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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Are ice baths good for you? The benefits and risks of a cold plunge.
Soothing sore muscles. Improving mood and sleep. Accelerating weight loss. Vagus nerve stimulation. Wellness enthusiasts, athletes, and maybe even your gym buddy are regularly praising ice baths for a wide range of benefits. And today's fans of cryotherapy—the use of cold for therapeutic purposes—aren't on to anything new. Ancient Egyptians and Hippocrates all have touted the healing benefits of cold water. 'This has been around for a really long time,' says Dr. Georgine Nanos, a board-certified family physician and owner of Kind Health Group, in an interview with Popular Science. But was Hippocrates onto something? Research shows that the effectiveness of ice baths depends on their intended purpose. An ice bath or cold plunge typically involves immersing yourself in frigid water—either in a tub filled with ice or a naturally cold body of water. Even a cold shower can offer similar effects. Especially for beginners, moderation is key, Nanos says. She recommends starting with water around 55 degrees to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, staying in for just 30 seconds, and then gradually increasing the duration to one to two minutes. Over a few weeks, and depending on how you feel, you can work up to three to five minutes. Benefits tend to plateau beyond five to six minutes, she points out. Getting colder is possible, but extra caution is required. Nanos advises that anyone immersing themselves in water colder than 45 degrees should be supervised. Cold plunges, she notes, aren't for everyone, especially those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or a history of arrhythmias or heart attacks. An ice bath 'can worsen an arrhythmia, because when you're in the cold, it can increase oxidative stress and suppress short-term immune responses, and that can cause gasping and hyperventilation and acute cardiac strain,' Nanos explains. From a scientific standpoint, cold water exposure triggers a series of internal changes in our body. It activates the sympathetic nervous system and releases a cascade of hormones called catecholamines, such as norepinephrine and dopamine, according to Nanos. 'Those are like our feel-good hormones,' she says, and their release can improve your mood and alertness. When you plunge into cold water, your blood vessels also narrow—a process called vasoconstriction—to preserve heat, she says. When you come out, your vessels widen again—vasodilation—to bring your body temperature back to normal. Those changes could improve circulation, Nanos says. What's more, cold exposure causes shivering, which is your body trying to generate heat. The theory is that shivering could temporarily raise your metabolism, which some believe could help with losing weight, she says. 'That's the scientific idea, but the evidence for that is not that great,' Nanos explains. So, how do those physiological changes actually help us? Healthcare providers and experts have mostly relied on small clinical studies or observational data to support the potential health benefits of cold-water immersion, Nanos says. But systematic reviews of the research are beginning to shed light on the popular therapy, though everybody notes more study of the impacts is required.. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of cold-water immersion, for example, examined the effects of cold-water immersion across 11 studies involving 3,177 participants. The interventions used either baths or showers with water between 45 degrees to 59 degrees Fahrenheit, lasting anywhere between 30 seconds and two hours. The review found no immediate reduction in stress following cold-water immersion, but participants did report relief 12 hours later. In addition, there were improvements in sleep quality and overall quality of life, although no significant changes in mood were observed. A separate 2023 meta-analysis of 20 studies homed in on how well ice baths help athletes reduce muscle soreness, fatigue, and damage after intense exercise. Researchers found that an ice plunge can help reduce muscle soreness and fatigue immediately after exercise. But they also found that time in frigid water could reduce so-called explosive performance—such as the ability to jump high—immediately after getting out of cold water. And, cautions Nanos, timing seems to matter when it comes to a post-workout ice bath. A 2024 review of eight studies found that cold-water bathing after resistance training could actually reduce muscle growth—a big downside for those seeking to bulk up. 'If you do it too soon, you're blunting muscle protein synthesis,' Nanos says. It's recommended to wait four to six hours after strength training to do a cold plunge—or even only stepping into frigid water on rest or cardio days, she said. So, bottom line, if you enjoy an ice bath and experience benefits, go for it. 'And if it makes you miserable, stop,' Nanos advises . 'Some people just really have a strong aversion to being that cold and their bodies don't adapt, and they don't feel good or they panic. If you find that your body can't regulate, even after starting slowly, it's just not for you.' However, if the cold water calls to you, dive in. This story is part of Popular Science's Ask Us Anything series, where we answer your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the ordinary to the off-the-wall. Have something you've always wanted to know? Ask us.
Los Angeles Times
09-05-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
Can a 30-Minute Brain Boost Fix the Way We Feel? Inside the Rise of Exomind
America is emotionally running on fumes. The latest data from the World Happiness Report, according to a recent press release, puts the U.S. at an all-time low in global rankings. At the same time, findings from the Ipsos Global Health Service Monitor reveal that mental wellness has now eclipsed cancer as the top health concern in North America. Not heart disease. Not diabetes. But stress, burnout, and emotional fatigue are what have people most worried. We're collectively tapped out, and it shows. But if the past few years have taught us anything, it's that mental health isn't a side quest; it's central to everything else. And now, a new frontier in non-invasive brain science might be stepping in where therapy and meds leave off. It's called Exomind. And while it sounds like the name of an AI villain in a Marvel movie, it might just become your brain's new best friend. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or TMS, was invented in 1985 and cleared by the FDA in 2008 for treatment-resistant depression. Often used when standard treatments fall short, TMS has shown notable effectiveness with minimal side effects. Enter Exomind, a next-generation version of this proven technology that brings the power of neuroscience out of the ivory tower and into your neighborhood doctor's office. Using its proprietary ExoTMS™ platform, Exomind promises to rewire how we approach brain health by democratizing access to TMS, making it sleeker, faster, more comfortable, and astonishingly accessible. The idea of a non-invasive, drug-free brain boost sounds futuristic. But Dr. Georgine Nanos, MD, MPH, a family medicine physician and early adopter of Exomind, says that most responsive patient groups include: 'We had a patient who hadn't been able to connect with her newborn. After just a few sessions, she told me it was like the light switched on again,' says Dr. Nanos. 'That's not placebo. That's neuroscience doing its job.' 'We're enhancing neuroplasticity,' Dr. Nanonos explains. 'We're helping the brain learn, adapt, and recover faster.' Think of it as clearing out the mental traffic jam so you can reach emotional clarity more efficiently.' ExoTMS™ uses a focused magnetic field to stimulate specific areas of the brain involved in emotional regulation, cognitive function, and self-control. By targeting the prefrontal cortex and other mood-related zones, the device helps build new neural pathways, effectively retraining the brain to process emotions and thoughts more constructively. Each session delivers repetitive magnetic pulses to underactive brain regions, aiming to restore balance in the neural circuits that govern mood and cognition. Sessions are typically well-tolerated, with a low risk of side effects, and can be done without anesthesia or sedation, allowing patients to resume normal activities immediately. Clinical studies show promising outcomes: 50% of patients experience a reduction in depressive symptoms within four weeks, while 58% achieve sustained remission at 12 months. For treatment-resistant cases, 65% show significant improvement. In layman's terms: it helps your brain stop spiraling, catastrophizing, or shutting down. Instead, it strengthens the circuitry responsible for calm, clarity, and decision-making. Unlike older TMS systems that could feel pinchy or intense, Exomind's version is said to be sensationless. Patients recline in a chair and let the machine do its work for 30 minutes. Most complete a series of six sessions over one to three weeks. There's no anesthesia, no recovery time, and no drama. Just a quiet reboot. The timing couldn't be better. We're living in an age where self-optimization has gone mainstream. Biohacking and cryotherapy are no longer fringe tools but trending hashtags. Yet what sets Exomind apart is its clinical backbone. This isn't a gadget or wellness gimmick; it's FDA-cleared medical technology. And by embedding itself into primary care and OB/GYN offices (where 80% of mental wellness care happens), Exomind is positioning itself not as an alternative, but as an evolution. 'Think of it like a Peloton for your prefrontal cortex,' jokes one Los Angeles patient who completed a treatment series in February, according to an Exomind press statement. 'I didn't want meds. I just wanted to stop feeling like I was constantly on edge. After the second session, I started sleeping through the night.' It may have taken a global mental health reckoning to get us here, but the message is clear: your brain deserves as much maintenance as your body. With technologies making once-elite treatments approachable, mental wellness might finally be getting the upgrade it deserves. Click here to learn more about Exomind
