Everyone and their mom seems to be talking about cold plunging right now. Celebs like Kate Middleton and Brooke Shields have even openly shared their experiences with the practice. But despite all the positive testimonials surrounding this chilly health hack, scientific research into its actual health perks are still ongoing. Now, there’s a new study that suggests that cold plunging can literally impact you on a cellular level, triggering them to start a process called autophagy that can have total-body benefits. In fact, doctors swear this cellular impact could help support your overall health and longevity. Women’s Health asked experts for their insights on the new study, and the latest health findings to better understand the phenomenon. Meet the experts: Joseph J. Ciotola, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon at Baltimore’s Mercy Medical Center who has studied with cold plunge expert Wim Hof; Bert Mandelbaum, MD, is a sports medicine specialist and co-director of the Regenerative Orthobiologic Center at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics in Los Angeles; Phillip Williams, MD, is an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Baylor College of Medicine; lead study author Kelli King, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow at University of Ottawa’s School of Human Kinetics.
What did the study find?
The study, which was published in the journal Advanced Biology, had 10 healthy young men do a cold plunge for an hour every day for a week straight. The researchers collected blood samples before and after the plunges to look at how the participants’ cells responded to the cold plunges. “We found that in as little as four days, cold water plunges can reduce cellular stress and increase a cellular protective mechanism called autophagy,” says lead study author Kelli King, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at University of Ottawa’s School of Human Kinetics. “This mechanism helps remove damaged proteins and organelles in the body and is critical during stressful conditions—such as cold exposure—to facilitate cell survival.”
How do cold plunges change your cells?
Exposure to cold is what’s known to doctors as a hormetic stressor, explains Joseph J. Ciotola, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Baltimore’s Mercy Medical Center who has studied with cold plunge expert Wim Hof. And this “stressor” is actually good for you in moderation, as it helps your body build resilience and greater tolerance to distress. “This uses your body’s natural adaptive abilities and stimulates the cells with the cold,” he says. “These hormetic stressors, which also include fasting and heat exposure from saunas, use your body’s own potential to heal, ultimately making it more resistant to disease.” In this instance, by repeatedly exposing yourself to cold temperatures like you’d experience with a cold plunge, your body learns to more effectively deal with extreme environmental conditions, King says. Doing things like cold plunges “trains the body to adapt and survive,” says Bert Mandelbaum, MD, sports medicine specialist and co-director of the Regenerative Orthobiologic Center at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics in Los Angeles. “Hormetic stressors like cold plunges are really getting us to perform at the highest level and to adapt to different stresses,” he adds.
What are the health benefits?
The health benefits from this particular study are all thanks to a process called autophagy. Autophagy specifically helps clear out damaged proteins, which are called protein aggregates and are a precursor to several chronic conditions, she explains. This allows healthier cells to thrive. “There is growing literature that autophagy is a key component in disease prevention, including metabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as certain cancers,” King says. High rates of autophagy can even help to regulate uncontrolled cell growth, i.e. cancer, King says.
What else can cold plunges help with?
A lot of the perks around cold plunges so far have been linked to inflammation and mental health. “Cold plunges can reduce inflammation, accelerate muscle recovery, and ease joint pain—key for athletic performance and post-surgical rehab,” says Phillip Williams, MD, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. “They also trigger endorphin release, improving mood and stress resilience.” Again, research into the potential perks of cold plunges is ongoing. So, it’s entirely possible that there are more health benefits still to be discovered in the future.
What counts as a “cold plunge”?
This particular study had participants do cold plunges in water that was 57.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Most research into cold plunges focuses on temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. For beginners, it can be good to start with 30 seconds to a minute of exposure to the water. Once you’ve done it more often, you can work up to five to 10 minutes at a time, per the Mayo Clinic. In this study, the participants did 60-minute cold plunges, but you don’t need to stay in that long to reap some of the other established brain and anti-inflammation benefits!
