Tried cold exposure for 3 weeks and my sleep got worse before it got better

I started doing 2 minute cold showers every morning after reading about dopamine boosts. First week I was exhausted and waking up at 3am every night. Kept going and by day 14 my sleep schedule totally shifted - I'm falling asleep an hour earlier now. The weird part is my daytime energy feels more steady instead of the usual crash after lunch. I'm guessing my body had to adapt to the stress response. Anyone else get messed up sleep at first with cold exposure?

3 comments

3 Comments

jordan_henderson132d ago

First week I was exhausted and waking up at 3am every night" - yeah that happened to me too but I think you're wrong about it being adaptation. Cold exposure spikes cortisol right before sleep if you do it too late in the day. I moved mine to mornings only and the 3am waking stopped immediately. Your body isn't adapting, you're just timing it better now. Try doing it at least 4 hours before bed and see if the sleep issues go away faster.

simonk982d agoOG Member

Is it really that deep though? Like yeah, I get that cold plunges mess with your sleep if you do them at the wrong time, but I feel like a lot of people overthink this stuff. @jordan_henderson13 you're probably right that moving it to mornings helps, but I don't think most people need to stress about exact timing unless they're super sensitive. I've done ice baths at like 8pm and slept fine, so maybe it's more individual than we give it credit for. Just my two cents, but I'd say try it whenever works for you and see how you feel instead of stressing over cortisol spikes.

phoenix_singh251d agoRising Star

Ha yep that reminds me, my buddy tried doing a cold plunge at like 9pm once and said he felt wired for hours but then crashed super hard the next morning. He swore it was some kind of detox thing but nah, it was just bad timing lol.