Although ice baths might seem new, they're far from it. Cultures dating as far back as the ancient Greeks several thousand years ago used cold water therapy for physical and mental health benefits, much like today.

Cold water therapy was also prominently used in ancient Rome and Japan, as well as in several Native American tribes, and throughout many Scandinavian countries. Scandinavians with Viking roots practiced "winter bathing" in natural near-freezing temperature waters.

Strikingly, across all these cultures, the reasons for practicing cold water therapy were much the same: enhancing physical health, mental resilience, and spiritual clarity. 

Science has caught up to many of the long anecdotal claims of cold therapy for treating muscle soreness, increasing mental clarity, enhancing physical performance, boosting moods, and even strengthening mental resilience. 

Across neuroscience, exercise physiology, and psychology, we now understand the physical changes happening in the brain and the body from exposure to cold therapy. 

These well-proven and overwhelmingly positive effects are exactly what's driven the modern-day resurgence of cold therapy in recent years. 

So how exactly do ice baths work?

When you expose your body to cold temperatures, thermoreceptors (specialized nerve cells) in the skin send an alert to the hypothalamus that your temperature is dropping. The hypothalamus responds with a series of intracellular signals and increased production of certain hormones.

Two of the hormones that are upregulated are stress hormones known as epinephrine (adrenaline), and norepinephrine. They both contribute to the "fight or flight" response, which you'll know first-hand if you've cold plunged before.

The fight or flight response increases your heart rate and blood flow which results in more oxygen to the brain and a heightened state of alertness. 

You'll also notice your blood vessels constricting in your limbs to send blood toward your vital organs to better regulate your core temperature. This means your limbs will feel cold, you'll likely experience some shivering, and you'll have to exert some serious willpower not to jump out. 

Altogether, this process has some pretty substantial benefits stemming from the hormonal adaptations, as well as anti-inflammatory effects from increased circulation helping to flush out waste products. 

These aren't the only important components of cold therapy though. There are also significant changes that take place in the brain from overcoming the mental resistance of doing something challenging.

You can think of it as training for your brain; the pre-frontal cortex more specifically. The result is your brain becomes more adept at overcoming similar challenges and overall more resilient to stress.

If one thing is clear, it's that there are many benefits from taking ice baths and therefore just as many different reasons to do them. Whether you're after better muscle recovery, changes to your everyday health, or simply increased energy, cold therapy can do the trick.

Understanding what effect you want can help you optimize your experience, so here are a few archetypes of cold plunge use to help direct your own strategy.

Fighters generally have intense training regimes to increase both physical and mental toughness. They need to learn to become adept at performing under intense pressure, and they need help physically recovering from all the wear and tear they put their bodies through.

Ice baths can help with all of this, so they've become a very popular recovery tool for fighters. They speed up sore muscle recovery, relieve aches and pains, reduce swelling, and potentially even help with injury recovery. This is all incredibly important for fighters with densely packed training schedules who need to stay at the top of their game to be ready for their next training session. 

Another major reason fighters use ice baths has to do with the mental benefits. As mentioned earlier, the body will go into "fight or flight" mode while immersed in cold water, not unlike what happens in an actual fight. Fighters can therefore practice becoming mentally resilient and maintaining their composure while their system is flooded with adrenaline.

Athletes are another major ice bath user archetype. Much like fighters, athletes are concerned with speedy muscle recovery to help them keep up with rigorous training schedules. After all, it's not a workout that causes strength to increase itself, but rather the repair and rebuilding period afterward.

Cold immersion therapy has another added benefit for athletes: it can stimulate boosts in human growth hormone which reduces body fat and increases lean muscle mass. Having a lean and efficient body frame is important for most sports, so ice baths are just the edge some athletes need to take their performance to the next level.

Despite how positive ice baths can be, they're not suitable for everyone at all times. Learning to use ice baths as a therapeutic tool requires a bit of practical knowledge and discernment if it's a smart strategy for you. 

If you're unsure, always check with a healthcare practitioner beforehand.

The first group of people that should avoid cold therapy is anyone with a heart condition. Cold therapy puts a small amount of stress on the heart—quite similar to how exercise puts stress on muscles. However, if the heart is in a fragile condition, this can be contraindicated and even dangerous.

Other people who should exercise caution are those with diabetic neuropathy. This means they have poor circulation in their extremities due to vascular damage, and cold therapy could potentially exacerbate this problem.

Finally, cold plunging isn't recommended for children, older adults, or pregnant women. Those with low BMIs should also take a very modest approach to cold therapy.

Anyone new to cold plunging would be wise to start slowly with beginner-friendly temperatures and short durations immersed in water. There is a small risk of cold shock with extremely low temperatures, so strategies like jumping into icy lakes or rivers are never recommended since they can potentially lead to drowning in rare cases.

No doubt you've seen cold plunge tubs for sale online for upwards of $5000. This is a huge barrier to entry for most people interested in trying this lifestyle not only because of the price tag, but also the upkeep, and impracticality of storing a large tub in your home or outdoors with less privacy.

Thankfully, there are newer options available like HomePlunge that can quickly convert your bathtub into a perfectly temperature-controlled cold plunge.