Cold immersion therapy has long been celebrated for its benefits in enhancing physical recovery, reducing muscle soreness, and improving overall well-being. When coupled with breathing retraining, this practice becomes even more powerful, offering profound effects on both the body and mind. In this blog, we’ll delve into the optimal conditions for ice baths, the synergistic benefits of combining cold immersion with breathing exercises, and how this combination impacts the nervous system and mental clarity.

Part 1: What happens to the body with cold immersion and breathing retraining

Part 2: What breathing techniques can you use during your cold immersion therapy

Section 1: What happens to the body with cold immersion and breathing retraining?

Optimal Temperature and Time for Ice Baths

To maximise the benefits of cold immersion therapy, it’s important to adhere to the recommended temperature and duration:

• Temperature: The ideal temperature for an ice bath is between 10-15°C (50-59°F). This range is cold enough to trigger the body’s beneficial responses without posing a significant risk of hypothermia. Experienced ice bath uses can go lower, however, gym lovers beware as extreme low temperature decreases the length of time you are able to stay in the water and reduces the breathing potential benefits.  
• Time: The optimal duration for an ice bath is 10-15 minutes. This time frame allows for sufficient exposure to the cold to achieve the desired effects on muscle recovery and nervous system without overtaxing the body.

The Synergy of Cold Immersion Therapy and Breathing Retraining

Breathing retraining involves practicing specific breathing techniques to improve respiratory efficiency, reduce stress, and enhance overall health. When combined with cold immersion therapy, the benefits are amplified due to the interplay between cold exposure and controlled breathing. Here’s why this combination is so effective:

1. Enhanced Nervous System Regulation: Cold immersion activates the sympathetic nervous system, which helps in building resilience and stress tolerance. Coupling this with breathing retraining, which often targets the parasympathetic nervous system (responsible for rest and relaxation), creates a balanced autonomic response. This can lead to improved heart rate variability (HRV), indicating a healthy and responsive nervous system.
2. Improved Mental Focus and Calmness: The shock of cold immersion requires immediate mental focus, helping to quiet the mind and reduce extraneous thought activity. Practising deep, controlled breathing while immersed in cold water enhances this effect, promoting a state of calm and mental clarity. Techniques such as Wim Hof’s method, which emphasizes controlled hyperventilation followed by breath-holding, are particularly effective in this context.
3. Respiratory Efficiency and Oxygen Utilisation: Cold immersion can make breathing more challenging, which in turn forces the body to become more efficient in its oxygen use. By practising controlled breathing techniques during this time, individuals can train their respiratory system to operate more effectively under stress, improving overall respiratory health and endurance.
4. Stress Reduction and Emotional Resilience: The combined practice of cold immersion and breathing retraining helps to reduce cortisol levels and increase the production of endorphins, leading to lower stress levels and enhanced mood. This combination also builds mental toughness and emotional resilience, making it easier to handle everyday stressors.

Cold Exposure and the ‘Cold Shock’ Response

Cold exposure through rapid cooling of the skin by immersion in cold water produces the ‘cold shock’ response. This response includes several physiological reactions:

• Inspiratory Gasp and Hyperventilation: The initial shock of cold water immersion often causes an involuntary gasp followed by rapid breathing (Tipton, 1989).
• Tachycardia: An increased heart rate is a common response to cold shock.
• Peripheral Vasoconstriction and Hypertension: Blood vessels in the extremities constrict, leading to an increase in blood pressure.
• Reduced Cerebral Blood Flow Velocity: Cold shock can markedly reduce the velocity of blood flow in the brain (Datta & Tipton, 2006; Mantoni et al., 2007; Croft et al., 2013; Barwood et al., 2016).
• Increased Catecholamines: The levels of catecholamines (stress hormones such as adrenaline) in the bloodstream rise significantly during cold exposure (Heymans et al., 1930; Tipton & Golden, 1987; Barwood et al., 2014).

The cold shock response peaks during the first minute of immersion and then diminishes over the next minute as the peripheral thermoreceptors adapt. This initial period is critical for maximizing the physiological benefits and for practicing focused breathing techniques to manage the body’s response to cold.

Effects on the Nervous System

Cold immersion therapy activates the body’s fight-or-flight response by stimulating the sympathetic nervous system. This results in the release of norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter that increases alertness and attention, and reduces inflammation. When this is paired with breathing retraining, which promotes parasympathetic activation and relaxation, it creates a unique balance:

• Sympathetic Activation: Cold exposure enhances alertness and boosts energy levels, while also triggering the release of anti-inflammatory proteins and improving circulation.
• Parasympathetic Activation: Breathing retraining encourages relaxation, lowers heart rate, and promotes a sense of calm. It helps to counterbalance the sympathetic activation from the cold, creating a more resilient and adaptable nervous system.

Reducing Thought Activity and Quieting the Mind

One of the remarkable benefits of combining cold immersion therapy with breathing retraining is the ability to quiet the mind and reduce unnecessary thought activity. Here’s how:

• Immediate Focus on the Present: The intense cold forces the mind to focus on the immediate physical sensation, pulling attention away from distracting thoughts and worries.
• Deep Breathing and Mindfulness: Practicing deep, rhythmic breathing during cold immersion helps to anchor the mind in the present moment, fostering mindfulness and reducing mental chatter.
• Stress Hormone Regulation: The combination helps to regulate stress hormones like cortisol, reducing overall stress levels and promoting a clearer, more focused mental state.

In conclusion, combining cold immersion therapy with breathing retraining offers a powerful tool for enhancing physical recovery, improving nervous system regulation, and achieving mental clarity. By adhering to the optimal temperature (10-15°C) and duration (10-15 minutes) for ice baths and incorporating controlled breathing techniques, individuals can experience profound benefits for both body and mind. This synergistic approach not only supports physical health but also fosters emotional resilience and mental well-being, making it a valuable addition to any wellness routine.

Section 2: What breathing techniques can you use during your cold immersion therapy?

Part One: Initial Response

Inspiratory Gasp and Hyperventilation: The initial shock of cold water immersion often causes an involuntary gasp followed by rapid breathing (Tipton, 1989). This can take 1-2mins on average before your deeper breathing will start to naturally subside.

Part Two: Modified Box Breathing

Once this has occurred, we recommend a form of box breathing. The standard box breathing technique is: 4 seconds for inhalation, 4 seconds for post inhalation pause, 4 seconds for exhalation, 4 seconds for post exhalation pause. However we suggest using the below which doesn’t focus on time, but on feeling your breathe. We all have different sensitivities to breathing and we all have different lung volumes so to have fixed time frames often can create anxiety for some people unnecessarily.

• Inhale: As slow and as big as you feel possible/comfortable
• Inhale pause: Hold your breathe as long as you feel possible/comfortable
• Exhale: As slow and as long as you feel possible/comfortable
• Exhale pause: Hold your breathe as long as you feel possible/comfortable

This is great for helping to calm your mind and reduce your heart rate. This can be performed for 2-5 minutes

Part 3: Belly/Diaphragmatic Breathing

Once you have settled mind and body with the modified box breathing, it is great to switch over to diaphragmatic breathing. This is where you can really maximise the parasympathetic system while calming the mind and body. Some key techniques to remember with this technique are:

• Use very little to no chest movement during your breath in
• Let your belly expand as you breath in
• Have little to no pause after your breath in
• Try and take a slower and longer breath out than your breath in
• Try and have a natural pause after your breath out as long as you are comfortable

This should occur for 3-10mins