An important question to ask yourself when setting up your ice bath for your first cold plunge is “How long should I stay in the ice bath for?”. There is a lot of mixed and misleading information out there, so we decided to provide a scientifically-backed perspective of how cold your ice bath really should be.
The answer:
- Based on the latest body of scientific research, individuals should aim to spend 11 minutes PER WEEK in the ice bath to drive maximum benefits.
- NOTE: this 11 mins can (and should) be split into different sessions. E.g. 5 mins on Monday, 6 mins on Friday.
- An important note is that the total amount you should stay in an ice bath in an individual session varies greatly with water temperature. If you are plunging into a moderate cold bath (60°F or 15.6°C) it is usually safe to stay into the bath from 5-10 minutes. If you are, on the other hand, taking a cold plunge below 50°F (10°C) - it is advised to only stay in the tub 5 minutes or less.
- At the end of the day, the amount of time you spend in the ice bath will come down to personal preference. It’s incredibly important to listen to your body. You should ultimately feel the uncomfortable shock to the nervous system that one could expect from entering a cold plunge while not feeling like you are unbearably cold or about to do permanent damage to your body.
- It’s also very important to ease into your first few sessions. Start with a shorter amount of time for your first few plunges and work your way up to longer submersions. This way you can get a sense of what works for your body.
A quality ice bath is extremely important to manage water temperature and ensure maximum benefit for your body and mind. Shop now at the VITALICE Ice Bath store to get your first at-home ice bath and ice bath thermometer to effectively ease into the practice using the tips and tricks above.
