Your experience with fitness may well take you through some unique lifestyle changes. From dialing in your nutrition to finally locking in that eight-hour sleep window, what you do in your downtime has a huge impact on your strength gains. Any single act won’t seem like a huge needle-mover for your results, but small daily habits really do add up.
With body recomposition, meaningful changes take a long time. Gaining muscle is a lifelong process, and shedding body fat can feel like watching paint dry. Leveraging every tool at your disposal only makes sense — so what about your choice of hygiene?
Cold plunges, ice baths and cold showers blink in and out of popular gym culture, with the promise of benefits such as mental focus, resilience, and even fat burning. In the game of attrition that is your fitness journey, do cold showers burn fat?
- What Is Cold Water Exposure?
- Will a Cold Shower Burn Body Fat?
- How to Take a Cold Shower
- What the Science Says About Cold Exposure
- Potential Benefits of Cold Showers
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Cold Water Exposure?
Cold water exposure takes many forms. From immersion in an ice bath or a DIY cold plunge you fashion yourself in the bathroom, cold water exposure is exactly as it sounds.
You submerge yourself in uncomfortably cold water for a specific period, ideally threading the needle between discomfort and the threshold for a favorable physiological response.
While cold water immersion is convenient at a local spa or for a sports team recovery room, cold showers are an extremely convenient alternative for replicating the effects of a cold plunge from the comfort of your own home.
Cold exposure has been associated with the release of cold shock proteins. Cold shock proteins are an extremely common molecule found in an amazingly diverse amount of organisms throughout history, including humans. Typically, a dramatic decrease in temperature experienced by the organisms triggers this release of cold shock proteins. (1)
[Read More: The 10 Best Cold Plunge Tubs]
Cold shock proteins are being explored as potential therapeutic agents for numerous potential diseases and disorders. (1)
Another effect of cold exposure may be the development of brown adipose tissue (also known as brown fat). Brown fat contributes to your warmth through a method called “non-shivering thermogenesis.”
Thermogenesis means the creation of heat, which ultimately burns calories and thus has the potential to contribute to losing body fat. (2) This may prove to be a valuable tool at your disposal for chasing body composition goals.
Will a Cold Shower Burn Body Fat?
A cold shower sounds like an intriguing technique to help trigger your brown fat production and therefore increase calorie burn. But will a cold shower be sufficient to trigger a brown adipose tissue response and help you lose weight?
Studies have shown that even a modest reduction in body temperature starts the process of brown fat adaptation. (3) Overnight exposure to a room temperature of approximately 19 degrees Celsius appears to be enough to see brown fat adaptations begin. (3)
However, an important note is the difference between ambient air temperature and the cooling effect of water. Your body naturally produces water through sweating as its method of temperature regulation. This is because moisture wicks away heat very effectively when exposed to the air. (4)
[Read More: Cold Plunge Vs. Sauna — Which is Better for Post-Workout Recovery?]
Cold water exposure has very likely a similar cooling effect compared to ambient air temperature (enhanced by the fact that the water is already cold) — meaning, you shouldn’t need as much cold water or exposure duration as you might think to start the effect.
With this in mind, studies have set a temperature target around the point just before shivering would start. (3) Shivering is a different method of producing heat, so stopping just shy of when your body would naturally shiver is a good landmark.
Therefore, as a byproduct of the type of fat and energy expenditure you’re stimulating, you very well could help burn body fat by adding cold showers into your routine.
How to Take a Cold Shower
While all of the details have not yet been fleshed out in research, cold exposure continues to pique the interest of fitness enthusiasts and researchers alike. General recommendations have started to trickle out for many important details.
What is the right temperature for your cold shower? How long do you need to be exposed to the cool temperatures, and how frequently should you be taking them?
Select the Right Temperature
Unless you have a temperature gauge on your shower head or a series of skin sensors tracking your temperature, a precise calibration would be very difficult to make. Given that your shower is a shower and not a lab, more practical considerations are the solution.
Your goal with cold exposure is to generate brown fat adaptation. This is a distinct physiological response from normal shivering or other means of generating heat when you are cold. Given this, shivering should serve as a landmark to help gauge your temperature selection.
