What is an Ice Bath and Cold Immersion?
An ice bath is usually referring to:
- Submerging yourself in cold water up to neck level, loaded with ice.
- Water temperature is between 32°- 59°F.
- Colder water = less time required for adaptive response and health benefits.
- Ice bathing at 59° for 4 – 6 minutes = Ice Bathing at 39° 20 to 40 seconds.
- Ice bath is both an action (verb) and a product (noun). You take an ice bath and you can buy an ice bath.
Other words being used for ice bath include:
- Cold plunge
- Cold tub
- Cold spa
- Cold immersion therapy
- Cold exposure
- Cold water therapy
- Winter swimming
- Cold water recovery
- Ice tub
Ice Bathing is Part of Cold Immersion Therapy.
Are all these terms referring to the same thing?
All of these words are being used to describe the same activity—exposing yourself to water at 59° or colder. As of now ice bath is the most common term searched among these.
Ice bathing or cold immersion therapy was traditionally done in nature in ocean, lakes, and rivers.
You see many enthusiasts carve out ice in frozen lakes to plunge into the water below 33° - 36° F.
To replicate this experience, filling tubs or containers with ice and water has become mainstream practice. In addition, cold showers that can reach 59° can be effective, although they have not been studied as much as full body cold immersion.
Ice Baths or cold tubs that are fully self-sustained have emerged as a product category. Think of it like a cold spa or a cold jacuzzi.
Do it Yourself DIY ice baths can take 15 to 20 minutes to set up depending on water flow rate and the amount of ice. Chest freezers must be turned on and off precisely to prevent solid ice from forming and are not built for water use.
There are many ways to approach cold therapy. Perhaps the most elegant, versatile in helping you grow cold tolerance and experience health benefits are self-sustained ice baths.
Rather than dealing with the hassles of prep times, there are ice baths on the market that keep water temperature constant between 36°-59° F, qualifying as cold immersion therapy without the need for ice and set up times.