the joy of ice bathing
I have big dreams. You probably do too. So what's stopping you living your dreams?
Growing up anxious. Highly sensitive. Sensing tension in a room before anyone spoke. I’ve spent most of my life learning how to feel safe in a world that often didn’t. And now, in my mid-life after years of hesitation, and not doing half the things I dream to do I’ve come to this realization:
If I want to live my dreams, I have to get uncomfortable. And I don’t mean metaphorically.
The Paradox of Comfort
Our brains are wired to avoid pain. Evolution made it so. Comfort equals safety, right?
But modern life? It may not feel easy but its generally comfortable. We’ve engineered out nearly all friction. Food, temperature, entertainment, people—we can access everything without leaving our sofa. Joy and pain exist like a seasaw, though how the dopamine neurotransmitter is created. The more one feels pain the more one has capacity to feel joy.
We see it all the time. People generally want more joy, and come to our space looking for something—healing, peace, vitality, purpose—but what they really need is a jolt. A disruption. Something to wake them up. Getting out of our comfort zone is powerful and transformative.
Enter: ice baths.
Ice, Baby
We recently installed a British-made ice bath from Urban Ice Tribe in our garden. I was surprised that when we hosted a launch event, over half the guests had never done an ice bath.
Which made me wonder:
Why do so many of us avoid even 30 seconds of discomfort—when we know how good it could be for us?
Ice bathing isn’t new. It’s been part of hydrotherapy since the 1800s. But in the past decade—thanks to Wim Hof, the rise of biohacking, and a flood of wellness content on social media—it’s gone mainstream.
And the science is catching up.
A 2020 study showed that a cold plunge (about 14°C for one hour) can spike dopamine by 250% and norepinephrine by 530%. That's a natural high comparable to cocaine. Only you're calmer after. Sharper. More alive.
Ryan, the founder of Urban Ice Tribe, started ice bathing daily after a back injury made it impossible to run. Eighteen months later, he completed an Iron Man.
Cold, But Not Cruel
This is where most people check out. “I could never do that.”
But here’s the part we don’t talk about enough:
- You only need 30 to 90 seconds.
- The water doesn’t have to be freezing—anything below 16°C offers benefits.
- Women should avoid ice bathing during the last 10 days of their cycle and menstruation (hormonal shifts = more sensitivity).
- It’s best to ice bath before weight training, not after—it blunts inflammation, which you need to build muscle.
It doesn’t need to be extreme. It just needs to be consistent.
Why It Matters
Discomfort is a teacher.
Cold water reminds me what it feels like to choose something hard, stay in it, and come out the other side changed.
That’s not just biology. That’s ritual.
Because if we never choose challenge, the world will choose it for us. Life has a way of delivering discomfort—illness, loss, heartbreak. These are not optional. But our relationship to them is. And that’s what practices like ice bathing prepare us for.
We’ve outsourced so much of our vitality to tech, apps, conveniences that dull our edges. And our edges are where the magic lives.
So Why Do It?
Because you’ll remember what it feels like to be fully here.
Because you’ll feel proud of yourself for going beyond your limits.
Because you’ll sleep deeper, laugh more, and slowly rewire your nervous system to say:
I can handle this. And you can. Not just the cold. But all of it.
