Train+ Eat
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Cold water is credited with a number of performance benefits – but which ones actually stand up to scrutiny? A peer review entitled Cold Water Immersion: Kill or Cure? grades each ‘benefit’ of cold water immersion (CWI) from one to four stars, with one being anecdotal and four high-quality evidence.
Interestingly, the oft-touted ‘improved recovery post-exercise’ gets just two stars and ‘treatment of inflammation’ only one. ‘Immune function boosting’ gets two stars as well, but science is somewhat more sure about CWI as a method of ‘pre-cooling for improved performance in the heat’.
In a test, a group of athletes cycled to exhaustion in 40°C heat. With 30 minutes’ immersion in 40°C water prior, average time to exhaustion was 28 minutes. Lower the water temperature to 36°C and the average time was 46 minutes. In 17°C water, the time rose to an impressive 63 minutes. It’s compelling evidence for CWI having real-world benefits, but what about those occasions when you’re not cycling in the Sahara?
The major benefits of CWI might actually lie in mental health. A 2018 study entitled Open Water Swimming As A Treatment For Major Depressive Order documented how a 24-year-old woman who had been treated for depression since the age of 17 undertook a programme of cold water swimming. Each session led to ‘immediate improvement in mood’ and culminated in ‘the cessation of medication’, which remained a year on.
Be warned: CWI, especially open water swimming, can be perilous, but it could help to make you both faster and happier.