The Purpose of My Cold Plunging Journey: Building Resilience
This blog post is written by Seamus Mullen, a well-known expert in the field of health and wellness.
In the realm of social media, it has become quite common to uncover quotes about the strengthening influence of challenges, and with good justification. From Marcus Aurelius’ reflections on “what blocks our path, becomes our path” to Friedrich Nietzsche’s “Through life’s battlefield – what doesn’t destroy me, strengthens me,” these kernels of insight resonate with those who have overcome adversity and found increased resilience.
Although we are naturally aware of this, as humans, we have become experts at trying to avoid challenges at any expense.
As humans, we experience hunger and use technology to order food-like products without having to leave our comfortable, well-cushioned furniture, all while consuming a constant stream of digital entertainment. Our smartphones are always within arm’s reach, constantly supplying us with pleasurable dopamine releases. Our pursuit of ease and luxury is unending.
In the 1970s, President Carter attempted to persuade Americans to wear sweaters instead of increasing the heat during the energy crisis. However, it is not difficult to imagine the limited success of this cable-knit campaign. Once we develop a preference for convenience, it becomes challenging to alter our habits. This is a common experience as we all seem to suffer from APS (Amazon Prime Syndrome). It is likely that our lizard brain is instinctively wired to seek comfort and avoid hardship.
Similarly, I am of the belief that all human beings possess a fondness for sweetness. The sweetness found in fruits is a prime example of the intricate and mesmerizing harmony of nature: a berry bush lures animals with its delectable fruit, facilitating the dispersal of its seeds (neatly fertilized) and ensuring the proliferation of more berry plants. The sweetness of berries informs our ancestors that the fruit is safe to consume and can provide them with much-needed energy quickly. In the rare case of an abundance of fruit, we can efficiently save this energy as fat in our bodies (as explained in this article: https://plunge.com/blogs/blog/the-science-behind-ice-baths-for-weight-loss-do-they-really-work) for future use.
Therefore, if our hunter-gatherer predecessors who resided 20,000 years ago stumbled upon a sudden abundance of berries, it is probable that they would consume them in large quantities and then seek a cozy and secure shelter to indulge in comfort and minimize their efforts. It is improbable that our ancestors would deliberately subject themselves to temporary discomfort in order to cultivate resilience, as facing challenges was merely a natural aspect of their daily existence.
According to Plunge, athletes have always understood the concept of pushing the body to its limits, such as lifting heavy objects, and then giving it time to rest and recover, which ultimately results in increased strength and endurance. It is intriguing to delve deeper into the reasons behind this, and it makes me wonder if this principle applies only to physical strength or if we can intentionally create moments of challenge followed by recovery in other aspects of our lives to enhance our resilience.
Based on my experience as a human and using myself as the subject of my study, I have come to understand that humans are highly skilled at accomplishing tasks we set out for ourselves. For example, if I set out to watch TV and eat potato chips, I become quite adept at doing just that. A friend of mine once made a similar observation while we were struggling to cycle up the challenging Stelvio Pass in the Dolomites, known as one of the toughest cycling routes in the world. They said, “a groove can easily become a rut!” The more we seek comfort, the more we become accustomed to it. However, this pursuit of comfort may come at a price.
The overall state of our health as a species has been steadily declining for the past century, with a sudden surge in obesity, type-2 diabetes, and other non-communicable diseases in the last 30 years. It would be overly simplistic to attribute this solely to one factor; instead, I believe that there are several larger factors and countless smaller factors at play. While we can exert some influence over the macro-factors that affect our health, such as our diet and physical activity, it is much more challenging to manage the multitude of micro-factors that impact our well-being, the majority of which are beyond our control.
I believe that if we apply the concept of weightlifting for building strength and resilience to other aspects of our lives, we can potentially increase our overall resilience and strength, reducing our susceptibility to external factors. This concept is known as hormesis. Please excuse my limited understanding of the scientific aspect as I am a chef, not a molecular biologist, but I am intrigued by the profound impact of our daily decisions on our well-being.
Given that we acknowledge the importance of having a substantial amount of healthy mitochondria for cellular well-being, and considering that our body is composed of approximately 37 trillion cells, it seems logical to conclude that having healthy cells leads to a healthy body. One fascinating aspect of the human body is its ability to promote the development of new mitochondria through the choices we make in our lifestyle.
In today’s society, we have the luxury of convenience, making discomfort a conscious decision rather than a constant aspect of life like it was for our ancestors. This concept can be likened to the culinary term “hormesis,” where the body is deliberately subjected to stress in order to reorganize damaged mitochondria through a process known as autophagy, resulting in the creation of healthier mitochondria. As a result, we can experience improvements in our physical strength, youthfulness, attractiveness, and intelligence.
There are multiple techniques that can be utilized to achieve this goal. One option is to be exposed to low-level radiation, which I am not interested in trying. However, there are safer methods of subjecting the body to specific forms of stress. Personally, I have been implementing three methods for the past 12 years: resistance training (moving heavy objects), caloric restriction (fasting for 16 hours daily with occasional longer fasts), and extreme temperature exposure. These alternatives are much less risky.
Recently, extensive studies have been conducted on the positive effects of saunas and cold plunges (https://plunge.com/blogs/blog/the-combo-benefits-of-sauna-and-cold-plunge). However, looking at the traditional knowledge (https://plunge.com/blogs/blog/history-of-the-ice-bath) from various cultures worldwide, it is evident that the use of both hot and cold baths has been a part of both preventive and curative healthcare practices. This distinction is important as we often only focus on addressing health issues reactively instead of proactively caring for our overall wellbeing (https://plunge.com/blogs/blog/hot-and-cold-therapy-for-recovery-what-you-need-to-know).
According to JFK, “The best time to fix the roof is when the sun is out.” I personally apply this concept to healthcare, focusing on prevention rather than treatment. As part of my daily routine, I incorporate hot and cold therapy to enhance my strength, slow down the aging process, and decrease my vulnerability to sickness. For more information on the benefits of hot and cold therapy, refer to this article on Plunge’s blog: https://plunge.com/blogs/blog/hot-and-cold-therapy-for-recovery-what-you-need-to-know.
Starting from 2010, I have explored various chilling methods to achieve cold exposure. Initially, I used to take cold showers every day in the morning and wrap cold packs from my restaurant’s fish supplier around my chest for 45 minutes before bedtime, while enjoying Breaking Bad in my Walter Whities. This was accompanied by blasting AC in my small Manhattan apartment. As I moved to a slightly bigger apartment in Brooklyn, I upgraded from using ice packs to carrying bags of ice from the nearby store for my bi-weekly bathtub plunge. In 2019, after relocating to Los Angeles, I built my own chest freezer plunge, which proved to be more efficient and convenient than buying large amounts of ice every time. However, it did get unpleasant quite quickly.
Having access to The Cold Plunge has been incredibly fortunate for me as it has now become an integral part of my daily schedule. Through my experimentation, I have tried various temperatures, durations, different times of day, as well as alternating between circulating and non-circulating water, and switching between hot-cold-hot and cold-hot-cold methods, or solely cold without any heat. My exploration has delved into the realm of nasal breathing and breathwork combined with cold exposure, and I am completely sold on its benefits.
Our ancestors, 20,000 years ago, probably did not have the thought of wanting to immerse themselves in the frigid arctic water for a brief 3-5 minutes, stimulating their mammalian dive reflex and practicing box-breathing to burn fat and experience a dopamine rush. However, it is likely that crossing these icy waters in search of food or shelter was a regular activity for them, and the advantages they gained from it greatly aided in their survival.
I view The Plunge as something that is not necessarily my preferred choice for comfort, but rather I see it as a necessary task in my pursuit of resilience. By immersing myself in the plunge first thing in the morning, I can be confident that nothing I encounter throughout the day will be as difficult as facing the cold water.
Utilizing cold plunging can have a significant impact on one’s overall well-being, and I strongly believe that it offers numerous benefits for mental health, immune health, endocrine function, metabolic health, and cellular health. Additionally, being able to calmly withstand subzero temperatures for 5-10 minutes is quite an impressive feat.
At times, it is necessary to become accustomed to feeling uneasy, and then one will realize that the challenge is actually the way forward.
– Seamus Mullen
Renowned for his inventive and accessible Spanish dishes, this chef, restaurateur, and cookbook writer has earned numerous awards. He is also a prominent expert in the field of health and wellness.
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