Plunge pools: are these the most under appreciated spa facility?

Cold water therapies span a wide range of experiences, from ice baths to cold showers and more sophisticated treatments. In their most common form, the humble plunge pool is a regular feature in spas and leisure destinations, located alongside saunas and steam rooms. However, while some love them, others bypass them as part of the thermal experience. So, what is the benefit of cold water therapy, including the classic plunge pool?

Cold water therapy

In many ways, Wim Hof can be credited with the rebranding of cold therapy as a fashionable part of the wellness experience. The Dutch journalist and motivational speaker, also known as 'The Iceman', has become well known for his ability to withstand freezing temperatures, and advocates cold therapy for mental and physical health.

He has been quoted as saying:

“There is still every reason for healthy people to take cold showers, or swim outside in cold water. It gives you the feeling that you are alive.”

While you may think he’s merely eccentric, science does seem back up his hypothesis. Wayne State University’s School of Medicine and his coauthors put Hof into an MRI machine while exposing him to cold water and found he is able to “use his mind to artificially induce a stress response in his body that helps him resist the effects of cold”. Paediatrician, Otto Musik, said:

“By accident or by luck he found a hack into the physiological system”. This ‘hack’, “allows Hof to feel euphoric while in a freezing cold environment that would be unpleasant in normal circumstances.”

They found that he is actually able to access a part of his brain that releases opioids and cannabinoids into the body - hence the feeling of euphoria.

The benefits of cold therapy

While the feeling of euphoria might explain the popularity of cold therapy in a time where mental health is such a prevalent topic, there are also other health benefits of incorporating the cold into the wellbeing experience. The Romans, amongst others, were advocates of bathing rituals that included temperature changes, and these are now very much the basis of the contemporary thermal suite. Amongst the rituals, they incorporated a frigidarium (a large cold pool), which was used after the hot baths to close pores post cleanse. We continue to operate on similar theories today.

Amongst the wellbeing benefits, controlled cold exposure is linked to:

• Improved sleep quality
• Mental clarity and reduced symptoms of depression
• Increased energy
• Reducing inflammation and swelling in muscles, aiding muscular recovery after sport
• Improving the immune response
• Relieving aches and pains
• Speeding up the metabolism

How does cold therapy work?

Typically used in the form of short spells of immersion in the cold, often before or after time in higher temperatures, cold therapies can help to reduce inflammation, consequently contributing to pain relief and physical recovery. They can also interfere with your brain's perception of pain, and it can boost your mood.

• Cold therapy helps to reduce inflammation by limiting blood flow, and therefore reducing swelling. It can also help to numb pain.
• The research on how cold therapies can help recover from injury varies because it depends a bit on timing and the type of injury, but in broad terms the principle is linked to reducing inflammation.
• A lot of people find that cold therapies, especially swimming in cold water or cold showers in the morning, are a good way to boost your mood. This is because it stimulates the vagus nerve (a key part of the parasympathetic nervous system). Cedars Sinai writes:

"Short-term exposure to very cold temperatures helps stimulate vagus nerve pathways and reduces the body’s natural stress response. Research shows that immersing yourself in cold water can help slow your heart rate and redirect blood flow to your brain."

Types of cold therapy in spas

You can embrace cold therapy in lots of ways, whether it's at home, on holiday or in a spa. It can be as simple as turning the water to cold for 30 seconds at the end of your morning shower, to a plunge pool after a sauna, an ice bath after a workout, open water swimming in the sea, or even cryotherapy, which many celebrities and sports professionals swear by.

Plunge pools

One of the more common features in a spa environment, plunge pools are usually small, deep pools that you can dip (or jump) into after a swim or time in a sauna or steam room. You will find plunge pools in most spa environments where they have wet or thermal facilities.

Experience showers

Normally located by the sauna and steam room, experience showers offer a chance to gentle cool off in a multi-sensory experience. It's not a foregone conclusion that they're cold, but you can dial down the temperature. They often include additional features like aromatherapy, coloured lighting, or music. While not available in all spas, experience showers are fairly common features.

Cryotherapy chambers

Cryotherapy chambers offing whole body cryotherapy, have their history in physiotherapy and medical environments, exposing the body to very cold temperatures for a couple of minutes at a time. They have been used by athletes for a long time to aid recovery from injury, but have also made their way into the wider wellbeing experience. In a spa environment, you would book a session in a cryotherapy chamber if they have one - it's quite a specialist offering - and you would usually have around 30 seconds in a pre-chamber to acclimatise, followed by two to four minutes in the main chamber.

Ice fountain

Ice fountains are often placed outside saunas and steam rooms. Here, you can gather ice chips to place on your skin after time in the heat-based facilities. This helps to cool down and gain the benefits of contrast therapy.

Ice cave

An ice cave is a room designed to be cold, and once again is used as part of a thermal suite alongside saunas and steam rooms. You would spend a little time in one after time in the heat, and often then repeat the experience of going from one temperature to the other to optimise the benefits.