The ice plunge, or immersion in cold water, is said to offer a host of health advantages, ranging from enhanced mental and physical health to less pain in the muscles and improved sleep. What precisely does the body undergo by taking cold showers, plunging into an ice bath or lake that is at least 10 to 15 degrees Celsius, to facilitate these changes?

“Your fight-or-flight sympathetic nervous system kicks into overdrive when your skin temperature drops sharply. Your sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the elevated heart rate, increased breathing, and perhaps panting you are experiencing.”