"By forcing yourself to embrace the stress of cold exposure as a meaningful self-directed challenge (i.e., stressor), you exert what is called ‘top-down control’ over deeper brain centers that regulate reflexive states. This top-down control process involves your prefrontal cortex – an area of your brain involved in planning and suppressing impulsivity. That ‘top-down’ control is the basis of what people refer to when they talk about “resilience and grit.” Importantly, it is a skill that carries over to situations outside of the deliberate cold environment, allowing you to cope better and maintain a calm, clear mind when confronted with real-world stressors. In other words, deliberate cold exposure is great training for the mind."
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| Favorite ice bath spot to date - July 2023 - Mountains of Colorado - 10,500 ft. Glacier... check. Mountains... check. Trees... check. Fresh mountain air... check. Beautiful scenery... check. Sunshine... check. Very cold water... check. |
Eyes closed, deep breathe in... deep breathe out... I hear distant footsteps on the trail that's about 50 feet away and past a thin layer of trees. Even 4.5 miles from the trailhead that starts way off in the middle of the mountains of Colorado, you're bound to run into at least one person. Especially if you're sitting in a lake in your underwear. You might not see someone all day, but if you're going to see someone... it's definitely going to be when you're almost naked... in the lake... and it'll probably be a big group...
I laugh as my mind wanders off to this random thought. Back to my breathing...
Deep breath in... deep breathe out...
A minute later I hear laughter close by followed by, "What are you doing?"
I open my eyes and turn my head to see a group of about 8 hikers all staring at me as I sit in my underwear in the crystal clear lake with water up to the bottom of my chin and trying to be as still as I possibly can to avoid heating my body up.
"I'm hanging out in the hot tub!" as I keep my focus on my breathing.
They shoot each other inquisitive and confused looks. "Isn't it cold?" One of them asks As they glance at the snow and ice that's directly next to the lake.
"Yyyuuuppp, it's pretty dang cold, but that's the whole point, gotta get comfortable with the uncomfortable. Plus it feel great on the leg muscles."
They shrug their shoulders and continue on their way.
Deep breath in... deep breath out...
Cold exposure and I have a bit of history together and is surely a love-hate relationship. Way back in the day when I used to run a lot in my early 20's. I was training for both a marathon and a triathlon at the same time. As my long runs increased so did my recover time and it started becoming harder to get all of my workouts in. Plus I was still rock climbing and hiking alongside the training workouts... Oh to be twenty again.
At some point I discovered that if I filled the bath tub with ice water, directly after my long run and stayed in there as long as possible (usually around 10 minutes) then the next day I felt fantastic and was significantly less sore. I have no idea how I discovered this, I'm sure someone suggested it to me, this is not something I would randomly experiment with or discover on my own. I really, really, really... do not like the cold. I don't remember though so who knows. Regardless of that...
I also started noticing that the more I did this, the ice water slowly became less miserable and even tolerable. Then I started noticing that I felt absolutely fantastic after it. I'd finish a 13 mile run, feel pretty tired, hop in the ice water for 10 minutes then get out and feel like I was ready to run another 13 miles.
Then along came a major knee injury which caused me to stop running and subsequently stopping ice baths, since I was no longer running. I completely forgot about these ice bath experiences until...
Fast forward to my mid 30's, a year and a half ago. Ice baths and cold exposure suddenly seem to be all the rage and I'm bombarded with information on them wherever I go.
Run into someone on the street... Hey, have you heard of ice baths?
Turn on a podcast... Today we're going to be talking about the scientifically proven benefits of cold exposure...
Go on social media... Today from my 32 degree ice bath...
Turn on the news... Ice baths are all the rage. What are they? Why do people do them? Today we're going to be talking to...
If the universe starts bombarding me with something and I can't escape it no matter what I do or where I go... I generally take that as a sign that it is something that I desperately need to do and there's a reason I'm being bombarded with it. At that point it's just much easier to give in and do it.
I started having flashbacks to the ice baths that I'd do in my running days and the main thing that stood out to me is just remembering getting out of the ice baths and feeling absolutely fucking amazing. I could remember that feeling time and time again. How after the trail marathon that I completed in Michigan, I literally just sat in a cold lake for 45 minutes and it made everything in the world right again. The absolutely terrible marathon time went out the window. My knee that started throbbing on mile 2, stopped throbbing. My mind was able to just focus on the beauty of the lake and of the nature I was surrounded by.
The more I thought about it and pondered this I kept coming to the conclusion of... maybe I need to try this again. But not for a shorter recovery time from physical exercise... more of a recovery from life. In the back of my mind, thoughts about the depression and anxiety that I mostly have under control keep percolating. I have it under control now but everything in life is constantly changing. I know that what is under control now can easily become out of control again... fast... Maybe this will help add another layer of control. The more layers of control... the more tools... the better...
I started listening to the podcasts that I had previously shunned. I approached them from a purely inquisitive standpoint of: Lets see what I can learn. What are the actual scientifically proven benefits of cold exposure? If there are actual, scientifically proven benefits that align with what may be helpful to me... then I'll do it...
I started listening to podcast episode after podcast episode and looking into the cited scientific papers myself and a few very general and common themes kept popping up that resonated extremely loudly for me: Great for depression. Great for anxiety. Increases dopamine levels significantly. Great for increasing circulation. Benefits exist after just a few minutes of exposure. Helps with arthritis... Reverses aging. Well that last one I made up just now.
