You might have heard of the benefits of hot showers, hot baths, and steam baths many times. If you are a gym-goer, you might be spending some time daily in the steam room of the gymnasium. Those who don’t go to the gym take a hot bath or hot shower in their homes.
However, you might not know how beneficial an ice bath is. As you can guess from the name, an ice bath means taking a bath in water and ice cubes. Now, you might have started shivering or chattering teeth just by thinking about stepping into a bathtub filled with ice cubes. You might also be wondering, “Only those who have gone nuts will take an ice bath”.
But the fact that we are discussing the ‘benefits of ice bath’ in this blog post proves that ice bath has been proven beneficial in terms of health. Many people all over the world take ice baths on a regular or occasional basis. If you are a sports fan or an avid reader of sports news, you might be aware of how athletes quickly go for an ice bath after playing or practicing.
You, too, can take the benefits of ice bath, as even though you might not be physically as active as any athlete or a sportsperson, your body goes through wear and tear on a daily basis. You can deal with this wear and tear and allow your body to rejuvenate with the help of an ice bath.
What are the Different Benefits of Ice Bath?
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Apart from an ‘ice bath’, other names are also used for the activity of taking a dip in a tub filled with ice cubes. These names include ‘cold therapy’, ‘cryotherapy’, and ‘cold water immersion’. Ice baths can become beneficial for not just your physical health but also your mental health. Considering the mental health scenario in the present world, dipping in an ice-filled tub seems to be an easy and fast method of staying calm. Let’s see what are the different benefits of ice bath.
Provides Relief from Sore Muscles
You don’t have to be an athlete to get sore or aching muscles. Even if you do an intense workout for an hour in the gym or at your home, you will experience a burning feeling in various muscles of your body. An ice bath can provide relief to you from sore or aching muscles. The cold water reduces the flood flow in your body by constricting the blood vessels. As a result, the soreness and the swelling will go away.
Reduces the Inflammation in the Body
Fighting the inflammation occurring in the body is one of the amazing benefits of ice bath. As we have mentioned in the previous benefit, cold water constricts your blood vessels, thereby reducing swelling related to inflammation. You must be aware of the fact that the temperature of your body rises when you work out. The rise in the temperature can lead to inflammation. Cold water decreases the temperature of your body, and thus, fights inflammation.
Decreases Fatigue and Uplifts Mood
An ice bath can work as an efficient therapy to overcome the feelings of tiredness and stress. Taking a bath in ice and water stimulates your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. It also affects your recovery process and stress response. As a result, you will feel less fatigued and more cheerful. Whether you want to get rid of tiredness after an exhausting workout session or uplift your mood after a stressful day at work, an ice bath can come to your rescue. You will also be able to sleep better by taking an ice bath.
Along with the benefits mentioned above, some people even claim that an increase in focus is also one of the benefits of ice bath. It’s important to ensure that your ice bath has the right temperature. The ideal temperature range is 10-150 Celsius. You should spend more than 5 to 10 minutes in a bathtub filled with water and ice cubes.
Drawing an ice bath is as simple and quick as drawing a regular bath. Moreover, you don’t have to worry about putting any essential oil in the bathtub. You don’t even have to worry about problems like dry skin that occur due to hot baths and hot showers.
Who Does Not Get the Benefits of Ice Bath?
You might be thinking that “How come someone doesn’t get the benefits of ice bath?” Well, it’s true because some people should not take an ice bath due to their health conditions. So, before you start filling your bathtub with ice cubes, you must know whether or not you should take an ice bath.
People suffering from diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, chronic venous insufficiency, neuropathy, and cold agglutinin disease should not take an ice bath. Similarly, people who have fractured bones, torn tendons, torn ligaments, or poor blood circulation should also steer clear of an ice bath.
If you are still wondering “Whether the benefits of ice bath are a real deal or not”, you should know that many health and fitness experts have claimed that ice baths are indeed good for one’s health. The coaches and fitness consultants of sportspeople advise them to bathe in ice cubes and water.
Final Thoughts
In order to experience the benefits of any practice or habit, you must follow it consistently for a significant amount of time. This principle applies to ice baths as well. In the beginning, you might not be able to stay for more than two or three minutes in an ice-filled bathtub. You should not force yourself to stay for a longer period in the bathtub.
