Cold showers !

[debgrant]

My grandmother was Finnish and used to tell of how they would go from the hot sauna and then jump in the a hole cut in the ice of a lake a few steps away. They would go back and forth several times.

 

[Jo86]

My grandmother was Finnish and used to tell of how they would go from the hot sauna and then jump in the a hole cut in the ice of a lake a few steps away. They would go back and forth several times.

Oh. But did she ever mention why they'd do that, or hint that it was therapeutic (rather than just, say, a fun activity for entertainment purely) ?

 

[Sherilynn]

I've started today. Heard about it for a while but decided I was going to give it a go for at least a while.

Here are some of the benefits Dr. Eric Berg mentions (video below):
- boosts immunity
- boosts noradrenaline
- improves mood
- increased insulin sensitivity (rather than dangerous insulin resistance)
- anti-inflammatory
- neuroprotection
- better recovery (muscles in particular)


People often recommend one should start with a hot shower, then go to cold, and switch back and forth between the two. I'm doing from average, to cold, incrementally over the span of about 2min then keep it for another 4-5min.

Whenever I've had a cold dip in the sea, I've come out of it feeling fresh physically but not wired or jittery, felt like I was wearing an armor over my body (immunity prob) like the wind had no effect on me, and then felt a sense of calm when I sat on the sand.

Anybody here do these regularly ? Any results ?

I have tried cold plunges and I am trying to get myself back into the cold water again. There is constant scientic evidence (I do have a biochemical science background and am critical of papers.)

I am currently dealing with moderate disease. I started with mild, overdid it until I hit moderate, then 3.5 years ago covid made it severe. I was bedbound for about 2 years. Once I could lesson brain inflammation( I think) I went back to moderate. Except for cognition.

Here is my anecdotal experience:

I cannot do this when I am in a crash, it makes everything worse. I wouldn't suggest it for anyone who is severe.

Like most of us, I have trouble with temperature regulation. I don't have Reynauds, but I feel excruciating pain when my hands and feet get cold. I have found that the cold plunges seem to help my thermoregulation.

Cold plunges also release dopamine. I have depression and ADD, so my dopamine regulation is off. I do notice that depression lessons some while I am doing plunges. I do believe they help with mental stress too.

I have no idea why, maybe the stress uses extra ATP, maybe with less stress we can make a little more ATP, but anyway I can do just a little bit more after I have been doing the plunges for a few weeks.

Of course I can't do any exercise and I have to be very careful with my spoons, it's gets very tempting to do too much.

I don't put much into those who profit from promoting plunges. But some of the things plunges are purported to do are real, just as our disease is real. Icing/cooling the face only is said to help vagal tone, so I also ice my cheeks, chin, and neck separately.

I don't plunge as cold as many do, I keep to 45-55 degrees F. I don't aim to build time or decrease temperature. I do what I can tolerate on any given day. Sometimes I can do about 15 minutes, sometimes I'm in and out, others I dip my feet and just say nope, I'll try tomorrow. Personally, I can't make myself stay in a lukewarm shower. I began with 50 degree water in my tub.

 

[Dysfunkion]

I'm a walker so I get plenty of cold exposure weekly and my place isn't very warm either. The freezing cold is very energizing but ultimately at the wrong times because of my temperature regulation problems it can be very harmful and leave me in a lot of pain for a while. It is also very immune system stimulating which for some of us isn't always a good thing, at the wrong time it can really flare me up. The cold is just super stressful and I don't need anymore stress. I don't do too well with extreme heat all the time but at least it doesn't hurt to just exist outside when it's hot for me. Whenever I'm too cold and reactive I need to get in a hot shower to relax myself a bit even though ironically being in the shower can flare other aspects of what I'm dealing with. Cold exposure in healthy people may have great benefits but we all probably know how "healthy" things when you're chronically ill can be quite a muddy, overly complex topic.

 

[ilivewithcfs]

Tried cold shower, it gave me PEM. Pretty much everything gives me PEM: walking, getting too cold, sauna, socializing, concentrating on a task, being in the sun, infrared light therapy, yoga etc. Even my favourite thing in the world, which is interacting with animals, gives me PEM. This disease is unreal. A lot of things,that help normal people, make us worse.

 

[Dysfunkion]

Tried cold shower, it gave me PEM. Pretty much everything gives me PEM: walking, getting too cold, sauna, socializing, concentrating on a task, being in the sun, infrared light therapy, yoga etc. Even my favourite thing in the world, which is interacting with animals, gives me PEM. This disease is unreal. A lot of things,that help normal people, make us worse.

I feel you, tell me about it! I got my lovely "cold exposure therapy" all last night. Some symptoms I was getting from activated charcoal really made me feel a lot colder and especially my feet at times (which felt like they were made of ice). Pretty much all I did was roll around in pain with my legs having spasms like they wanted to run away from me which I don't blame them for. Then when that alarm went off and I was out it was like diving into a cold swimming pool. Yeah it really jolted me up better than coffee but ultimately I was just more stressed and couldn't relax besides those glorious warm moments when I was drinking it as I enjoyed the morning music and internet scroll.

 

[Seadragon]

I used to take cool/sometimes cold showers when more mild but since my health deteriorated I can rarely tolerate them anymore unless it is the middle of the summer and 30 degrees C outside! I do try to get some fresh cold air exposure in winter and that seems to help a bit sometimes.

Really, depending on the stage of my illness, cold can help but during other stages warm showers or baths helps more.

Oh, I forgot to mention I do have recurrent viral type symptoms of coughing/shivering/losing voice and feeling fluey - cold exposure makes those symptoms worse when I have them.