With Cryotherapy and Ice Baths, Wellness Seems to be Getting Chilly
- Education Featured Lifestyle
Staff Writer- 12 minutes read
Just two months ago, K-pop star, JENNIE climbed into a tub of freezing cold water and sat in there for 2 and a half minutes. Contrary to what one might think, this was not in fact a means of medieval torture, but one of health and wellness. Cold plunges, as she described them, helped tackle the soreness in her muscles after particularly gruelling rehearsals.
While JENNIE’s video garnered widespread attention and chatter, she is definitely not the first to partake in this seemingly agonising process. Closer to home, actress Alaya F, known for regularly sharing fitness challenges online, posted her first ice bath experience in November. Meanwhile, Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives Season 3 featured Shalini Passi braving a cryotherapy chamber to prepare for scuba diving before her Mauritius holiday.
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For many years now, the wellness industry has been associated with calming heated environments and procedures including saunas, steam rooms, and hot stone massages. But, evidently the other end of thermal-based wellness has been taking flight: a cold rush, if you will.
Dr Karan Jadhav, founder of Ureco, delves into the physiological magic behind cold plunges. “When you immerse yourself in cold water, your blood vessels constrict in a process called vasoconstriction. Blood rushes to vital organs like your brain and heart.” he says.
With water temperatures falling between 8–10 degrees Celsius, these plunges offer significant psychological benefits. Dopamine levels can spike by 250%, while norepinephrine—a neurotransmitter linked to the parasympathetic “rest and digest” state—can increase by 400%. “This leaves individuals feeling energised, focused, and grounded,” says Dr Jadhav. The therapy has even been linked to mitochondrial biogenesis, which boosts cellular energy production.
The benefits for physical recovery are similarly profound. “During a recent marathon, several clients visited us immediately after their run. Despite their immense stiffness and soreness on arrival, just three to four minutes in a cold plunge left them feeling ready to go again,” he shares.
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The growing interest in community-based recovery spaces is also noteworthy for thermal therapies. Dr Jadhav mentions couples coming in on dates, stepping away from the typical dinner and movie plan. “Contrast therapy—a practice centuries old—has regained traction post-COVID as people research ways to enhance their lifestyles. Many are moving away from cafes and restaurants, choosing instead to invest in longevity and health,” says Dr Jadhav. He envisions Ureco becoming a hub for group bonding activities, with plans to expand the capacity of his plunge pools to accommodate 7-10 people comfortably.
He describes it as a simple, easy way to maintain mental and physical wellbeing, one that has been around for centuries and in various cultures. On the other end of the cold therapy spectrum lies cryotherapy, the more complicated, technologically advanced sister of cold plunges.
At Elixir Wellness, Tanya Khubchandani Vatsa highlights cryotherapy as a cutting-edge treatment for reducing inflammation and boosting overall health. “Whole-body cryotherapy involves standing in a nitrogen-based chamber for three minutes at temperatures as low as -196 degrees Celsius,” she explains.
The science is similar to that of ice baths, but here, instead of water, it is a gush of cold air that’s in the mix. “Cold exposure increases norepinephrine, which aids fat burning and accelerates metabolism,” she notes. Additionally, cryotherapy stimulates adiponectin production, which regulates glucose and fat breakdown.
Both Dr Jadhav and Vatsa highlight the unique benefits of their own practice over the other, and there are strong cases to be made for both. Dr Jadhav finds cold plunges to be more effective given water’s capacity to hold energy 830 times better than air. Meanwhile Vatsa explains that unlike ice, nitrogen penetrates deeper into joints and bones, offering a more significant reduction in inflammation. Moreover, cryotherapy is easier to bear since the exposure is brief and gradual, and there is no pressure on the spine as you stand in the chamber.
What both experts can agree on however, is that the combination of hot and cold therapies is the next big wave in wellness. In fact, Ureco already offers contrast therapy sessions with their infrared saunas to go hand in hand with an ice bath.
Both Jadhav and Vatsa point out that transitioning to heat, such as a sauna, after a cold-based therapy, triggers the opposite reaction: vasodilation, where blood flows away from the brain and heart, and back to the extremities, creating a circulatory flush. This process not only boosts lymphatic drainage but also optimises fluid dynamics within the body.
The benefits are endless, a list too lengthy to ignore. Start small—maybe with a cold shower—or go bold with a plunge or cryo session. And with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, why settle for a warm blanket for two or a classic couples’ massage? A date spent bonding in a freezing tub might be the perfect way to break the ice.
