While ice bathing in winter can help boost immunity, improve blood circulation and aid recovery, it requires special attention to safety as the cold stimulus from ice bathing can be more intense than in other seasons due to the lower outside temperature. Firstly, make sure your body is warm before ice bathing in winter. You can raise your body temperature by warming up or putting on warm clothing to avoid sudden entry into cold, icy water that could lead to shock or other adverse reactions.
Secondly, the duration of ice bathing in winter should be appropriately shortened. As the external environment is already cold, the body is more susceptible to the effects of cold, it is recommended that the time of the first attempt to ice bath is controlled at about 1-2 minutes, and with increased adaptation, it can be gradually extended to 3 minutes. Ice bathing for too long may result in a rapid drop in body temperature or even hypothermia, so be sure to control the time.
Immediately after the ice bath, dry your body and put on warm clothing, especially focusing on protecting the limbs and head, because these parts are most sensitive to the cold. Then you can do some light exercise or stretching to help restore normal blood circulation. In addition, high-intensity exercise, especially outdoor activities, is not recommended immediately after an ice bath in winter to avoid further stimulation of vasoconstriction by the cold air, which can cause cardiovascular discomfort.
