Revitalize muscles with a cold plunge
One of the things I enjoy the most is a warm bath: I fill up the tub with warm water, add epsom salts, play some relaxing music and soak in for as long as I can. However, I am also aware that it might not be the best way to recover after a run or strenuous exercise and especially if I want to avoid saggy skin. However, what does seem to have a lot of benefits is a cold plunge, which is why it is picking up steam, especially among those who exercise regularly.
In fact, one of the main benefits of a cold plunge is muscle recovery. Submerging the body in cold water, 50F or 10C, for up to 2 minutes, can reduce muscle soreness and inflammation, which is the natural response to muscle growth after an intense exercise routine. Many athletes use different cryotherapy techniques, including cold showers, especially when they have to perform back to back. So if you happen to exercise regularly include a cold shower in your practice for quick muscle recovery.
As the heart is also a muscle, cold water therapy can also promote heart health by improving blood flow and lowering heart rate. If you are unsure about the health of your heart, you might want to try it for a very short time as in 15 to 30 seconds, which feels very long in cold waters!
Plunging in cold water for a few seconds can help the muscles recover faster.
By stimulating both basal metabolic heat and thermogenesis it can boost metabolism helping burn that extra fat that is hard to shed with just exercise. In fact, the shivering that follows the body reaction to the cold water creates extra heat that can help lose weight.
Furthermore, and equally important, it can lower anxiety and stress while boosting mood by activating the sympathetic nervous system that responds to contact with cold water by increasing epinephrine (adrenaline), but also lowers the release of cytokine which is directly correlated to immune response. A combination of cold plunges, meditation and breathing exercises, can lower inflammation and strengthen the immune system, decreasing the chances of autoimmune reactions that range from a simple flu to more serious conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.
While plunging in water is not for everyone, a cold shower is indeed more accessible and it comes with many benefits from tightening the skin to muscle soreness, but also mood, anxiety and immunity.
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