I Tried the Cold Plunge Thing and It Was Terrible (But Also Maybe Good?)

December 1, 2025 Maya Chen

This, but imagine your whole body in it. Voluntarily. Photo: Unsplash

The thing about wellness trends is that they always sound reasonable on paper and then absolutely unhinged in practice. “Just sit in freezing cold water for 3 minutes! It’ll wake up your nervous system and reduce inflammation!” Great. Amazing. Normal human behavior.

Anyway, I tried it.

My gym recently installed a cold plunge — one of those fancy ones that actually stays cold, not just a bathtub with some ice dumped in it — and I’d been staring at it for weeks wondering if the wellness influencers were onto something or if they were all just collectively pranking us.

$1.8T size of the global wellness market — and cold therapy is one of its fastest-growing segments

According to McKinsey’s 2025 wellness report, the wellness industry is absolutely massive, and younger consumers are driving over 40% of the spending despite being only 36% of the adult population. Cold therapy — cold plunges, contrast therapy, ice baths — is one of the “hottest” (coldest?) trends of the year.

So I figured I should at least try it before dismissing it entirely. For journalism. For science. For content.

The First Time Was… A Lot

The water was 50 degrees Fahrenheit. For reference, that’s about 10 degrees above what would be considered hypothermia-inducing. My body did not appreciate this information.

I lasted maybe 45 seconds the first time. Every instinct I have was screaming at me to get out. The “pain” isn’t exactly pain — it’s more like your entire nervous system lighting up and going WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS IS WRONG STOP IMMEDIATELY.

I gasped. I made a sound that was not flattering. I got out as fast as possible and stood there shivering, wondering why anyone does this on purpose.

Maya’s Take: The first 30 seconds are genuinely terrible. There’s no way around it. Every cell in your body is protesting. But then — and I’m not sure if this is actual science or just my brain dissociating from the trauma — something shifts. You stop fighting it. Your breathing slows down. And then when you get out you feel… awake. Really awake. In a way that caffeine doesn’t replicate.

Maya’s Take:

What The Science Actually Says

Here’s where it gets complicated. Cold exposure does have documented benefits — faster muscle recovery, reduced inflammation, potential immune system boosts, improved circulation. Studies show cold water triggers a release of norepinephrine, which is why people report feeling energized and focused afterward.

But — and this is important — a lot of the most dramatic claims don’t have strong research behind them yet. The “cure for depression!” and “fat burning miracle!” stuff is mostly anecdotal or based on small studies. The science is promising but not definitive.

What I can tell you is what I personally experienced over about three weeks of doing this 3-4 times:

Things I Actually Noticed: Better energy after morning workouts. Less muscle soreness the next day. A weird sense of accomplishment from doing something hard on purpose. Clearer head for the first few hours after. Whether these are placebo or real effects, I genuinely can’t say.

Things I Actually Noticed:

The Contrast Therapy Upgrade

Apparently the real move is “contrast therapy” — alternating between hot (sauna) and cold (plunge). This is supposed to improve circulation even more, boost recovery, and generally make you feel like a refreshed new human.

I tried this too. Fifteen minutes in the sauna, then 2-3 minutes in the cold plunge, repeat twice. And honestly? This felt amazing. The shock from hot to cold is intense but somehow your body adapts faster when you’re already warm. The whole thing feels like a reset button.

Wellness bloggers are calling contrast therapy one of the defining trends of 2025, and gyms are starting to offer it as part of their premium memberships. Even Costco apparently sells home saunas now? This is extremely Costco behavior and I kind of love it.

Is This Just Rich People Stuff?

Let’s be real: buying a cold plunge for your house costs anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars (the ones with actual chillers, which you need for it to work properly, are on the expensive end). This is not an accessible wellness trend for everyone.

But you don’t necessarily need fancy equipment. Cold showers exist. Natural bodies of cold water exist. Some people just fill a bathtub with cold water and ice. It’s less optimal but it’s also basically free.

Maya’s Take: I’m slightly skeptical of any wellness trend that requires expensive equipment. It always feels a little like “the secret to health is having money!” Which, I mean, yeah, that does help. But the core principle here — exposing yourself to controlled discomfort — doesn’t actually require buying anything.

Maya’s Take:

The Bigger Wellness Picture

Cold plunges are just one part of this larger shift toward what researchers call “biohacking” — basically trying to optimize your body’s performance through deliberate interventions. Tracking sleep. Intermittent fasting. Breathwork. Cold exposure. Red light therapy. The list goes on.

According to McKinsey, over 60% of consumers say longevity products are “extremely or very important” to them. People want to live longer, healthier lives, and they’re willing to try unconventional things to get there.

The risk, I think, is treating these trends as silver bullets instead of what they actually are: potentially helpful additions to an otherwise healthy lifestyle. Cold plunging won’t save you if you’re sleeping four hours a night and eating garbage. It’s a supplement, not a solution.

Am I Going to Keep Doing This?

Honestly? Yeah, probably. Not every day — I don’t have that kind of discipline or that much hatred for comfort — but a few times a week after workouts feels genuinely good. Whether that’s the actual benefits or just the psychological satisfaction of doing something hard, I’m not sure it matters.

The best thing about cold plunging, weirdly, is that it makes you feel capable. If you can voluntarily sit in 50-degree water for three minutes, you can probably handle other uncomfortable things too. It’s like resilience training for your brain.

Biscuit watched me come home shivering from the gym one day and seemed deeply confused. Cats are warm-blooded creatures who seek out sunbeams and heating vents. He does not understand this trend and frankly does not approve.