All of these bullet points that I kept hearing over and over and over felt like they were just screaming at me. I was listening to these podcasts and looking into the research to find reasons why I should not do it... I really really really really dislike the cold... a lot... Those reasons did not exist, in-fact it was the exact opposite, I was only finding reasons why I should do it. So...
Summer of 2022 I decide I'm doing it. As I make this decision I tell myself... If I'm actually going to do this... I'm not going to half-ass it. I hate the cold too much to only do it every now and then. If I'm going to do this... I'm doing it everyday. I also made a deal with myself. I'll do it for a year straight then after that year if I haven't experienced any of the benefits of it and if I don't think it's worth it then I can stop... no questions asked... but no quitting before that year... DEAL!
So I started. On the weekends I'd go to Left Hand Creek that runs through the middle of Longmont and just sit. During the week I'd do cold showers. I started off by doing just slightly colder than my lowest comfort level then each day I'd go a little bit colder and a little bit longer. After about 2 weeks I was down to the coldest setting in the shower.
In the river, I obviously don't have control over the temperature, but the rivers that are fed by mountain glaciers tend to be pretty chilly... even in the summer. At the beginning I was only able to sit in there for a few minutes then I'd start moving around and swimming and was able to stay a few more minutes before my hands and feet started screaming and feeling like they were about ready to leap off my body. The more I visited the river, the more I noticed what I first noticed in my 20's. My body started adapting, and our bodies adapt fast if we let them.
I noticed that when I first got into the water or the cold shower all of my muscles would tense up, tighten and I would also take a deep breathe and hold it. As I became aware I was doing this, my mind started going to my rock climbing training and I realized... I really just need to relax.
When this would happen I started letting out my breath as deep as I could and focusing on relaxing all of my muscles as I did this. A funny thing started happening as soon as I did this... the water suddenly became a lot warmer and a lot more bearable.
As soon as I surrendered to the cold.. suddenly it wasn't so cold... or at least it didn't seem like it. If I fought the cold then it was miserable. Surrender...peaceful...
In rock climbing terms this is comparable to when you're on a hard move, high up from your last clip, your hands are on crimps and your feet are on nothing more than knife edge chips and you know you need to put all of your weight on one foot to make the next move but all you think about is how far you'll fall if you mess it up or if your foot slips off the chip then suddenly the foot that you need to put all your weight on starts shaking uncontrollably and you find yourself stuck. If you're able to calm yourself down, get your foot to stop shaking and just do-it, you know you'll be fine. But if you can't, your foot is going to shake itself off the hold, even if you don't try the move and then you're taking a 20 or 30 foot whipper. As much as it all seems out of your control... it's actually all well within your control... if you can calm your mind down.
Cold exposure is the same game... it's all a mind game. At first when your mind isn't use to it... even if you used to do it a lot a long time ago... your mind freaks out and it tries to protect you... deep breathe in and tighten all of the muscles. The more you do it then the more your mind gets used to it and you are training yourself for... this is not a threat. Then when you can get yourself to relax that deep breathe and relax your muscles, that is when your mind realizes... oh, everything is okay... we're fine... there's nothing to fear here... there is no threat...
The more you focus on deep breathes then the more you can relax and it becomes a meditation. Then you can start going into colder and colder water... if you want to.
Here I am a year and a half later. When I got to the year point over the summer... I didn't even think of stopping... that thought did not cross my mind. For me the benefits are vast, wide-ranging, and extremely noticeable. If I'm tired... hop in a cold shower or visit the river and I'm wide awake and energized for hours. If I'm in a bad mood... hop in a cold shower or visit the river and I'm feeling great for hours. The only thought that popped into my mind at the year point was... It's been a year already? Sweet... let's keep this rolling!!! Bring it on winter!
It's another tool in my ever expanding arsenal of self-help. This arsenal used to be completely empty and today it's a shed that's filled wall to wall and floor to ceiling with various tools for different situations and circumstances. As time goes on I hope to expand the shed to be a mansion in the hopes that I find myself in a situation where there's nothing I can't handle. I feel like I'm close to that currently but I also realize that from a realistic standpoint I probably have a ways to go. Where I'm at now is much better than the completely empty shed that I used to have where I couldn't handle anything.
Cold exposure has been a big part of it. Just to be very clear... I hate the cold... I despise the cold... I do not like the cold... I do not enjoy the cold... the cold is not fun. But I have always and will always tolerate the cold for the right reasons. Historically those reasons have been skiing, snowboarding, ice climbing, rock climbing, mountaineering, etc. Now instead of getting way too close to frost bite on a 20,500 ft. mountain in Peru (couldn't feel my big toe for 6 months after), dodging falling ice from seracs, and narrowly avoiding avalanches, now it's just for my overall health and wellbeing.
Interestingly enough, the more I expose myself to the cold for my health, the more that exposure will help me on adventures in the cold that I enjoy... if I ever so choose to go back to doing those adventures again.
It's interesting how everything in the world and universe is connected. It is all connected and the universe will always conspire to help you... if you let it...
Get out there and enjoy the cold... if you want to.
Above all just...
Keep it real out there!
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