“And when you finally do it, you feel like you’ve accomplished something meaningful. You have to muster the courage to do it,” he said. “You have to conquer your own trepidation. Doing it on a regular basis may dampen that response, which could in turn help people feel better able to handle other stresses in their lives, although that is not proven, he said. It also stimulates the part of the nervous system that regulates the fight-or-flight stress response. There are a few theories on how it affects the psyche.Ĭronenwett says cold water immersion stimulates the part of the nervous system that controls the resting or relaxation state. WATCH: New alcohol research shows drinking small amounts can still be harmful to healthīut Cronenwett says studying cold water immersion with a gold-standard randomized controlled trial is challenging because devising a placebo for cold plunges could be difficult. “I felt like I was strong and powerful and could do anything.” “It felt like I was being stabbed with hundreds of millions of really small electrical needles,” he said. After a sauna, he jumped into the ice-cold water for a few minutes and had what he called an intense and invigorating experience. Will Cronenwett, chief of psychiatry at Northwestern University’s Feinberg medical school, tried cold-water immersion once, years ago while visiting Scandinavian friends on a Baltic island. I found some Zen down here coming down and jumping into the lake and shocking that body,” O’Conor said.ĭr. “My mental health is a lot stronger, a lot brighter. As the water grew colder with the seasons, the psychological effect was even greater, he said. The world was in a coronavirus funk, O’Conor says, and that made him want to continue. His first plunge came early in the pandemic when he went on a bourbon bender and his annoyed wife told him to “go jump in the lake.” The water felt good that June day. With the lake temperature 34 degrees (1 Celsius), the bare-chested O’Conor did a running jump from the snow-covered shore to launch a forward flip into the icy gray water. Endorphins are “feel good” hormones released in response to pain, stress, exercise and other activities. “The endorphin rush … is an incredible way to wake up and just kind of shock the body and get the engine going,” O’Conor said on a recent morning when the air temperature was a frosty 23 degrees (minus-5 Celsius). Since June 2020, the 55-year-old Chicago man has plunged into Lake Michigan almost daily, including on frigid winter mornings when he has to shovel through the ice. You might call Dan O’Conor an amateur authority on cold water immersion. Here’s what medical evidence, experts and fans say about the practice, which dates back centuries. And Lizzo claims ice plunges reduce inflammation and make her body feel better. Kristen Bell says her plunges are “brutal” but mentally uplifting. Kim Kardashian posted her foray on Instagram. WATCH: How new weight loss drugs are changing the conversation around treating obesity The touted benefits include improved mood, more energy, weight loss and reduced inflammation, but the science supporting some of those claims is lukewarm. These days, the coolest thing on social media may be celebrities and regular folks plunging into frigid water or taking ice baths.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |