Social media says that dipping your face in ice water calms you down. But does it actually work?

There has been a lot of talk in recent years about the benefits of colds. Cold diving, hot-cold showers and ice rolling have been marketed as everything from “beauty secrets” that reduce puffiness to “biohacks” that promote muscle recovery and longevity.

What intrigues me most, however, is that the mental and emotional benefits associated with cold water exposure are incredibly similar to the benefits of yoga. calm nervous systemreduced heart rate, improved mood, better emotional regulation, sharper focusand more.

Lately I started seeing “ice facials” on Instagram. People hold their breath and dunk their faces into bowls of ice water in an attempt to recreate a full-body cold plunge in miniature. Those who recommend the practice claim that it gives them mental clarity, presence, and calmness all day long, especially if practiced early in the morning. The conclusion of these “cold therapies” usually sounds something like: “If you are willing to put in the effort and embrace discomfort, you will be rewarded on the other side.” Which one Also Sounds a lot like yoga.

As a snoozer of alarms, a sleeper of feet, and someone who isn’t allowed to socialize until around noon, I wondered if dunking my face in ice water wouldn’t be a relatively easy and quick route to mindfulness and energy in the morning—a way to experience the same benefits as yoga and meditation in a fraction of the time.

Immersing my face in ice water for seven days: did it calm me down?

I committed to my new mindfulness experiment once a day. The rules, which I based on how I saw others do it, were:

1. Do it shortly after waking up
2. Dunk for 10 seconds
3. Notice how I feel immediately after and throughout the day.

There are some risks associated with submerging your face in a bowl full of ice, as it can be intense if you have certain conditions. Consult your doctor before trying it at home.

Days 1-3

The first day of ice dipping was, in a word: ugh. I hadn’t yet figured out that I only had to fill my bowl about three-quarters full with ice and water before I would dunk it in my face and spill a bunch of icy liquid all over my kitchen table.

The sensation of the ice cream itself wasn’t bad! But holding my breath was harder than I thought.

After putting my face in it, I quickly realized that a lot of water was about to go up my nose. I exhaled softly through my nose in an attempt to stop it, and somehow I swallowed a lot of air in the process, which was extremely uncomfortable.

After just a few seconds I thought, “We’re going to die!” While I was underwater, I thought about a documentary I had seen about freediving someone held their breath for more than 3 minutes. That’s for sure not me. I came up gasping for breath after only 5 seconds.

Once I surfaced, I felt a cool tingling sensation on my nose. That may be a result of making direct contact with the ice, which I later read that you *shouldn’t* do (something about possible damage to blood vessels). Some people put the bowl of water in the freezer for a few minutes as an alternative to using ice.

Since this was a pre-coffee dunk, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself feeling more energetic than usual at this time of the morning.

Call it the placebo effect, but I also felt really grounded in the present moment and not stressed about the day ahead. It could also be the fact that my body was a bit in shock, but I accept it.

Days 2 and 3 followed.

Days 4-6

Instead of getting easier, it became harder to keep ice dipping as part of my routine. In large part, this is probably because the novelty faded Real quickly. Suddenly I was annoyed that I had to start my day in such a cruel and unusual way. Not to mention that I now had a growing pile of bowls to wash in my kitchen sink…

So I started to procrastinate a bit. Instead of doing the ice facial immediately after waking up, I did other things first: brushed my teeth, moisturized my face (a total waste after washing it all off in the ice bath), and even had coffee and breakfast. It would have been much easier if the ice bath was magically waiting for me on my nightstand so I could shock myself out of bed.

With each passing day, I also felt more and more restless underwater. It seemed I had less patience. But that also meant I had to find a sustainable way to stay calm. I couldn’t focus on my breathing because I wasn’t breathing, but I could shift my focus to the sensations I was feeling—the water on my face, my feet on the floor, my hands on the table—and settle into my body, as I learned through yoga and meditation. This helped keep me from running away with my anxious thoughts and forgoing the ice facial altogether. For this reason, I felt more grounded and present during the day the ice then dips afterward.

Despite – or perhaps because of – the increasing struggle to keep my face submerged, I still felt a sense of satisfaction every time I caught my breath. Maybe it’s automatically calming to start the day with something difficult because everything else seems more doable.

Day 7

I must have been feeling bold because I added more ice than usual on the last day and emerged with a panicked scream. It was about as stimulating (and unpleasant) as taking a dip in 100-degree ocean water, a favorite pastime of my 20s but something I can’t bring myself to do often in my 30s.

Reflections

Looking back on the week of putting my face in ice water, I was exceptionally productive at work, more willing to tackle the difficult tasks earlier in the day, and became much less numb to Instagram in my spare moments.

Of course, self-care entails self-care. Unsurprisingly, implementing a new mindfulness practice inspired me to continue my current feel-good activities (walking outside every day) and practice a few more for good measure (meditating during a work break).

But I won’t continue with a daily ice facial. Logistically it’s quite tricky (although I would consider using one ice roller in the future). And this kind of mindfulness practice feels like the equivalent of the muscle-bound, protein shake-drinking, self-help influencer whose tagline is, “Discomfort is the gateway to growth!” Sure, that’s true, but we don’t need to shout about it.

Cold therapies put your body in a similarly extreme environment where it’s kind of like impossible not to be present, such as those sensory deprivation tanks or total darkness retreats. Maybe I’ll reserve it for days when I’m not getting enough sleep or I’m feeling special in my head.

Still, it was nice to be reminded that my mind has the ability to overcome difficult circumstances. Although it’s not something I can’t achieve by practicing Chair Pose or sitting in silence for a while. Maybe, after all, my form of mindfulness is still just yoga.