There are a host of benefits to be derived from some regular exposure to cold water - or indeed, just cold. Exactly how you do it, how often, and in what format is somewhat a matter of personal preference, and there are pros and cons to the different approaches, but the evidence is mounting that for many people the practise is a useful one.

Do you do this? Are you a regular partaker of cold showers? A lake, river, or sea swimmer?

If you are, you are probably already convinced of the benefits (and feel free to skip this article, and the next one, if so), but if you aren’t, and are skeptical (understandably) read on and find out if this could be for you.

Cold water is a good companion to some of the other practices we do - such as resistance training and HIIT, and it also assists in blood sugar control and sleep, for instance. We’ll go into the full range of benefits in this article.

Understandably, human beings - and other animals - are often eluctant to get cold and wet. It’s not generally deemed a pleasant experience and if you have some sort of vulnerability - you’ve just been born, or you’re injured, or very underweight, or you are in a Jane Austen novel- and the exposure is prolonged, there’s a proper risk to life! Hypothermia is real, and even a relatively small drop in your core temperature is something your body is keen to avoid.

So for many - most? - people, cold water only seems appealing when the air temperature is high, when the risk of going the other way and overheating may be a concern. But just because something isn’t appealing doesn’t mean it isn’t good for us, it all depends on the dose and the circumstances.

You might be interested in the minimum effective dose, or as you get more into it, you might find yourself wondering how much cold you can get away with exposing yourself to. There’s always adaptation to look out for, so over time you may have to do a bit more to get the same effect.

The most usual ways to access cold water are through cold showers, ice baths (improvised or specialised), dousing (pouring water over your head and body) and natural water, such as lakes, rivers and the sea. You may prefer one over another, or find that one is easier for you to manage, or you may do a mixture. You might feel the need for super cold water, but in fact anything below 15 degrees C will benefit you. So, like HIIT and SIT, you don’t have to do the most extreme version to feel benefits -and if doing a more moderate version means you do it more often and more willingly, that might well be a good thing!

So what are the key benefits?

Perhaps one of the most compelling reasons to do CWE is because it boosts mood and relieves stress. For many, this is a particularly good (and perhaps counterintuitive) reason to do it in the autumn/winter.

It does this by boosting those feel-good brain chemicals - endorphins - and by stimulating the sympathetic nervous system, leading to improved mood and reduced stress.

This can be particularly helpful for those dealing with hormonal fluctuations or deficiencies, which can otherwise lead to mood swings, anxiety or depression.

Another great reason - especially if you’ve been working hard physically with resistance training, is that it eases muscle and joint pain. Essentially, CWE is anti-inflammatory - not just in specific areas, but systemically.

Chronic low-level inflammation tends to increase with age and is further exacerbated during menopause, and low levels of estrogen can lead to joint pain and stiffness. CWE can effectively alleviate these issues.

Another excellent reason to embrace cold water exposure is that it improves sleep quality.

There aren’t many people nowadays that wouldn’t welcome improved sleep. We’ve covered this a fair bit, and there are many factors that go into it, but cold water can really help.

Whilst many people don’t sleep well, it is often particularly an issue for menopausal and perimenopausal women, where hormonal changes and night sweats come into play. Cold water therapy helps regulate the body’s circadian rhythm, aiding better sleep. It can also help regulate body temperature and provide relief from hot flushes and night sweats These result from an imbalance in oestrogen which causes oversensitivity of the hypothalamus - the body believes the core temperature is too high and does what it can through vasodilation and sweating to quickly cool down - although it just feels like your body is generating crazy amounts of heat! Cold showers or cold dips can be especially effective in cooling the body and reducing the frequency and severity of these symptoms.

It’s for a similar reason that a hot bath in the evening can aid sleep - the body temperature rises due to immersion in the hot water, and then the cooling that happens when you get out of the bath is part of the signal for sleep. You can enhance this effect by having a hot bath and then rinsing down with cool-ish water. Not cold, as the change in temperature would be stimulating, but tepid enough to accelerate the natural cooling.

Another useful effect of cold water is that it improves circulation - again, many women suffer with poor circulation, and yet again, it isn’t something that menopause and perimenopause improve!

It works because the cold water forces the body to pump blood more efficiently to vital organs to maintain core temperature, improving overall circulation. I know for sure that my circulation improved significantly over the weeks that I did daily cold water exposure last year, and it was very welcome to have a better blood supply to my extremities.

The cold water also enhances skin, connective tissue, and hair health

The dryness and wrinkling that we experience as we age and as oestrogen declines is important because of what it indicates in terms of the elasticity and moisture content of our connective tissue. Cold water increases blood flow and hydration to the skin and to the connective tissue, and can also help retain moisture in hair, preventing dryness and breakage.

Perhaps most importantly, cold exposure (as I mentioned before, it doesn’t have to be cold water, but it is more efficient than sitting out in cold air, and more easy to arrange in the months where the air temperature is higher) Boosts Immune Function

Regular exposure to cold water has been linked to enhanced immune function. The cold triggers an increase in white blood cell production, which helps the body fight off infections and inflammation. This can be beneficial for overall health and well-being, particularly during the stages of hormonal change when immune function might decline.

This increase in white blood cell production comes about because the cold water stresses the body, and it’s the response to this stress that causes the increase in the white blood cells. It is important, however, that the immune system isn’t already under a lot of stress when you undertake cold water exposure - that is to say, if you are actively fighting something off, this is not the time to wallow in very cold water. This is the origin of the idea that going out in cold wet weather will cause you to catch a cold. In the absence of any pathogens, just getting cold and wet, unless you are the heroine of certain novels, will not cause you to become ill. If you are on the verge of succumbing to whatever is currently going around, the cold could tip you over the edge.

Longer fasts also achieve the same result, and cancer patients who need their white blood cell count to be at a certain level in order to undergo treatment have successfully used fasting and cold exposure to boost their levels. 

Cold water therapy has been associated with enhanced mental clarity and focus due to increased blood flow to the brain. Additionally, regularly practicing cold exposure can build resilience to stress, aiding in mental toughness and cognitive functioning.

Let’s be honest. Resilience is partly built by stress exposure. The flip side of this coin, which people often forget about, is rest and recuperation. But cold water works to build resilience because it is inherently challenging.

I mean there are those that describe super cold water as “lush”. I once observed someone at a plunge pool saying that the only time she really felt comfortable and alive was when she was in properly cold water. That’s inconvenient!

But for most people, the prospect of getting into cold water, or having cold water poured over them, is inherently challenging. The body definitely responds to extreme cold as a stressor, and it certainly takes some people (ahem, my husband) quite some time to overcome this initial aversion.

But those feel-good hormones and brain chemicals that we mentioned earlier in the week? Once they kick in, the feeling of well-being can be extraordinary.

Plus, there’s the smug factor.

You might also remember that a simple (not easy) way to gain more confidence is to say you’ll do something, and do it. So committing to regular - daily if you like - cold water exposure and actually doing it, this challenging thing, can really boost your confidence. 

Remember, you don’t have to make it a mammoth challenge to give yourself that confidence. 

In the next article on this topic we’ll look at different ways to embrace the cold, with tips on how to incorporate this practise into your life if you would like to.

Let me know how you get on - if you decide to give it a go, and what benefits you notice.