Many adult clients of mine who were traumatized as children complain of chronic anxiety, emotional dysregulation, fatigue, and overwhelm from stress. I teach these clients to meditate, to mindfully engage with (instead of run from) intense emotions, to use calming breath and/or havening to relax, and to exercise daily, while using trauma-informed therapies including CBT, CPT, and IFS. Recently, I heard that contrast therapy with cold plunge increases physical and mental health while promoting increased energy, stress tolerance, and resilience.
One month ago, I began my own experiment with contrast therapy involving two 15-minute stays in an infrared sauna heated to 161 degrees F. alternating with two 4-minute stays in a cold plunge tub set at roughly 44 degrees F. The staff that runs the cold plunge studio and two books I have read on cold plunge say it may fight inflammation and soreness, boost immune function and stress tolerance, release endorphins, burn brown fat, and reduce obesity, blood pressure, bad cholesterol, cardiovascular plaque, and insulin-resistance.
I went onto Pub Med and observed an absence of longitudinal, placebo-controlled, double-blind studies on the benefits of contrast therapy. Finding an appropriate placebo would not be easy since the sauna clearly needs to be very hot and the water in the tub needs to be very cold. Perhaps small adjustments could be made to temperatures and time exposure to make relative comparisons. At any rate, there were some meta-analyses that were suggestive of multiple benefits without clear proof, so the utility of contrast therapy remains scientifically questionable.
My subjective experience has been quite different. I absolutely love contrast therapy. After finishing, I experienced several hours of increased energy, calm, and overall well-being. Further, my subjective level of stress tolerance and resilience, which was already improved by daily meditation, has noticeably increased. After checking with your physician to find out if it’s safe for you to try, why not give this non-pharmaceutical approach a shot?