Cold plunges have become one of the most popular types of therapy with a wide range of health benefits. It can help improve circulation and relieve muscle soreness. Cold plunges can also help to boost your immune system and fight off infections.

For those who often have stressful days, cold plunging is also a proven method for calming down, alleviating stress, and elevating your mood. What's more, a single cold plunge can burn up to 200 calories, along with improving your skin's complexion and reducing wrinkles.

There's no doubt the health benefits are significant, so how can you enjoy them by keeping your breath under wraps?

How Long Do You Stay in the Cold Plunge?

For starters, being safe is a primary factor to be mindful of. Along with the temperature of the water, cold plunging requires vigilance regarding timing. It's important to never stay in a cold plunge too long, otherwise, you risk hypothermia.

This is why session times of 10 minutes or less are recommended, regardless of how much practice a person has. Beyond session time, though, control over breathing can ensure the best outcomes from cold plunging. Let's dive into this key aspect of ice baths next.

The Best Way to Breathe in a Cold Plunge

When you take a cold plunge, your breathing rate can increase all the way to 30 breaths per minute. That's about double the normal breathing rate for most people while they're sitting still.

However, one of the keys to gaining the greatest health benefits from an ice bath is to control your breathing.

As one of the world's most extreme athletes, Wim Hof, otherwise known as "The Iceman," invented the Wim Hof Method. He believes you can accomplish incredible feats by using specific breathing techniques and tolerance to extreme temperatures to develop command over your body, breath, and mind.

So what are some breathing techniques for remaining in control while submerged in ice baths?

1. Move To The Edge and Take a Few Deep Breaths

To kick off your cold plunge breath control, start by approaching the edge of the cold plunge and take some deep, slow, measured breaths. This will help align the body and mind to provide the sense of peace that comes from having total control over your breathing.

2. When Ready, Take a Deep Breath and Slowly Exhale

You'll want to enter the water on an exhale, which will provide room in the lungs to react to the initial shock of immersion in cold water. When plunging into frigid temperatures, the nervous system causes the lungs to automatically take a big breath in, so having empty lungs will provide plenty of space for an inrush of oxygen.

3. Keep Breathing Consistently and Slowly Enter

As you slide into the cold water, work to maintain slow, steady breathing. Your body will try to trick your brain into short, fast, shallow breaths, so it's important to focus your mind on slowing everything down.

Taking deep, slow breaths will help you get the right amount of oxygen into your blood, enhancing the benefits of your ice bath.

4. While in the Water, Focus on Even Breathing

Maintaining even, measured breaths for the entire session is the goal of taking an ice bath. When first starting out, this can be easier said than done, but practice makes perfect.

Rather than letting the mind shift to the discomfort of cold immersion, instead, direct your mental energy toward staying in control. With more experience, this practice can deliver a sense of peace and well-being, much the way meditation can.

5. If You Feel Anxious, Slow Your Breaths Down

At first, it can be a significant struggle to stay calm when getting into an ice bath. One of the most common bodily responses is feeling panicked or anxious, which produces rapid breathing rates.

If you feel yourself drifting into this mental territory, redirect your attention to your breathing. The simple act of taking slow breaths is immensely helpful for remaining calm in any situation, especially when it comes to cold exposure.

1. Swimsuit - Even though swimsuit is a practical solution, it can be dangerous for your health. Like every other articles of clothes made out of PVC fabrics, it will prevent the breathing of your skin. Not to mention the possibility of melting and giving off toxic chemicals and fumes on the high temperatures.
   
   Additionally, that insulating material will make you feel uncomfortable after spending some time in the heat. You won’t enjoy wearing anything absorbing too much heat.
   
   Therefore, you should choose a loose-fitting bathing suit made from natural fibers if possible. That kind of material will allow better ventilation while sitting in the sauna.

Also, take care not to wear the swimsuit with metal parts, to prevent getting them hot and burning your skin.

2. Towel - Regardless of whether you use a swimming suit or not, you will need a towel in the sauna. Basically, if you don’t want PVC fabrics on your skin while enjoying the heat, the towel is everything you need. Otherwise, you can wear a swimsuit but also use the soft towel to place it on a bench before sitting.

   The Finns believe that wearing just a towel around the waist is the only way to get the ultimate experience. It will be enough to protect both your privacy and the bench from your sweat and spreading bacteria.
   

3. Something made of cotton - If you feel that your swimsuit is not enough for you or you want to avoid it, you can wear something comfortable made of cotton. A classic, oversized T-shirt, loose-fitting cotton wrap, and shorts are always an excellent choice for the sauna. They will absorb excess heat and let your skin breathe freely. Always wear clean clothes, dressed on just before getting inside. Keep in mind that wearing these clothes doesn’t mean that you should avoid bringing the towel in the sauna.
   
   On the contrary, if you don’t need the towel as a cover, it will be necessary to put it on the bench and sit on it. That way, you will keep yourself safe from bacteria and the seat clean at the same time.
   
   What To Avoid In The Sauna

   There are things you shouldn’t bring inside, including:

   • Dirty and tight-fitting clothes – It is uncomfortable to let the heat loosen the dust and release it into the air.

   • Workout clothes and sweat suit – All clothes made of PVC is the wrong choice when you use the sauna since it may melt at high temperature.

   • Jewelry made of metal and piercing – It will heat up and may hurt you.

   • Lotions and creams – They will clog up your pores and prevent your skin to breath freely

Here’s how to sauna

Please arrive hydrated so you can enjoy the full benefits of your time on the bench.

Sauna promotes healthy blood flow by activation of the thermoregulatory system. Practicing full “rounds” will provide the full health benefits. A round consists of 10-20 mins in the hot room (your body will tell you when your time is up), followed by a cool-down period outside. Letting your body cool down between rounds by relaxing and cooling off at the rinse station will increase your circulation and provide the full physical and mental benefit of the experience. A typical sauna session consists of 3-4 rounds of this hot-cold treatment.

SAUNA TIPS

The exact amount of time in the hot room or outside cooling down depends on how long it takes your body to respond to the heat. When you sit in a 160 degree sauna, your body starts circulating blood to cool itself down. By breathing calmly and relaxing into the heat, you increase the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream and the body’s ability bring your internal temperature into a more comfortable homeostasis. However, once the steam is added to the rocks the temperature often becomes more than we can naturally regulate. Breathing and listening to your body will help you decide when it’s reached its comfort zone. It’s important to listen and not push too much, which gives your body a chance to respond to the intensity of the environment in a calm non-fight-or-flight state. Breath and enjoy—it should always feel great!

People all over the world are discovering the many benefits sauna bathing has on our mental health, and its ability to reduce stress, improve physical wellbeing, and strengthening our community cultures. Most importantly sauna has the ability to strengthen one’s resilience. Sauna bathing is nature's pharmaceutical for de-stressing, anti-inflammatory, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and many other conditions.

Did you know that positive heat exposure like sauna, floods the system with neuromodulators-dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and acetylcholine (your reward and feel good chemicals) This chemical production gives us the feelings of reward, satisfaction, empowerment, connection and support of others, the feeling of belonging.

HOW? Heat stress actives heat shock proteins which repair damaged cells aiding in the recovery of cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, a 40% reduction in all caused mortality, and age related diseases like Alzheimer’s and Dementia, while repairing muscle damage along the way. Master regulators are also released which aid in DNA repair, stem cell function, which will fighting cancer, improves sleep, encourages growth hormones release, and heightens neuroplasticity (improving memory). Let’s not forget to mention how this reaction takes part in improving mitochondrial production which burns brown fat aiding in weight loss and reversing the aging process.