1. Hormetic Stressor: 

Cold exposure is an extremely potent tool that can cause that healthy stress response. By changing our attitude to the cold, and preparing ourselves for the cold through the breath, we influence our bodily reactions. We prime our body to cope better with this stressor. Consequently, this leads to more stress resilience in the long run, as we are increasing our stress threshold. The benefits extend past the immediate context of cold exposure and help with other stressful situations in everyday life. 

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2. Cardiovascular Workout:

Going into the cold trains our smooth vascular muscles inside our blood vessells to rapidly contract and relax. Our body uses these muscles to close our vessels (vasoconstriction), but then also, open them up again when necessary (vasodilation).  Strong vascular muscles helps the heart move blood around the body. Without stimuli like the cold these muscles don't work as much and they atrophie. This means our hearts have to work harder and harder to compensate. Training these vascular muscles with the cold means that we make these vascular muscles more flexible and in time gain more control over them. Keeping this system healthy and flowing is vital for good health, the cold offers a great way to train and improve the whole cardiovascular system. It is a powerful and effective cardiovascular workout. (to the same degree as going for a run!)

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3. Improvoing Thermoregulation:

Going into the cold causes our bodies natural defences to kick in, in order to keep our internal temperature where it needs to be, (36.6c - 37c). When our body’s temperature rises, receptors in the skin and the hypothalamus sense the temperature change. This change triggers a command from the brain, which causes a response. When it's hot, our body begins to sweat, causing vasodilation, vessels opening, to release heat. This helps the body temperature to decrease.  When exposed to cold, our body automatically closes off the bloodstream to the less vital parts of the body (legs and arms) so that more warmth can be kept in the core and the vital body parts (the heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, and head).  By going into an ice bath with proper technqiue we can begin to possitively influence this system. Maintain our body temperature, quicker for longer.  This allows us to stay in optimal shape in our daily life as our body is trained to adapt and thrive already due to our regular deliberate exposure to the cold.

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4. Mental Wellbeing:

Noradrenaline is a hormone secreted by our brain that improves focus, attention, diligence, and mood. Pharmacological medications treating ADHD and depression target low noradrenaline levels. When we have an ice bath study's show that we can release 530% more Neurodrenaline, (that's more than doing a bungiee jump for the first time). Dopamine, another happy hormone, is also increased by 250% through deliberate cold exposure and these levels stay in our system for 2.5 hours. (Cocain causes a 250% dopamine release for only 9 minutes, taking an ice bath releases the same amount of dopamine for 2.5 hours!) Studies are ongoing on exactly why there are so many anecdotal accounts of individuals with depressive symptoms, ADHD etc finding mood stabilisation and releif from daily cold exposure. However we can assume, even with just with the above information, that cold exposure causes a net positive effect on mental wellbeing.

5. The Immune System and Lowering Inflammation:

The hormones noradrenaline, cortisol and adrenaline released by cold exposure act as anti-inflammatory agents and thus cold exposure can help against chronic inflammation, the sympotoms of illness and boost the bodies natural healing response. Causing you to feel less sick, recover faster and heal from long term inflamation. One study in 2016, showed that even just taking one cold shower a day resulted in a drop in sick leave from work of 29% compaired to those who didn't take a cold shower! The participants also reported feeling less sick when they were ill and more able to carry on with their daily lives. The immunes system is a source of continued study as we learn more about how beneiftial this practise is. Take a look at the links below for more detailed information.