What are cold baths and ice baths?
Cold bath and ice bath are actually the same thing, but with different names. Cold bathing refers to bathing in very cold water, such as in the sea in autumn, and ice bathing refers to bathing in ice water, such as a lake in winter for example.
Why take a cold bath?
...and what happens in the body when exposed to cold water?
If you are new to cold swimming, it may seem strange that you would voluntarily jump into near-freezing water, but there are actually many scientifically proven health benefits to doing so. These are just some of them...
Better and stronger immune system
Exposing your body to cold water can increase the body's production of white blood cells, blood cells that in turn act as the body's defense cells.
In addition to that, the body is also used to different types of temperatures and environments such as extreme cold, which forces it to adapt and become stronger.
Improved sleep
Cold baths lower the body's temperature, which is similar to the natural temperature drop that occurs before falling asleep.
Self-lowering your body temperature before bedtime can also help create a circadian rhythm that suits you well and helps you sleep better. This in turn improves other aspects such as increasing the energy you have the next day and the quality of life in general.
Better at coping with cold temperatures
The human body always tries to adapt in the best way to the environment it finds itself in in order to have the best opportunities to survive there.
This means that the more cold baths you take, the more you communicate to your body that extreme cold is a recurring element in life, which means that the body must somehow keep warm. It does this by creating so-called brown fat.
Brown fat, or brown fat cells, is a type of fat that is activated when the body needs to warm up. The brown fat then uses normal fat, or white fat as it is also called, and uses it to heat up the body.
Taking a cold bath can therefore also help with weight loss for those who need it.
Faster recovery in cold baths
Taking an ice bath can help you recover after exercise in a good way, as what happens in the body at the cold temperatures, among other things, causes the blood vessels to constrict, which in turn makes it harder for inflammatory substances to travel through the body via the blood.
Cold baths and cold have a good tendency to strengthen and improve one's mental strength and raise one's threshold for pain.
Tips for safe cold baths
And what risks are there?
Jumping into a lake or a bathtub with near-freezing water can be dangerous if not done correctly. Here is a list of what you should do when taking cold baths:
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Always be sober when taking a cold bath. Bathing under the influence, even if it is a lukewarm temperature, involves risks to your life and health that are never worth it.
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Take it step by step. To get the effects of cold water, you don't have to be near zero degrees every time, according to research. The main thing is that it feels cold for the bather. Over time, you can gradually lower the temperature, as long as you know that you can handle the water you are going into.
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If you have underlying health problems , it is very important that you talk to a doctor before starting cold baths. Cold baths can be a shock to the system and, for example, lead to a heart attack, even in relatively young and healthy people, if one is not careful.
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If you are above cold water, it may be a good idea to start with a cold shower. It is easier to step out of shower water than to step out of an ice bath if the water turns out to be too cold. If you have never bathed in very cold water before, it is very difficult to know what is happening in the body.
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Cold swimming together with someone , or at least take someone with you if you are going to swim in a frozen lake and if you are not experienced. If you don't know how you will react (and it is shocking to the body and to you to go into a frozen lake) it is important to take someone with you in case something serious happens.
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Don't stay in too long. You probably won't last any length of time in any case (very few people do) but don't stay longer than feels safe and secure. You can injure yourself in such cold water if you are not careful.
How should you take a cold bath?
Jumping into an ice bath has many different positive and good effects on the body, both long and short term. However, it is important to know what to do to achieve these positive effects.
Go in slowly
To begin with, it is best if you go into the cold water slowly. We do not recommend in any way jumping in (if it is a lake or the sea we are talking about). Cold water can have an incredibly shocking effect on the body and if you can't handle it, you're likely to have a negative experience of it all.
It can also be more painful to take it easy, but it is important not to lose control over what is happening in the body.
Take control of your breathing
It's easy to lose control of your breathing when you step into the freezing water, and that's okay at first, and hard to avoid on your first few dives. However, it should decrease over time more and more, the more regularly you go into the ice bath. As with anything else, you get better at it the more you do it and practice.
Do not hyperventilate in the water
You need to control your breathing, but you don't want to hyperventilate in the water. When you hyperventilate you can lose consciousness which can lead to drowning accidents, and especially when in such cold water it can lead to other horrors even if you don't drown like frostbite and the like.
We make this point because many who take a cold bath use the Wim Hof method and it may happen that you start hyperventilating in the water for increased effect, but it can be life-threatening, so do that breathing before you go into the water and it should work Good.
What temperature should one's bath be?
You can aim for between 1 and 15 degrees in the water you bathe in. As a rule of thumb, it is good to remember that you can be in the water for as many minutes as it is cold in degrees, so if it is 1 degree you bathe for 1 minute, 2 degrees for 2 minutes, etc.
It is also good to remember that you can vary and test yourself with this. Ice baths are something highly personal, how well you handle them and what suits you best.
Portable cold baths
Why portable cold baths?
Making cold baths a part of your everyday life can have many advantages, as previously mentioned, but as many people live out of reach of lakes or may not even have a bathtub at home, it can be very difficult to integrate ice baths into one's life and make it to the habit you want and you won't be able to jump in the cold as many times as you want just as easily.
Cold bath at home
Having a portable cold bath at home (which also doesn't take up much space) increases the possibilities of easy cold bathing every day, whether you take a bath first thing in the morning, after training or before going to bed. Of course, you choose for yourself.
Having a portable ice bath at home then has the effect of increasing the power you have over your own health, over your own body, and you can feel better for longer during the day.
What portable cold baths are there?
At Swedish Cold there are several selections of different cold baths, in all different price ranges. Everything from simple tubs that you can easily put together yourself and that can be transported without problems (perfect for beginners), to more advanced, self-propelled ice baths.
Max Recovery
The simplest and most budget-friendly of Swedish Cold's ice baths is Max Recovery . It is quick to put together, all that is needed is to insert plastic rods around it, and then inflate the ring at the top. Then just fill the tub and jump in.
What you should keep in mind with Max Recovery is that it is not self-propelled and does not maintain the temperature on its own, so then you can either have it in ice or have the cold bath outside if the outside temperatures keep it cold.
Cold Tub
This cold bath from Swedish Cold is a simple but powerful tub that maintains the temperature on its own. It easily fits one person and holds 410 liters of water.
It is not as portable as Max Recovery but works well for those who have a little less space to use.
Cold Station
Cold Station is a cold bath that is large and efficient for the enthusiast. It holds 480 liters and has its own cooling system so that you easily get the temperature and effect you are looking for. Its size means you can sit longer in this ice bath.
Cold Plunge
Cold Plunge is like a luxurious bathtub and holds 500 liters of water. Its built-in cooling system gives you the opportunity to very easily improve both your mental state and immune system.
Generation 4S
This tub for ice baths is good for those who want to invest in their health and who have a little more space. It holds up to 600 liters and has its own seat inside.
Of course, this also has its own cooling system and comes with a covering part that gives it more placement options and means that it can also be stored outside.
Generation 5
Ice bath Generation 5 is the best cold bath Swedish Cold recommends. Among other things, it holds 568 liters and is also suitable for training centers and spa facilities.