Cold plunge

KLAFS ABC OF WELL-BEING

Cold plunges are an excellent way of cooling down after a sauna. You should not stay in a cold plunge for longer than 10 or 20 seconds, or the cold water will draw too much heat from your body. If you want to submerge yourself fully in the cold plunge, you should shower off first for reasons of hygiene. After cooling down, your body relaxes noticeably. As the blood vessels in your skin and subcutaneous tissue contract, your blood flow is diverted inwards, sending an increased supply of blood to inner organs such as your kidneys. And by the way, when we talk about "submersion", we mean your whole body – head and all. In the cold plunge, this diversion of blood to the inner organs can be quite extreme. So it’s not advisable to cool down in this way if you suffer from high blood pressure or are pregnant, as you don’t want to raise your blood pressure higher in either case. Instead, you can go easy on your vascular system by showering off with a cold spray of water. Begin by aiming the hose or shower head at your extremities and move towards the centre of your body.