Migraines are a common cause for concern for individuals of all backgrounds – according to Headaches Australia, approximately 4.9 million people suffer debilitating pain from migraines, with 7.6% of the population experiencing frequent episodes through chronic migraine.
It’s this prevalence that prompts most people to look for a combination of available treatments to help alleviate the pain. According to the findings from the Xtreme Ice Baths team, the cold bath benefits of Cold Water Immersion (CWI) can positively impact your situation.
How Ice Baths Help With Migraines
Migraines are severe headaches characterised by throbbing or pulsating pain on one side of the head. This may happen alongside nausea, vomiting, or extreme photophobia and could last for hours to days, to the point of disrupting daily life.
Lifestyle changes, medications, and certain remedies can potentially alleviate headaches, and CWI exists among these effective alternative treatments.
Here’s how inducing CWI through ice baths particularly helps alleviate headaches and migraines:
Reduce Stress
According to the American Migraine Foundation, stress accounts for nearly 70% of migraine triggers. One study mentioned in the article even discovered that about 50-70% of people that their stress levels had a direct correlation with migraine activity.
This underscores the need for proper stress management, and recent research suggests that CWI can help with improving mood and induce mindfulness.
These factors can have a positive impact on managing migraines, which according to Harvard Health, can reduce emotional stress response and chronic migraines.
A 2021 study fully explored how cold immersion can improve mood, subjecting a total of 64 participants to the experiment.
The participants categorised in two groups: 42 were to undergo CWI while the remaining 22 individuals served as the control group and did not go into the water.
Researchers discovered that the treatment group showed a big improvement in mood– feeling more energetic and had higher self-esteem while reducing tension, anger, depression, fatigue, and confusion when compared to the control group, who only saw an increase in depression.
Regulate Sleeping Patterns
Poor and inadequate sleep is one of the leading causes of fatigue, and this physiological state can leave you prone to migraine triggers. Thankfully, emerging research suggests that CWI helps reduce sleep latency, making you fall asleep faster and regulate your sleeping patterns.
In a 2019 study exploring the effects of CWI on sleep amount and quality, 10 professional cyclists were observed for eight nights during a simulated hill climbing tour.
During the first three days, five of the cyclists underwent CWI sessions at 11-12°C for ten minutes after their rides, while the remainder went for a placebo recovery session. After two recovery days, the groups switched situations.
Unfortunately, the study found that CWI had no significant impact on sleep amount and quality between the two conditions. However, researchers discovered that the cyclists had a shorter sleep latency after CWI, when compared to the placebo condition.
Take The Plunge With Xtreme Ice Baths
Mounting evidence for cold bath benefits have extended to physical and mental health, for those brave enough to endure the cold. While we have yet to see specific studies exploring the effect of ice baths on migraines, similar studies suggest that cold water immersion may potentially alleviate them.
That said, we highly recommend those new to CWI consult with their healthcare provider first and take gradual steps to see how cold their bodies can tolerate.
For more helpful resources in all things CWI-related interested in taking home an inflatable ice bath for yourself, contact us today – we would be happy to help you get started!
