I’m sure by now, you’ve heard of or seen Wim Hof. If not, let me quickly give you a summary–the Ice Man, Wim Hof, is a Dutch inspirational speaker who is a proponent for cold therapy. He also holds a few Guinness World Records. Based on his impressive feats, he was featured on The Goop Lab, Episode 2 Cold Comfort. It’s an entertaining watch if you have Netflix. It’s hard to say who came up with cold therapy; there are articles that say it was chronicled on ancient papyrus as a cure to certain ailments. There’s also a long history of the use and abuse of cold therapy, so it definitely has a controversial past.

What are the benefits of cold therapy? The claims are wide ranging. According to Cedars Sinai, the benefits you can expect are “decreased soreness, a boost in your moods, and a boost in immunity.” However, the website noted that many of the claims haven’t been proven. https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/cold-exposure-therapy.html If you go to the Wim Hof website, you can check out the health bennies they believe the Wim Hof Method offers, along with a free mini class. https://www.wimhofmethod.com/

I decided that I wanted to give this a try–I used to regularly run in the cold, snow, and rain. So, I figured this wouldn’t be a big deal. (Although, I now realize how foolish this could be so, consult your doctor before attempting something like this. There are risks.) Additionally, I routinely meditate and figured this prepared me with the mental fortitude to withstand 1 minute and 30 seconds in water that is slightly above freezing.

I didn’t really follow the Wim Hof Method or any sort of method for that matter, other than I slowly lowered myself into a stock tank pool with water chilled to the ambient air temperature and stayed in for as long as I could (which, coincidentally, was 1 minute and 30 seconds). Today was my second day. Yesterday’s dip was right after my run, so I was more willing to get in than I was today.

My initial thoughts were that it probably boosts immunity and improves moods because you just willingly gave yourself hypothermia and your body is like, “don’t die don’t die oh good you’re not dead hooray”. Both times, once the water hit my core, I started hyperventilating until I reached a state of calm. The cold water was painful on my extremities and I found myself trying to wiggle my fingers and toes to stay comfortable.

I will say that I felt energized after the dips. Usually, I’m more productive in the mornings and I start to crash around 2 or 3 PM (that’s when I reach for. more caffeine), but since I’ve been doing cold therapy, I feel a lot better. It’s almost like the calm I feel after a good, short run. I’m hoping to transition to morning dips to see if there’s a difference. I promised myself I would try it for 30 days and see if this is something I want to incorporate into my daily routine.

Have you ever tried cold therapy? Did you notice any benefits? If so, what were they? If not, what made you decided to stop?