[Read More: 6 Ice Bath Benefits That May Convince You To Take the Plunge]
You aren’t going for a cold temperature personal record here — think more along the lines of progressive overload. For brown fat to do its thing, you’ll want to select a temperature just shy of the threshold that would cause you to shiver. To find this, you’ll have to gradually expose yourself to colder water temperatures.
Keep pace with what your body can handle as you find the right shiver threshold for you.
Expose Yourself for the Right Amount of Time
Nailing the right amount of time is also tricky. While conceptually straightforward, the best way to design your cold shower protocol hasn’t been determined in the research quite yet.
You only need a moderate drop in temperature from the cold water exposure to begin stimulating your brown fat adaptations. This means that it’s likely you can start with a relatively quick cold blast of cold.
[Read More: The Cold Hard Truths About Ice Baths and Muscle Recovery]
Aim for a temperature that keeps you above your shivering threshold but also cut your shower off before you start to feel a drop in your core temperature. This would be when you start to feel colder despite not adjusting the shower temperature. Staying within those boundaries should keep you safe, protecting your overall wellness while also potentially seeing some early results.
Frequency of Cold Showers
Promoting fat loss by increasing your metabolic rate is a long, slow game. Your cold showers are just one of a series of tools at your disposal but may also be one of your most consistent. Weaving a cold shower into your daily routine is one way to stay on top of the extra calories you need to burn for your body composition goal.
Similar to your training and nutritional regimen, slowly making cold showers a part of your routine is a great way to start. Begin with a frequency you’re able to reasonably tolerate, such as twice per week. As your body adjusts, increase your showers as much or as little as you would like.
[Read More: Should You Cold Plunge Before or After a Workout?]
It’s worth noting that you don’t need to give up your normal hot showers either — try combining your showers and end your normal routine with a few minutes of cold exposure.
What the Science Says About Cold Exposure
Cold exposure has become incredibly popular all over the fitness space, and for good reason. Various methods of cold exposure have been shown to produce a ton of meaningful short and long-term health benefits well beyond increasing brown fat activity.
Cold exposure has been associated with mental health and well-being. It is being explored as a potential aid for depression and more broadly reducing self-reported sickness and missed work days. (5)(6)
The hormonal and endorphin release from bouts of cold exposure has also become increasingly well documented, meaning the potential for a nice mental boost from the rush to your nervous system. (7)
[Read More: Here’s Why Chris Bumstead Takes Ice Baths 3 Times Per Week]
While there used to be a push for cold exposure protocols to assist in recovery from delayed onset muscle soreness after strenuous exercise, the literature has been mixed over time. Some aspects of recovery may be assisted or even superior when compared to other protocols, whereas some may be equivalent or inferior with cold exposure. (8)
The effectiveness of cold exposure as an exercise recovery tool is likely impacted by the type of activity, timing, and type of cold exposure, or other currently unknown factors. (9)
Potential Benefits of Cold Showers
With cold showers taking a more consistent place in the training spotlight, there are some potential benefits to be aware of. Increased metabolism is the big one, but you’ll also potentially catch a nice endorphin release and stimulate the release of cold shock proteins.
Boost Metabolism
The brown fat adaptation is front and center in the cold shower discussion. Of all the potential benefits, this one is the most intriguing for many people. Chronic exposure to cold helps to stimulate an increased metabolic rate as your brown fat cells work to keep your temperature from dropping.
[Read More: How to Boost Your Metabolism With Science, According to Jeff Nippard]
Land your cold shower at a point just before you start to shiver and you’ll likely be stimulating these unique brown adipose fat cells. (3)
Endorphin Release
Endorphins are feel-good molecules that help with pain relief and overall feelings of well-being. One such endorphin you may experience is the release of norepinephrine from your cold exposure. Norepinephrine has been associated with cold exposure and might be one nice side-effect of your cold showers. (7)
Cold Shock Proteins
Cold shock proteins are a fascinating area of potential benefits from your cold showers. A sudden decrease in temperature seems to be what triggers a heat shock protein response, and they are being researched as potential therapeutic agents for several different disease states and disorders. (1)
One Cool Trick
So, do cold showers help burn fat? The bottom line: yes and no. Cold showers may increase the production of brown fat, which is a more metabolically active form of adipose tissue. Read: it’ll burn calories. Your metabolic rate increases as your body harnesses brown fat as a method of staying warm under cooler conditions.
