On the shores of Lake Geneva, cold-water bathing draws more followers every winter. What do studies show about its effects, and how can it be practised with care, especially during rehabilitation or a sports season?
By Jon Iturralde
What the studies show
A recent systematic review pooled 11 randomised trials and 3,177 healthy adults (Cain et al., PLOS ONE, 2025). Its main findings:
- a transient inflammatory response just after immersion, part of the normal reaction to cold;
- a reduction in stress measured about twelve hours later;
- in some trials, better sleep quality and, with cold showers, fewer days off work.
The authors point out that the protocols studied vary widely and that most participants were men.
Cold water and training
After a strength session, routine cold immersion can blunt the muscle’s adaptations to training (Roberts et al., Journal of Physiology, 2015). For an athlete, timing matters: cold immersion may have its place during competition and less so in a strength-building phase.
Safety rules
- Never swim alone, enter gradually and stay close to the shore.
- Start with very short immersions and get out at the first intense shivering.
- With heart disease, high blood pressure or pregnancy, ask your doctor first.
- No immersion with an unhealed wound or just after surgery.
- Warm up actively when you get out: dry off, cover up, move.
Our approach at ITU Clinic
We do not prescribe cold as a recipe. When it has its place, we build it into the recovery plan, with timing and duration suited to the injury, the season and each person’s goals.
Further reading
This article is for information only. It does not replace a medical consultation.
References
- Cain T. et al. Effects of cold-water immersion on health and wellbeing: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE. 2025;20(1):e0317615.
- Roberts L.A. et al. Post-exercise cold water immersion attenuates acute anabolic signalling and long-term adaptations in muscle to strength training. Journal of Physiology. 2015;593(18):4285-4301.