Cold exposure treatments have been steadily rising in popularity, and for good reason. They have become a go-to remedy and recovery tool for both athletes and health enthusiasts alike. 

The two most popular methods of cold exposure are ice baths and cryotherapy chambers. While both offer unique advantages, each method brings its own set of distinct benefits. Whether you’re an elite athlete or simply seeking to improve your health, exploring these cold exposure therapies can lead to remarkable improvements in your physical and mental state.

Ice Bath Benefits

Ice baths deliver benefits by quickly reducing the body’s temperature, stimulating the release of feel-good chemicals like endorphins, dopamine, and noradrenaline. Endorphins and dopamine boost your mood naturally, which can last for several hours. Over time, repeated exposure to cold therapy can help with depressive symptoms by increasing mental resilience, boosting feel-good chemicals, and improving energy. 

The chemicals released when you enter the ice bath boost energy levels and enhance focus. It causes your blood vessels to constrict, drawing blood away from the surface of your skin, and providing immediate pain relief. As your blood vessels constrict, they flush out any inflammation or swelling in your tissues, like your muscles. Flushing out this inflammation can reduce muscle soreness and promote quicker recovery. 

The rapid change between constricting the blood vessels in your tissues promotes lymphatic drainage, flushing out additional toxins found in your lymphatic system and boosting the function of your immune system. 

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy offers the same recovery benefits as ice baths, along with additional benefits because of its high-tech delivery method. Unlike traditional ice baths, whole-body cryotherapy employs cutting-edge technology to deliver a more precise, colder treatment. This advanced therapy can revitalise your metabolism, promote collagen synthesis, reduce inflammation, and sharpen your mental clarity. With whole-body cryotherapy, you can enjoy a more consistent and controlled cold exposure in a fraction of the time it takes for an ice bath, targeting surface tissues more effectively without having to cool the body’s core temperature. 

Cryotherapy can accelerate your metabolism, aiding in weight management and energy levels. The extreme cold stimulates your body to burn calories at a higher rate, even after the session has ended. This process, known as cold-induced thermogenesis, can enhance your metabolic rate.

Cryotherapy benefits your skin as well. Collagen is a key protein that gives your skin structure and firmness. Whole-body cryotherapy increases collagen synthesis, helping to diminish wrinkles and sagging, leaving your skin looking vibrant and rejuvenated. 

For inflammation, whole-body cryotherapy helps your body produce fewer inflammatory cytokines and more anti-inflammatory cytokines. Cytokines are small proteins released by cells that help them communicate with each other. Your body has both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. By shifting the balance toward more anti-inflammatory cytokines, cryotherapy can significantly reduce pain and inflammation, making it an effective treatment for conditions like arthritis and chronic pain or even just speeding up recovery after exercise. 

Intense cold can stimulate the release of endorphins and norepinephrine, which are chemicals in the brain that enhance mood and cognitive function. Endorphins act as natural painkillers and mood elevators, while norepinephrine increases alertness and concentration. This can result in improved mental clarity, reduced feelings of stress and anxiety, and an overall sense of well-being. Inflammation is also highly associated with brain fog, so the reduction in inflammation provides an additional cognitive boost. 

Health Precautions for Cold Therapies

You should avoid cold therapy if you have:

• Heart conditions like arrhythmia, hypertension, circulation problems, or heart failure
• Neurological conditions like epilepsy, reduced skin sensation, or high cold sensitivity/Raynaud’s 
• Unhealed wounds 
• Under the influence of drugs or alcohol

If you have any other underlying conditions–or are elderly or pregnant–it’s always a good idea to chat with your doctor before you undergo any kind of treatment. 

Cryotherapy and Ice Baths: Which Should You Choose?

Cryotherapy and ice baths are both effective cold therapy methods that offer a range of health benefits. While ice baths are better for building mental resilience and boosting recovery, Cryotherapy is more effective at improving metabolism, reducing inflammation, boosting collagen production, and combatting brain fog.  

Another major difference is how cold therapy is delivered. Some find that cryotherapy is more tolerable because the treatment is quicker, lasting only 2-3 minutes, whereas ice baths are longer and result in a decrease in core body temperature.

Your choice of cold therapy entirely depends on what benefits you are seeking, but cryotherapy’s advanced delivery method and additional advantages make it a superior option for those seeking enhanced recovery, skin health, inflammation reduction, and mental clarity.

We offer whole-body cryotherapy sessions at Chill Wellness, the first wellness space in Auckland to feature an Electric Cryotherapy machine. Our Cryo Chamber can accommodate two people, making it a fun and shared experience.

We recommend that men wear athletic shorts and women wear athletic shorts and a sports bra. We will provide a mask, gloves, a headband, socks and slip-on shoes.

It only takes 3 minutes.

Interested in learning more about cryotherapy? Visit our website or give our friendly team a call on 021 941 179.