You may choose to harness your cold showers as a way to subtly (in a very small way) increase your daily calorie expenditure. If you can take the chill, try out a cold shower today and get your brown fat on.
FAQs
There’s a lot of information flying around regarding cold showers. Here are some frequently asked questions.
The exact length of time that you should take a cold shower is still being mapped out; however, there are some early recommendations. Starting with shorter durations is a good way to get acclimated to the experience and work your way up to a length of time you’re reasonably able to maintain.
Like all training or recovery methods, whatever you consistently apply is the best option for you. Start with 30 seconds to one minute and slowly climb. Until more solid research comes out, cap your cold shower at three to five minutes or whenever you feel like your core temperature is dropping to the point where you start to shiver.
The major fat-burning benefit of cold showers comes from the generation of brown fat. Brown fat is a metabolically active form of adipose tissue. Compared to your white fat (what you would normally think of when talking about fat cells), brown fat actually burns calories.
Since brown fat generation is stimulated by cold exposure, your cold showers may be better than hot showers at burning a small amount of fat in the long run.
A cold shower is more beneficial than just improving your metabolic rate. Cold showers potentially boost your mood through the release of endorphins such as norepinephrine, improve some aspects of recovery from strenuous exercise, and have even been associated with fewer sick days from work.
References
- Lindquist, J. A., & Mertens, P. R. (2018). Cold shock proteins: from cellular mechanisms to pathophysiology and disease. Cell communication and signaling : CCS, 16(1), 63.
- Jung, S. M., Sanchez-Gurmaches, J., & Guertin, D. A. (2019). Brown Adipose Tissue Development and Metabolism. Handbook of experimental pharmacology, 251, 3–36.
- Chen, K. Y., Brychta, R. J., Linderman, J. D., Smith, S., Courville, A., Dieckmann, W., Herscovitch, P., Millo, C. M., Remaley, A., Lee, P., & Celi, F. S. (2013). Brown fat activation mediates cold-induced thermogenesis in adult humans in response to a mild decrease in ambient temperature. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 98(7), E1218–E1223.
- Gagnon, D., & Crandall, C. G. (2018). Sweating as a heat loss thermoeffector. Handbook of clinical neurology, 156, 211–232.
- Shevchuk N. A. (2008). Adapted cold shower as a potential treatment for depression. Medical hypotheses, 70(5), 995–1001.
- Buijze, G. A., Sierevelt, I. N., van der Heijden, B. C., Dijkgraaf, M. G., & Frings-Dresen, M. H. (2016). The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work: A Randomized Controlled Trial. PloS one, 11(9), e0161749.
- Leppäluoto, J., Westerlund, T., Huttunen, P., Oksa, J., Smolander, J., Dugué, B., & Mikkelsson, M. (2008). Effects of long-term whole-body cold exposures on plasma concentrations of ACTH, beta-endorphin, cortisol, catecholamines and cytokines in healthy females. Scandinavian journal of clinical and laboratory investigation, 68(2), 145–153.
- Moore, E., Fuller, J. T., Bellenger, C. R., Saunders, S., Halson, S. L., Broatch, J. R., & Buckley, J. D. (2023). Effects of Cold-Water Immersion Compared with Other Recovery Modalities on Athletic Performance Following Acute Strenuous Exercise in Physically Active Participants: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Regression. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 53(3), 687–705.
- Dupuy, O., Douzi, W., Theurot, D., Bosquet, L., & Dugué, B. (2018). An Evidence-Based Approach for Choosing Post-exercise Recovery Techniques to Reduce Markers of Muscle Damage, Soreness, Fatigue, and Inflammation: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in physiology, 9, 403.
Featured Image: Credit: Awa Mally / Shutterstock
The post Do Cold Showers Burn Fat? Everything You Need to Know About Weight Loss and Cold Water Exposure appeared first on BarBend.