Build Resilience and Calm your Nervous System
Most people have heard of wild swimming, plunge pools and ice baths for sports recovery. You may have heard that Cold Water Therapy is a thing, but what is it for and why should you consider it?
Read about what it does for your nervous system, how it can help with stress management and how I got on!
It's Nothing New
Cold Water Therapy (CWT) dates back to ancient civilisations. Anyone who has visited the Roman Baths in Bath will be aware that alongside the hot baths is a frigidarium (a room with a cool plunge pool.) The Greeks and Romans acknowledged cold water immersion for its therapeutic benefits.
Centuries later, in the early 1700s, medical physicians were studying and publishing the health benefits of CWT. In the 1840s Drs Wilson & Gully established a ‘Water Cure’ facility in Malvern, frequented by celebrities of the time, Darwin, Dickens, Nightingale and Lord Tennison.
Having read books and listened to podcasts by qualified healthcare practitioners and many wellness ‘gurus’, including Wim 'Iceman' Hoff, I knew about the positive impact that cold water immersion can have on your nervous system. I’m also fascinated by Scandinavian culture and watch in awe at how they can plunge into icy water through a whole cut into the ice. I do fancy wild swimming, but the current state of our waterways puts me off. So, a couple of months ago I decided to try cold showering as an experiment. I wanted to see how difficult it would be, how sustainable it was for me and how it made me feel.
Cold Water Therapy for Stress Relief
Most people have heard of the ‘fight or flight’ response which is controlled by the sympathetic system. The parasympathetic system is responsible for the ‘rest and digest’ phase which should kick in after a stressful event. The vagus nerve is part of the parasympathetic nervous system. Exposing the body to cold water is one way in which we can stimulate the vagus nerve and regular exposure increases vagal tone. Higher vagal tone means better resilience and an improved ability to adapt to situations. Put very simply, good vagal tone allows us to transition between stress and relaxation more effectively.
The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve in the body, running from the brain down each side of the neck down the abdomen to the large intestine. It carries information between the brain and the internal organs. It controls functions including digestion, heart rate, mood and the body’s inflammation response. Activities such as breathing, meditation, gentle exercise (such as yoga) and cold exposure can stimulate, and therefore improve the tone of, the vagus nerve. Cold water therapy can therefore be an effective tool for stress relief.
Stimulating the vagus nerve improves vagal tone. Improving vagal tone improves your ability to respond appropriately to stress.Â
You may have heard of Heart Rate Variability (HRV). HRV is the variation between your heart beats. The more variable the rate, the more the body is able to adjust to situations, raising and lowering and finding balance. It means that your sympathetic and parasympathetic systems are working well together in balance. Devices including some smart watches can measure HRV. There are some free apps which you can download to measure HRV by putting your finger over your phone’s camera. A stronger vagal tone is signified by a higher HRV. If you have a low HRV, perhaps consider cold showering!
My Cold Water Experience So Far...
Day 1.
I had a hot shower as normal and, as I was nearing what would normally have been the end of my shower, I knew the time was fast approaching when I was supposed to turn the temperature control to cold. (I might have delayed this for a while..) Once I finally dropped the temperature I took a sharp intake of breath and stood with my shoulders around my ears and all my muscles tensed. (This wasn’t what I was supposed to be doing…) I knew the first thing that I had to do was focus on my breath and try and regulate it to bring it as close to a normal breathing rate as possible. I also needed to try and not tense my muscles, to relax. Well, that was a little easier said than done. On this first attempt, I didn’t last that long. I did however know that I would try again tomorrow. When I got out of the shower I realised that I had that just-got-out-of-a-cold-English-sea feeling - warm and tingly. It last for hours. It felt good and gave me a reason to want to persevere.
Day 2.
I had the feeling of knowing what was coming when I got into the shower on day 2. I can’t say I was looking forward to it greatly, but I was looking forward to the after effects. As I turned the dial down again I realised, rather disappointingly, that I hadn’t actually turned the dial as far as it would go, the day before. This meant that today it was even colder. Again, I knew that I just had to regulate my breathing and stick with it. 'Calm my breath and relax'. I was counting and wanted to get to 60 secs, but I was aware that my breathing and counting were both too fast. I could manage about 20 seconds tops. (At this point, if you haven’t already realised that this wasn't a measured scientific experiment I should probably point that out.)
Roll on a week and things started to change. I was definitely noticing that I could 1) control my breathing, 2) stay under the cold water for longer and 3) relax more muscles than when I first started. I was averaging about 45 seconds. What I also learnt is that I was feeling a big difference during the day; a lot more ‘level’. Things that might have once triggered a stress response weren’t anymore. To the extent that when a team of groundworkers stopped outside the house and started noisily doing god-knows-what (my absolute peace-destroying pet hate), it didn’t raise a response from me. And it wasn’t a one off. I soon realised that I was feeling this levelling effect, daily.
As the days progressed I got to the point where I was actually looking forward to my cold shower because I knew how great I was going to feel. It was invigorating. I also got to the point (believe this or not) where I was wanting to get the hot part of my shower over and done with as quickly as possible, because I was enjoying the cold part so much more. I found myself spending longer under the cold water than under the hot. Some days I stood there and started day dreaming and then caught myself, realising that I should probably get out as I had things to do.
As I write this it’s mid-September and I’ve been cold showering for the last couple of months. Astrological Autumn starts this weekend. Autumn is my favourite season, but it has to be said that I am already feeling it's impact in the mornings. The incoming cold water suddenly seems a lot colder and my smugness about how well I had adapted to this cold showering malarky has slightly taken a tumble as of this week! It took my breath away again. But I’m actually pretty happy about that. When the body gets used to what is asked of it, it doesn’t have to work as hard. Like when weight training you need to increase the weight in order to continue to progress; the colder water has provided me with more challenge which will only serve to improve my vagal tone further and help to further strengthen my resilience. At this point all I can say is wish me luck for winter!!
So, I hope I've convinced you to give it a try. If I have, please bear in mind that CWT isn’t for everybody including certain age groups and people with certain medical conditions. Always seek medical advice before giving any form of CWT a go.
P.S. Don’t forget to switch the temperature back to normal otherwise you might not be in good books with the next person to use the shower after you!
#coldwatertherapy #coldshower #vagaltone #nervoussystem #parasympathetic #restanddigest #stressmanagement #stressrelief
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