Cold showers or ice baths seem to have taken over wellness conversations. The narratives promote a heightened sense of calm, claim to boost skin collagen, making it smooth, and suggest increased mental resilience and reduced inflammation. However, this is partly true and often overstated. A 2025 report published in the peer-reviewed journal, PLOS One, rejects the idea that a cold bath is a universal, instant health hack. The report notes that 11 studies were conducted among 3,177 people. Cold-water immersion (CWI) acts like a stress-training tool and not a relaxation therapy, it adds.
The benefits are delayed, context-dependent, and modest. The moment the skin meets cold, the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for fight-or-flight responses, switches on. Heart rate rises, breathing sharpens, and stress hormones such as norepinephrine are released. This is the same system the body activates under pressure, whether physical or psychological. The PLOS One report showed that inflammation actually increased after exposure, indicating that cold water acts as a stress signal rather than a calming one. The body reacts as if something demanding just happened. Stress relief was observed after 12 hours of cold-water immersion; however, no significant changes were seen after 24 hours.
There is no evidence that cold-water immersion definitively improves mood or builds mental resilience. What people may describe as resilience may instead be familiarity. That distinction is important, because cold-water immersion is often prescribed as a remedy for anxiety, burnout, and emotional regulation. Cold causes of narrowing blood vessels near the surface to conserve heat. This makes the skin appear firmer and tighter in the moment, often mistaken for improved skin health. The PLOS One report states that there is limited high-quality evidence on the impacts of CWI.
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