5 Benefits Of Cold Plunge For Stress And Wellbeing

Forbes

06-04-2025

A cold plunge or a cold shower has tons of benefits.
People are stressed and wellbeing is declining for many. But a new study shows that a cold plunge can be tremendously helpful. Cold water immersion has lots of positive effects.
The timing is good—because with levels of stress and anxiety at record-high levels people are looking for all kinds of solutions. Check with your doctor based on your personal situation--and consider cold plunging and cold water immersion for surprising and powerful effects.
Fascinating new research analyzing 11 different studies and published in PLOS One found that cold plunging--or cold-water immersion--has broad beneficial effects. For the research, cold-water immersion was defined as immersing the body partially or fully in cold water, in temperatures typically ranging from 50 to 59 degrees. In addition to immersion up to chest level, the studies also included cold showers.
Cold water immersion has been extensively researched for athletic recovery (typically referred to as cold therapy), but has only more recently come into greater visibility as a solution for general stress and wellbeing.
These are its benefits.
The possibility of using a cold plunge to alleviate stress is relevant, as 84% of respondents said they were stressed, according to a survey by Cigna. Gen Z was especially suffering with 91% reporting stress and 98% who said they were burned out. Stress was so bad, that in a Stress in America survey, 27% of people said they struggled to function on most days because of it.
According to the new study published in PLOS One, cold immersion reduced stress levels for 12 hours following exposure.
People generally don't get enough sleep. Fully 43% of people say they get only six hours per night—while the recommendation from the NIH is for seven to nine hours. And 21% of people feel tired when they wake up in the morning. This is according to surveys by MattressNextDay.
People say their sleep is interrupted for all kinds of reasons but most prevalent are worries about work, based on data from Expert Express and YouGov. And too little sleep is linked to health problems like obesity, depression, anxiety, cardiovascular issues and longevity.
On the other hand, better sleep is correlated with innovation, according to a study at the University of Oregon. And research finds that sleep matters so much because while we're sleeping, our brains repair DNA and therefore help cognitive function the next day, according to a study at Bar-Ilan University.
Cold plunges and cold water immersion were linked with better sleep, although in the PLOS One study, the effects only applied to men.
Overall, we also want great quality of life—pertaining to work and leisure time as well as to having a sense of purpose, meaning, belonging and physical health. In fact, when people had a greater sense of meaning or were pursuing meaning in their lives, they tended to also have better mental health and physical health, according to research at the University of California.
A cold plunge helped here too. Participants who took cold showers for 20, 60, or 90 seconds reported higher quality of life scores, based on PLOS One information.
The amount of sick time employees take has climbed recently. In fact, a recent survey of over 300,000 small and medium businesses by Gusto found that people are taking 42% more sick time since 2019. In addition, the average amount sick time they take has increased by 15% since 2019.
Interestingly, those who took cold showers experienced a 28% decline in absences due to sickness, according to the data published in PLOS One.
Another aspect of wellbeing is happiness—and it can be enhanced with novel experiences. Variety in your routines and your daily life make a positive difference, based on research published in Nature Neuroscience.
And you also benefit by getting out of your comfort zone. Eustress is the condition where you have just enough stress to keep you engaged and interested. Positive experiences of challenge can also help you increase energy, cognitive health and physical health as well, according to a study published by the National Library of Medicine.
Trying something new and stretching out of your comfort zones can be tremendously helpful—and a cold plunge is one approach that can push you in a constructive way.
So is doing a cold plunge and or using cold water immersion good for reducing stress and increasing wellbeing? Of course you should consult your doctor based on your personal situation, but this research suggests they could have some positive impacts.