I sampled the delights of the cold water during my first year as medical student. As soon as my brain was loosing track of my reviewing, I was taking a brief cold shower. It’s my uncle Claude, an illuminated Yoga teacher, who had sung the praises of it. I’d told myself that of all his absurd theories, I risked nothing to test one, discreetly. The result of my first freezing shower was immediate: reinvigorated, I was ready to battle with the rest of the statistics course. It quickly became a positive ritual: one brief cold shower every 30 minutes of work, in order to learn fast and well. After 30 years, my friends know that before and after doing sport, I would end up in the river, in the sea or to break the ice of their pool in order to dive in the freezing water… Above all, I don’t want that they imitate me, I want to have a slight physiological advantage over them!
As I am often lazy, I have to reactivate my anchor of addiction to cold water. This conditioned response allows me to overcome the insupportable contact between the cold water and the skin, which only disappears when my head is finally dipped. To “bypass” this freezing passage, I do the “fast method”, which I strictly forbidden to the others: dive firstly the head or start to take the shower by the head. I admire the courage and intelligence of those who are able to enter gradually in the freezing water!
A simple head immersion is enough to trigger the brain “reset” and the stream of neurological and physiological benefits that result of it.
Iceman
I have Raynaud’s (vasoconstriction of extremities), that means that my feet, hands and genitals freeze very painfully when in contact with the cold. So when the water is freezing, I often wear gloves, socks (sometimes in neoprene) and animal skin underpants (otherwise I get out of the water with a vagina).
Of course, a hot shower is more beneficial if I come down with an infection. And even more if I’m frozen, my mouth numb as far as being unable to say a sentence, such as after an effort during the winter. That would be the fastest way to get the flu or to turn a small cough into pneumonia! Personally, I was spared but I had seen these at many patients or fellow sportsmen.
There are 2 physical concepts to remember:
1) The water is a 24 times more powerful conductor than the air; therefore we need 24 times more energy to stay 1 minute in a water at 24°C than staying 24 minutes outside at 24°C!
2) The body cools down 3 times faster when the head is immersed. So in addition to neurological benefits of immersing the head, the peripheral effects of immersing in cold water are multiplied by 3!
I succumbed! since 2018! Wim Hof inspires me a lot Especially his simple breathing technique applicable to health and sport (article coming soon)
Wim Hof
References:
Leeder J et coll. : Cold water immersion and recovery from strenuous exercise: a meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med 2012 ; 46 (3) : 233-40.
Glasgow, Ferris, Bleakley .Cold water immersion in the management of delayed-onset muscle soreness: Is dose important? A randomised controlled trial. Phys Ther Sport. 2014 Jan 29.
Jajtner, Hoffman, Gonzalez, Worts, Fragala, Stout. Comparison of Electrical Stimulation Versus Cold Water Immersion Treatment on Muscle Soreness Following Resistance Exercise. J Sport Rehabil. 2014 Mar 12.
Solianik, Skurvydas, Mickevičienė, Brazaitis. Intermittent whole-body cold immersion induces similar thermal stress but different motor and cognitive responses between males and females. Cryobiology. 2014 Oct;69(2):323-32.
Roberts, Nosaka , Coombes, Peake . Cold water immersion enhances recovery of submaximal muscle function after resistance exercise. 2014 Oct 15.
Selfe J, Alexander J, Costello JT, May K, Garratt N, et al. (2014) The Effect of Three Different (-135°C) Whole Body Cryotherapy Exposure Durations on Elite Rugby League Players. PLoS ONE 9(1): journal.pone.0086420
White, Rhind, Wells. The effect of various cold-water immersion protocols on exercise-induced inflammatory response and functional recovery from high-intensity sprint exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2014 Nov;114
Hausswirth C, Louis J, Bieuzen F, Pournot H, Fournier J, et al. (2011) Effects of whole-body cryotherapy vs. far-infrared vs. passive modalities on recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage in highly-trained runners. PLoS ONE 12: 1–7.
Pournot H, Bieuzen F, Louis J, Mounier R, Fillard JR, et al. (2011) Time-course of changes in inflammatory responses after whole-body cryotherapy multiexposures following severe exercise. PLos ONE 6: 1–6.
Elias GP, Wyckelsma VL, Varley MC, McKenna MJ and Aughey RJ. Effectiveness of water immersion on post-match recovery in elite professional footballers. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 2013 In Press.
Drummond PD, Knudsen L., Headache. 2011 Mar;51(3):375-83. Central pain modulation and scalp tenderness in frequent episodic tension-type headache.
Yu Q. Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, China. Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai). 2011 Jun;43(6):448-54. Cold water stress attenuates dopaminergic neurotoxicity induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine in mice
Jimenez C. Apply Physiol. 2010 Jan;108(1):49-58. Whole body immersion and hydromineral homeostasis: effect of water temperature.1Human Factor Department, French Army Health Center, La Tronche Cedex.
Alhaddad. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2010 Feb;108(3):599-606. Influence of cold water face immersion on post-exercise parasympathetic reactivation. Faculty of Sport Sciences, Amiens, France.
Alhaddad. Auton Neurosci. 2010 Aug 25;156(1-2):111-6. Effect of cold or thermoneutral water immersion on post-exercise heart rate recovery and heart rate variability indices.1Laboratoire de Recherche, EA 3300 Adaptations physiologiques à l’exercice et réadaptation à l’effort, Faculté des Sciences du Sport, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, F-80025, Amiens, France.
Shevchuk. Molecular Radiobiology Section, The Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, 401 College St, Richmond, VA 23298, USA. 2008;70(5):995-1001. Adapted cold shower as a potential treatment for depression.
Shevchuk. Possible stimulation of anti-tumor immunity using repeated cold stress: a hypothesis. Infect Agent Cancer. 2007 Nov 13;2:20.
4