How cold does your water get... and how cold does the water need to be in order to be therapeutic? What's the minimum amount of ice needed to reach that temperature? For example, a home ice-machine usually can only store 30-lbs of ice. I assume with practice one could build up a tolerance.. so I'm going to start with just dunking my face in a bucket of ice water just before bedtime... then my hands, then feet... each for a few minutes. Not sure if the limited coverage is enough to get the brown-fat benefits, but I'm hoping it can improve my insomnia. If I later do a full-body ice-bath (tub or chest-freezer).. I wonder if being in the water, then dumping the ice, might be an easier transition. Sort of like a frog in boiling water, but in reverse!
Ben Nguyen the water only needs to be mildly cold. 68 degrees Fahrenheit is a good temperature to shoot for starting out. I was actually scrambling to find a thermometer to test the temperature of the bath I took but couldn’t, but I’m guessing it was somewhere in the mid 40s, which is lower than the typical 50-59 range for an ice bath. Best thing for you to do is try out 30lbs and see how uncomfortable it makes you. It might be just what you’re looking for, and if it isn’t, grab another bag from the store the next time. It’s all trial and error. Be careful how close to bed time you do this cold plunge too. There’s a cortisol dump that happens right after cold immersion. Do it an hour before bed and see how that works. It also might help to keep the temperature of your sleeping environment colder as well. I usually drop my temp to 60-65 to help me fall asleep faster and promote deep sleep. I like where your head is at though (pun intended), let me know how it goes!
Hi! Question: I was wondering if someone could stand outside in winter weather with no jacket and get the same affect as the ice bath. Thanks
I’m lovin it
How cold does your water get... and how cold does the water need to be in order to be therapeutic? What's the minimum amount of ice needed to reach that temperature? For example, a home ice-machine usually can only store 30-lbs of ice.
I assume with practice one could build up a tolerance.. so I'm going to start with just dunking my face in a bucket of ice water just before bedtime... then my hands, then feet... each for a few minutes. Not sure if the limited coverage is enough to get the brown-fat benefits, but I'm hoping it can improve my insomnia.
If I later do a full-body ice-bath (tub or chest-freezer).. I wonder if being in the water, then dumping the ice, might be an easier transition. Sort of like a frog in boiling water, but in reverse!
Ben Nguyen the water only needs to be mildly cold. 68 degrees Fahrenheit is a good temperature to shoot for starting out.
I was actually scrambling to find a thermometer to test the temperature of the bath I took but couldn’t, but I’m guessing it was somewhere in the mid 40s, which is lower than the typical 50-59 range for an ice bath.
Best thing for you to do is try out 30lbs and see how uncomfortable it makes you. It might be just what you’re looking for, and if it isn’t, grab another bag from the store the next time. It’s all trial and error.
Be careful how close to bed time you do this cold plunge too. There’s a cortisol dump that happens right after cold immersion. Do it an hour before bed and see how that works. It also might help to keep the temperature of your sleeping environment colder as well. I usually drop my temp to 60-65 to help me fall asleep faster and promote deep sleep.
I like where your head is at though (pun intended), let me know how it goes!
omg