{"id":18351,"date":"2026-01-05T15:09:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T20:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/observatoireprevention.org\/?p=18351"},"modified":"2026-01-05T15:09:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T20:09:44","slug":"can-ice-baths-improve-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/observatoireprevention.org\/en\/2026\/01\/05\/can-ice-baths-improve-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Can ice baths improve health?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exposure, in whole or in part, of the human body to cold temperatures is a practice that\u00a0has been used for millennia<\/a> by many cultures to relieve pain, control fever, accelerate recovery after physical exertion, and improve overall well-being. This ancient practice has gained popularity in recent years, particularly in the form of cold-water immersion (CWI), in which the body is partially or fully submerged in cold water, generally at temperatures ranging from 10 to 15 \u00b0C (Table 1). This technique has been routinely used for several years by athletes\u00a0as a means of recovery after intense effort<\/a>. More recently, CWI has become increasingly popular among the general population, an enthusiasm largely driven by various social media platforms promoting its many health benefits, both physical and mental. There remains, however, a wide gap between this enthusiasm for CWI and the limited amount of solid scientific data that would confirm these benefits. As we will see, even though the physiological responses of the human body to cold exposure are fairly well understood, the actual impact of these adaptations on health remains, for the time being, generally inconclusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Type<\/th>Temperature<\/th>Description<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Cold showers<\/td>10-20oC<\/td>Exposing the body to cold water for a brief period, usually during a regular shower routine.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cold water immersion<\/td>< 15 oC<\/td>Submerging the body in cold water for a specified duration.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ice baths<\/td>0-15 oC<\/td>Immersing the body in a container filled with cold water and ice.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cold water\/winter swims<\/td>< 15 oC<\/td>Immersing oneself in cold natural bodies of water, such as lakes, rivers or oceans.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n

Table 1. Main modes of deliberate exposure of the human body to cold temperatures. <\/strong>Adapted from Kunotsor et al. (2025).<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cold shock<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It should first be noted that exposure to cold temperatures represents a stressful situation for the human body, leading to the rapid activation of several regulatory mechanisms aimed at counteracting this sudden drop in environmental temperature. During immersion in cold water (15 \u00b0C and below), cold receptors located beneath the epidermis respond to the abrupt decrease in skin temperature by causing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n