Mystery Gift Box #029 | The Ice Bath Experiment: How 28 Days of Cold Plunging Took My Physical and Mental Health to the Next Level

Hey friends,

I've completed 28 days of cold plunging! ❄️

It’s been quite an experience. I have always heard about the benefits of cold exposure but never really gave it a try. Believe it or not, I actually don’t like cold temperature… I mean who does right… 🤨 but my passion for growth and exploration pushed me to take on the challenge as part of my 4-4-4 exploration project.

And guess what? The cold plunging was easy to conquer.

Don’t get me wrong. The first time I immersed myself in the cold water, it was a massive shock to my body system and my brain was literally shouting GET OUT IMMEDIATELY. I only immersed for 2 minutes and the water was only 15 degrees cold. However, two days later (day 3), what was unbearable became more tolerable, and I could stay in the water for longer time periods. I was able to immerse for 5 minutes at 14 degrees.

By the end of the first week, I was doing 6+ minutes at around 11 - 12 degrees!

I noticed my body began to adjust to the cold exposure.

My body was better at tolerating cold temperatures. Some days, I even look forward to the cooling, refreshing, and energetic feeling that cold water provides. But the benefits of daily cold exposure go beyond just increasing tolerance for cold temperatures. Here are other noticeable benefits of daily cold exposure:

1. Physical recovery

2. Mental clarity and focus

3. Improve HRV (and lower heart rate)

Overall, cold plunging has been a huge game-changer for me. If you're thinking of trying cold exposure, I highly recommend it!

So what’s next? Would I continue to do cold plunge everyday?

Absolutely. Cold plunging might become one of my daily habits. It does take a long time to set up but so far, the benefits makes it worth it.

Also, I want to get the temperature down to 4 degrees 😈 which it’s the lowest temperature setting that most specialised cold plunge bath goes down to…

My current record is 10 minutes @ 9 - 10 degrees. Using all the ice I have, I only manage to get the water down to 9 degrees so if I want to get the temperature down to 4 degrees, I am going to need a lot more ice! 🧊🧊🧊

💥 Here are the statistics for the 28 days

Day 1 — 20th February — 2 minutes @ 15 degrees

Day 2 — 21st February — 4 minutes @ 16 degrees

Day 3 — 22nd February — 5 minutes @ 14 degrees

Day 4 — 23rd February — 4.5 minutes @ 13.5 degrees

Day 5 — 24th February — 6 minutes @ 14 - 15 degrees | comfortable to last longer

Day 6 — 25th February — 6.5 minutes @ 11 - 12 degrees | very scarily comfortable

Day 7 — 26th February — 6.5 minutes @ 11 - 12 degrees | a bit harder but very manageable

❄️ Week 1: 5 minutes avg. @ 13.5 - 14 degrees avg., total of 34.5 minutes

Day 8 — 27th February — 5 minutes @ 11 - 12 degrees | harder today but not bad

Day 9 — 28th February — 9 minutes @ 12 - 13 degrees | very comfortable

Day 10 — 1st March — 10 minutes @ 13 - 14 degrees | very comfortable

Day 11 — 2nd March — 7 minutes @ 11 - 13 degrees | comfortable

Day 12 — 3rd March — 5 minutes @ 10 - 11 degrees | cold but manageable

Day 13 — 4th March — 6 minutes @ 14 degrees | manageable

Day 14 — 5th March — 8.5 minutes @ 12 - 13 degrees | very manageable

❄️ Week 2: 7.2 minutes avg. @ 12 - 13 degrees avg., total of 50.5 minutes

Day 15 — 6th March — 7 minutes @ 13 degrees | easily manageable

Day 16 — 7th March — 7 minutes @ 13 degrees | easily manageable

Day 17 — 8th March — 7 minutes @ 12 - 13 degrees | easy

Day 18 — 9th March — 5 minutes @ 10 - 11 degrees | very comfortable

Day 19 — 10th March — 7 minutes @ 10 - 11 degrees | very comfortable

Day 20 — 11th March — 7 minutes @ 9 - 10 degrees | very comfortable

Day 21 — 12th March — 5 minutes @ 10 - 11 degrees | mentally challenging

❄️ Week 3: 6.43 minutes avg. @ 11 - 11.7 degrees avg., total of 45 minutes

Day 22 — 13th March — 7 minutes @ 10 - 11 degrees | easy

Day 23 — 14th March — 7 minutes @ 10 - 11 degrees | easy

Day 24 — 15th March — 7 minutes @ 11 - 12 degrees | easy

Day 25 — 16th March — 7 minutes @ 11 - 12 degrees | quite easy

Day 26 — 17th March — 7 minutes @ 10 - 11 degrees | comfortably challenging

Day 27 — 18th March — 9 minutes @ 11 degrees | comfortable

Day 28 — 19th March — 10 minutes @ 9 - 10 degrees | comfortable until the last 2 minutes + the after effect was the worst out of all the session

❄️ Week 4: 7.71 minutes avg. @ 10.3 - 11.1 degrees avg., total of 54 minutes

⛰ 4-4-4 Exploration Project

January 2023: Writing and Storytelling (Subject) ✅

February 2023: KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities (Cirque Du Soleil — Experience) ✅

March 2023: 28 Days of Cold Exposure (Subject and Experience) ✅

April 2023: X

📚 This week, I finished reading…

Have interesting gems you want to share with me and others? Share it by replying to this email and I will include it in the next gift box :)

With love,

Ryan O. 🎮

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