Cardiovascular and Mood Responses to an Acute Bout of Cold Water Immersion
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Cold water immersion, or exposing the body to cold temperatures, has been found to have positive effects on both our cardiovascular and mood responses.
That's why today I'm going to discuss how our bodies react to cold water immersion and why it may have a positive impact on our overall well-being.
So what happens to your cardiovascular system when you take a cold shower or jump into an icy lake?
Cold water immersion can improve blood flow and circulation, as well as increase the production of nitric oxide, a molecule that helps relax blood vessels and lower blood pressure.
Cold Water and Heart Rate
What's interesting is that the magnitude of the increase in heart rate varies depending on the water temperature and duration of exposure. In cold water, heart rate can increase from its baseline. This is due to the body's natural response to maintain core body temperature in cold environments.
One fascinating study by Hani Al Haddad and colleagues aimed to see how immersing highly trained swimmers in cold water every day would affect their heart rate and overall well-being. They recruited eight highly trained swimmers, four men and four women, with an average age of 19.6 years.
These swimmers were put through their typical training schedule for two weeks (5 days a week, about 21 hours total). At the end of each training day, they were randomly assigned to either sit in cold water (15°C) for 5 minutes.
In the mornings before their first training session, participants would rate their well-being and have their heart rate recorded for 5 minutes while lying down.
Their heart rate was then used to calculate a measure called Ln rMSSD, which is an indicator of parasympathetic activity (the part of our nervous system associated with rest and relaxation).
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Firstly, let's talk about the cardiovascular effects.
The results showed that when participants used cold water immersion compared to the control condition, they had a possible improvement in their parasympathetic activity on the second day, a likely improvement on the third day, a very likely improvement on the fourth day, and another likely improvement on the fifth day.
Additionally, using cold water immersion was associated with better perceived sleep quality compared to the control group. This study suggests that 5 minutes of cold water immersion after training can help reduce the usual decrease in parasympathetic activity and improve how well swimmers perceive their sleep quality.
This could potentially be beneficial for highly trained athletes to help them recover from training and maintain their overall well-being.
Next, let have a look at the effects of cold water immersion on blood pressure. Will it increase or decrease it? And how will this be beneficial to your health?
The following study will tell.
Cold Water and Blood Pressure
Does the idea of jumping into a cold shower make your heart race? It might surprise you to learn that drinking cold water or cold carbonated water can improve baroreflex function and raise blood pressure in orthostatic pre-syncope patients.
In an interesting study by Satoshi Kubota and colleagues, the effects of drinking different types of water on blood pressure were examined in healthy younger and older adults.
Specifically, the researchers were interested in whether drinking cold or carbonated water would result in a greater increase in blood pressure compared to room temperature water. This is because water has been suggested as a potential treatment for low blood pressure, which can cause dizziness and fainting.