Why cold plunges aren’t the same for women and men

Just like breathing practices, cold exposure isn’t one size fits all—here’s what women should know

Photo by Tobias Oetiker on Unsplash

Influencers ( moslty men) have been screaming: “ ice baths for everyone!” but women’s bodies don’t respond the same way!

Because of obvious hormonal differences, frequent cold plunges can disrupt our menstrual cycle, leave women feel exhausted and even lead to bone mass loss.

Women hold to cold stress longer than men!

On the other hand, heat therapy, saunas and warm baths can be a great tool for recovery and balance.

Ladies: If you do cold showers or plunges please keep it short (30–60 sec), time it with your menstrual cycle and BREATHE slow through your nose with longer exhales to stay calm.

Please, don’t follow biohacks built for men, listen to your body instead🙏🏻

Ice Baths, Cold Showers & Breathing for Women

To put it simply: women’s bodies don’t respond the same way as men’s when it comes to cold exposure.Because of hormonal differences, frequent Cold baths:

Will spike cortisol, which is a normal response of our bodies, but for women it can lead to prolongues stress and fatigue, instead of immune system boost and recovery.

Can disrupt menstrual cycles, especially with excessive or poorly timed exposure(e.g. watch yout cycle)

Can lead to bone mass loss—yes, studies show that repeated cold exposure can affect bone metabolism and calcium loss in women. (Read the study)

Heat therapy, like saunas, warm baths, infrared therapy, tend to work better for us, women, helping with hormonal balance, improved circulation, and stress relief.

Cold Showers vs. Ice Baths: What’s Best for Women?

If you still like this idea of cold exposure but feel drained afterwards, there’s another solution - contrast showers (alternating between hot and cold water).

Why they tend to feel better for many women:

Improves circulation – Hot water dilates blood vessels, cold water constricts them, creating a pumping effect that supports cardiovascular health.

Boost our immune system – Regular contrast showers may stimulate white blood cell production and strengthen immunity response.

Reduce muscle soreness – Beneficial after hard workouts, contrast therapy can decrease pain and swelling without shocking your system like an ice bath.

How to do it:

1️⃣ Start with warm/hot water for 2-3 minutes

2️⃣ Switch to cold for 30-60 seconds

3️⃣ Repeat for 3-4 rounds, always end on cold (or warm, if you prefer)

This gentle, balanced exposure to temperature shifts helps train your body without this extreme stress response of full ice baths or showers.

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How to Breathe During Cold Exposure (Without Stressing Your Body)

The way you breathe always affects how your body and mind reacts to cold.

Try these breathing patterns during different types of cold exposure:

Always avoid gasping for air or hyperventilating (breathing too much and too fast, specially through your mouth, in cold exposure—it increases stress reaction and makes the whole experience hard and a torture!

Please use slow, controlled nasal breathing to signal safety to your autonomic nervous system. Try inhale for 3 and exhale for 6. Or you can keep it simpler: Inhale for 4 and exhale for 4.

How I Personally Use Cold Exposure

As a breath coach, yoga teacher, and a premenopausal woman, I don’t do extreme ice baths often. I’ve learned to listen to my body instead of following rigid popular “biohacks.”

🔥 First sauna (15 minutes) → Short (<1 min) cold plunge

🔥 Back into sauna → Second cold plunge (<1 min again)

🔥 I do this once a month—not weekly, because I prioritize balance over stress overload.

Could I do it more often? Yes, I could, but I trust my intuition over trends.

How to Time Cold Exposure With Your Menstrual Cycle

Cold exposure works best when our estrogen is high and should be reduced when progesterone rises.

• Follicular Phase (Day 1-14, Starts with Menstruation, Ends at Ovulation) :it’s the Best Time for Cold Exposure

Days 1-5 (Early Follicular): Most women naturally avoid cold during their period.

Warmth is more soothing. Gentle contrast showers (warm-to-cold) are good, but deep ice baths aren't ideal.

Days 6-14 (Mid to Late Follicular Phase): Best time for cold exposure because estrogen levele are rising, stress resilience is higher, and cold therapy can boost metabolism, fat-burning, and inflamation recovery. Ice baths or cold showers feel more energizing in this phase for most women.

• Ovulation (Day 14-16): it’s still a good time for cold exposure, as estrogen peaks, testosterone rises slightly, and energy is still high.

If you're doing ice baths, this is the last good window before progesterone kicks in your system.

• Luteal Phase (Day 17-28, Post-Ovulation) :Please reduce or avoid cold exposure

• Early Luteal (Days 17-22): Some women can still tolerate cold, but stress sensitivity increases. If ice baths make you feel more tired or anxious, it's a sign to stop.

• Late Luteal (Days 23-28, PMS Phase): Progesterone is at its highest and the body preferes warmth. Cold plunges here will spike cortisol, increase cravings, and make PMS( pre menstrual symptoms worse). So no to ICE, but Yes to saunas, warm baths, or infrared therapy.

Cold Adaptation Challenge: Train Like David Sinclair

Cold exposure is a hot topic in health and longevity circles. Many people swear by ice baths and cold showers, since Wim Hof popularised that, but what if you could train your body to handle the cold naturally—without extreme plunges?

That’s exactly what David Sinclair, well-known longevity scientist, does. He wears a simple T-shirt year-round, both indoors and outdoors, to keep his body adapting. Inspired by this, I decided to try the same.

In the middle of winter, I often stay in a T-shirt at home, initially I feel cold, my energy slowely kicks in, working to generate its own heat and adapt.

Maybe you ‘d like to try this cold adaptation challenge:

✅ Dress slightly lighter than usual—just enough to feel a bit of cold.

✅ Take a 15 minute walk outside without layering too much. I usually carry 3 light layers.

✅ If you want to make it more challenging, you can add a weighted backpack for an extra cardio effect.

✅ Instead of resisting cold, observe how your body responds. Notice where do you feel it first? Your nose, hand or tows? How long does it take to more or less adjust?

Our goal isn’t to suffer but to gently train your body’s resilience, metabolism, and ability to generate heat. Over time, you may notice that you handle cold better, feel more energized, and even improve your circulation or maybe NOT, which is also fine. You don’t have to!

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Why Heat Therapy Feels Better for Many Women

Because it can be a more powerful tool for women, when it comes to hormonal balance, recovery, and stress resilience.

• Supports hormonal balance – Helps regulate cortisol and may improve cycle regularity.

• Enhances circulation & detoxification – Encourages sweating, which supports lymphatic drainage.

• Relieves muscle tension & joint pain – Especially beneficial before or after workouts.

• Promotes deep relaxation – Saunas and warm baths with sea salt activate our parasympathetic nervous system response, which reduces stress in our bodies,

How to Use Heat Therapy:

✅ Saunas: 15–30 minutes, 2–3x per week (depending on your tolerance). Always hydrate well before & after.

✅ Infrared Therapy: Great for deep relaxation and detox, start with 10-15 minutes pro session.

✅ Warm Baths with Magnesium or Epsom Salt: Helps with muscle recovery and stress relief, ideal before bed.

✅ Cycle-Synchronize Your Heat Exposure: Heat therapy is beneficial before & during menstruation when our body craves warmth.

I started listening to my body later in Life, in my 40-ies!

And today, instead of pushing myself hard through any popular health and longevity tricks, I read, learn, experiment moderately and decide what is good for me!

Please, listen to your body, it’s not that difficult and use approaches that makes you feel stronger, energized but calmer.

Your body already knows what it need. Are you listening?