Cold Plunge Benefits
It may feel like we are in a constant battle against fat but the truth is, we need fat to live. The fancy word for fat is “adipose tissue”. Our bodies are made up of two kinds of adipose tissue, white fat and brown fat. BAT (brown adipose tissue) is the acronym for brown fat, and it is desirable for our health and wellness to transform our white fat into BAT (brown fat). Increasing our BAT can do many things to improve our physical and mental health and exposing our bodies to temperature variation, especially a cold plunge bath, is a simple and effective way to do that.
So why is it a good thing to increase our BAT? Who cares what color our fat is? Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has the unique ability to burn energy and generate heat in a process known as thermogenesis. Our bodies are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) and many things are happening on a cellular level including the work mitochondria is doing in our cells. Mitochondria is the substance in your cells that creates cellular energy, so it supports metabolism. BAT is rich in mitochondria and that is why brown fat is better than white fat. You could think of it as your brown fat is working for you increasing your metabolism thereby burning calories more quickly. The good news is, there are ways for you to transform your white fat into brown fat. The cold plunge, now offered at our new Resurrection Health facility, may be just what you’re looking for if you are interested in improving your mood and energy levels, losing weight, decreasing cardiovascular disease and diabetes and many other short-term and long-term improvements for your health and wellness.
The benefits of a cold plunge treatment are so numerous it is hard to cover in one blogpost, entire books have been written on the subject. The practice of submersion in cold water, or even exposure to cold weather outside, increases our sensitivity to insulin which decreases the chance of developing Type 2 diabetes. The increased metabolism enhances glucose and lipid metabolism which helps us have a healthier liver and reduces the risk of fatty plaque formation in our arteries, so we have less chance of heart disease and strokes. Regular cold plunge therapy can also reduce blood pressure and heart rate. There are many long-term benefits of cold plunge therapy.
Cold plunges support our immune system by stimulating leukocytes. The leukocytes, or white blood cells, fight off illness. Cold also causes our lymphatic system to contract, forcing fluids through our lymph nodes, which aids in detoxing the body and strengthening our immune system.
Many athletes have discovered that a cold plunge can give them a performance advantage due to the reduction of inflammation in our muscles and joints. According to studies at the Cleveland Clinic, cold therapy eases muscle soreness after a workout and decreases inflammation. When we are exposed to cold, our blood vessels constrict so blood gets pushed to organs, and, as a result our blood acquires more oxygen and becomes super nutrient rich. When our bodies heat up after the plunge, our vessels expand causing the oxygen and nutrients to rush back to our tissues which helps flush out inflammation.
And if all the long-term benefits aren’t enough, cold plunge baths can also improve mental health including alertness, mood improvement, higher energy levels and better sleep regulation. A cold plunge activates our sympathetic nervous system, which releases catecholamines such as dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine, into our bodies. These chemicals, when released in your bloodstream, promote alertness and help with stress/mood control. Many clients report feeling calmer after a cold plunge and sleeping better at night.
Janelle Pattengale RN, owner of Resurrection Health, says that due to the numerous benefits and the science of cold therapy, providing a cold plunge tub was the logical next step to offer clients who are seeking health and wellness. "Personally, I have found the cold plunge to be mood enhancing and helps to recover my sore muscles from working out. The long-term benefits are DNA repair and the insulin sensitivity/risk reduction it supports when one builds this into their routine by reaching the 11-minute interval per week guidance. Cold plunge therapy goes hand-in-hand with our other wellness offerings to provide a one stop shop for anyone seeking to enhance their lives with our different innovative healthcare services.”
Obviously there have been many advances in modern medicine and wellness over the years, but a cold plunge bath is not one of them. People who lived 3500 years ago in Greece appreciated the benefits of sitting in a cold tub and it is believed Hippocrates himself was a proponent of the practice. We have known for a long time that it is good to periodically expose ourselves to cold temperatures to improve our resistance to illness, teach our bodies to adjust to stress and help us sleep better at night. That’s why your mother buddled you up and sent you out sometimes on a cold winters day, we instinctively know it’s a good idea.
If you are wondering about the shock of jumping in a cold plunge bath, you might want to consider training your body to cold exposure gradually. Some people start by placing their hand in a bowl of cold water or allow the water to be cold the first few seconds of your next shower. Going for walks on colder days is helpful in training your body to adapt and to change your white fat into BAT.
Increasing our brown fat is kind of like money or investments in the bank, the interest works for us. We can help our bodies turn white fat to brown fat, so likewise, our fat is working for us. Isn’t that cool? Fearfully and wonderfully made indeed!
If you would like to learn more about this ancient yet brand-new therapy at Resurrection Health, please check out the video listed under our “cold plunge/sauna” tab on our website. You can book online or call us for an appointment.
Single sessions are available at $20 per session and monthly memberships are $50 per month. Cold plunge is a safe and effective way to enhance your wellness regimen, please call us for questions.
