Hot showers are one of life’s great pleasures. Like a generous bear hug, they make everything better. But for people like Wim Hof, the so-called Iceman, and an army of fellow advocates, cold showers are far superior.
Cold water immersion via ice baths and cold water swimming is known for its many health benefits.
For example, a study in the Netherlands found that taking 30-second cold showers every morning for 60 days could reduce the number of sick days taken in a year by 29%.
Contrast therapy, in which you alternate between hot and cold, is another method believed to provide similar results. In late 2024, I tried this as part of London boutique studio 1Rebel’s latest concept, RESET, where I alternated between a hot sauna and a cold bath for 20 minutes.
It was slightly unpleasant, but then again, so is exercise, and it’s obviously good for you.
Having dipped my toe in the water, so to speak, I wanted to know if I could experience the same benefits at home, and so I spent my Christmas enduring increasingly cold showers. Here’s what I learned about the benefits of cold showers, how often to take them, and how cold is cold enough.
How to start adding cold showers to your regimen
Before my first cold blast, I consulted Louise Mortimer, founder of The Spxce and 1Rebel recovery expert, trained in breathing and cold exposure. “Although cold showers are not as intense as contrast therapy or total immersion, they still stimulate your body’s adaptive responses, helping to improve circulation, immune function and mental focus,” says Mortimer .
To minimize the mental and physical shock that can accompany cold showers, Mortimer stressed that it’s important to first take a few minutes to prepare your mind for what’s about to happen.
“Start by sitting down and inhaling and exhaling through your nose as slowly and calmly as possible. After a few rounds, start extending the duration of the exhale. Take the same amount of breath, but exhale for twice as long.” Then, she says, follow this step-by-step guide.
- Start with lukewarm water to “acclimate your body.”
- Gradually reduce the temperature until it is cold for 30 to 60 seconds, the temperature being between 10 and 20°C (50 and 68°F). Mortimer says most benefits come once you’re used to tolerating temperatures below 10°C (50°F), but start at around 15°C (59°F).
- Stay in the cold water for 2 to 5 minutes, focusing on steady, deep breaths to manage initial discomfort.
- Move the water across your body, targeting large muscle groups like your back, chest and legs.
- Avoid the temptation to increase the temperature once you’re done. “Finish with cold water to lock in the benefits,” says Mortimer.
Typically, Mortimer recommends taking cold showers up to four times a week, starting with shorter durations of about 1 to 3 minutes and gradually increasing them to 5 to 10 minutes as the body adapts. “For best results, consistency is key, but it’s important to listen to your body to avoid overly stressing it,” says Mortimer. “If you’re feeling unwell or, for women, during certain phases of the menstrual cycle, it may be best to take a break. Consistency matters, but always prioritize your overall health.”
Putting cold showers to the test
With Mortimer’s instructions on board, I set myself the task of taking cold showers on alternating days for two weeks over the Christmas and New Year holidays. On the first day, I found the experience surprisingly tolerable. Rather than turning the temperature dial all the way up, I let the mercury drop slowly but surely every minute or so.
With each lap, I felt a first shiver, then after a few seconds, a wave of heat spread over my body as it adapted to the cooler water. Rather than test my discomfort limits, I clocked five minutes feeling pleasantly refreshed and ready to take on the day, which incidentally was December 25th.
Two days of indulgence later, I was more than ready for my next cold shower. This time, I lowered the temperature and tracked my heart rate with an Apple Watch to see if that would trigger any tangible changes in my vital signs.
Starting at 60 bpm, my pulse accelerated to 75 bpm as the cold water began to flow, then stabilized at 55 bpm after five more minutes of freezing subjection. This time, in addition to feeling fresh and minty, I also noticed that I left the shower with my mind fully focused on my work and fitness goals for the coming year.
It could simply be the psychosomatic relationship between doing something perceived as healthy and the New Year’s resolutions in mind that sparked the intention to follow healthier habits. Regardless, it quickly dissipated the lethargy that can set in during the holidays.
However, by my third and fourth sessions, I began to realize some of the downsides of cold showers if your goal, like mine, is to build muscle and strength. I like to work out early in the morning, and this often involves exercises designed to cause an inflammatory response in the muscles, forcing them to grow back thicker and stronger.
Immediately following these workouts with a cold shower, Mortimer tells me, “can blunt muscle adaptation by reducing inflammation and blood flow too much, which can hinder muscle growth.” Instead, she suggests, I should use cold showers before a workout or on rest days.
It’s a minor inconvenience, but as a result I find that I either forgo the cold element of my post-workout showers or have to cram them in on the days I don’t exercise – if I can forcing myself to get up early enough before my one year old toddler wakes up. Most of the time, it’s a losing battle.
Halfway through my two-week test, I wanted to see how my experience compared to that of a friend and former amateur rugby player, Alasdair MacLaine, who had been doing ice baths and cold showers much longer than me. .
“Cold showers put my body under a controlled dose of stress,” says MacLaine, “which I find helps improve my tolerance for daily stress that I might encounter at work or at home.” And, he says, it quickly becomes addictive.
“It’s a bit like feeling like DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) after an intense workout,” says MacLaine. “It may be a placebo effect, but whether it’s a perceived or real benefit, I find that a splash of cold water in the morning triggers endorphins that put me in a good mood for the rest of the day.”
He is not the only one. A growing body of research has shown that cold water immersion can improve mental health by increasing levels of endorphin and norepinephrine (the latter being a hormone involved in the “fight or flight” response to danger ) while improving the body’s ability not only to manage cold stress but also everyday stressors.
A Finnish study reinforced this belief. Exposure to cold for just 20 seconds, three times a week for four weeks, led to a significant drop in levels of the stress hormone cortisol after exposure, with levels continuing to fall over the following weeks.
My verdict on cold showers
As my essay draws to a close, I’m beginning to think that this coping response to stress requires more perseverance than I’m currently able to muster. And after two weeks, I have to admit that I’m not as addicted as my friend.
With freezing January temperatures, a cold shower is one of the last things I want to subject myself to. As I shyly turn the shower knob to cold, I can’t help but think about SAS: Who dares wins series where famous contestants braved hypothermia by climbing New Zealand’s frigid mountains and diving beneath icy lakes.
The mere thought sends shivers down my spine – or is it the icy water running over it? On second thought, I don’t think I’m cut out for special forces. I’m barely cut out for this.
In my final session, I last 10 minutes in the cold, but only rotating my body every three breaths to give my mind something to hold onto and make the seconds pass faster. And this time, the warm feeling I felt during my first showers never comes.
After enduring 14 days of cold showers, I can’t say I’m converted.
I found them a hell of a lot more effective at waking me up than my alarm clock or several shots of caffeine. They’re also more tolerable than expected, and the research supporting their benefits is compelling.
But given that they can override the inflammatory response needed to increase muscle size and strength, it’s not something I plan to use year-round. Instead, I can see their merit during a heavy training block, like if I were to do the CrossFit Open or train for another half marathon. And once summer rolls around, I might give them another whirl.
But after two weeks of trying it, you could say I’m pretty lukewarm about cold showers.