Cold Water Exposure Rewires your Brain
An article published in February 2023 titled, MRI scans reveal changes in the brain’s wiring after cold water shock, cites an interesting, and first of its kind study on the effects of cold water immersion on the brain. In the study, 33 participants were given an initial functional MRI (fMRI) scan of their brain, and then were immersed in a cold bath with only their head sticking out for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes, study participants quickly dried off and were then given another fMRI scan of their brain. The physiological effects and subsequent benefits of cold water immersion have been well studied, however, this was the first study of its kind that studied the effects of cold water immersion on the brain, and its effects on psychological health. “All tiny parts of the brain are connected to each other in a certain pattern when we carry out activities in our day-to-day lives, so the brain works as a whole.” said Dr Yankouskaya. “After our participants went in the cold water, we saw the physiological effects – such as shivering and heavy breathing. The MRI scans then showed us how the brain rewires its connectivity to help the person cope with the shock.” When the before and after (cold water immersion) fMRI scans were compared, they showed that changes in the connectivity between parts of the brain had occurred. Most notable were changes in the wiring of the medial prefrontal cortex and the parietal cortex. “These are the parts of the brain that control our emotions, and help us stay attentive and make decisions,” Dr Yankouskaya said. “So when the participants told us that they felt more alert, excited and generally better after their cold bath, we expected to see changes to the connectivity between those parts. And that is exactly what we found.”
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