wrapping up in a cozy blanket, blasting the heat in your car, or enjoying a sauna or hot tub enhances the benefits of cold exposure because it brings your body back into a state of safety. Rather than trying to be a tough guy and shiver it out after the cold, make an active attempt to heat back up, as this trains your body to correlate the scary sympathetic event of cold plunging with the comforting ventral after effects of warmth and safety.

*The people ice fishing behind me were very confused, rightfully so*

Incorporating cooler, rather than ultra-cold, temperatures into your routine is a fantastic way to harness the benefits of cold exposure without overwhelming your body, and everyone is unique in how their body will react to cold therapy, so listen if your body tells you it’s had enough cold. The cold can absolutely be a path to better health and resilience — it’s just all about finding balance that makes sense for you.

The Cold Plunge Hype: why our egos love it and why cool may be cooler than being ice cold