Why 2 Minutes Daily Beats 11 Minutes Weekly
Think of cold exposure like strength training for your nervous system. You wouldn't do all your weekly reps in one gym session, and the same logic applies here. The athletes and high-performers who actually see results from their cold practice understand something crucial: frequency beats duration every single time.
The magic number floating around the wellness world is 11 minutes. That's the weekly cold exposure sweet spot backed by research. But before you jump into an ice bath for one heroic 11-minute session and call it done, hold up. The real power isn't in hitting that number—it's in how you distribute it.
If you’re new to cold exposure, make sure to check out our free deliberate cold exposure guide that gives you everything you need to know about starting to get your cold on.
Your nervous system adapts better to frequent, small doses.
Whether it's cold exposure, exercise, or learning a skill, your body responds to regular signals. Daily 3-minute sessions create a consistent adaptation stimulus that your system can progressively build on. A weekly 15-minute session can be considered too infrequent for your body to recognise as a pattern worth adapting to. Cold water immersion helps us build resilience, which is created by a process called hormesis.
Safety and sustainability matter.
Three minutes daily is far safer than pushing through 15 minutes when your body isn't adapted. You're less likely to experience negative effects, and you can maintain this practice regularly and reap the benefits with minimising risk.
Little and often is the key.
Practicing cold exposure daily, ensures you're achieving the benefits of the dopamine release more regularly than if you were to just use the cold for one session a week. The mental confidence from conquering the cold each day, carries into everything else you do.
Ready to get serious about cold water immersion?
Whether it’s sport recovery, building resilience or that feel good mental boost, cold water immersion is a useful tool for everyone. If you’re looking to dive deeper, make sure to download the deliberate cold exposure guide here.
