The Science of Ice Baths 冰浴里的科学

艾萨克·威廉姆斯/文　左自强/译

Whether or not you would personally plunge into an ice bath， cold-water therapy is having a moment.

不管你是否愿意親自尝试冰浴，冷水疗法正风靡。

It sounds like a form of torture. If you wince at the idea of lowering yourself into a regular swimming pool， why voluntarily cover yourself in water around the temperature at which it turns to ice？ Well， having an ice bath is able to have the word ‘therapy affixed to the end of it because of the purported benefits for the body and perhaps even the soul.

冰浴听上去就有一种摧残人的感觉。如果一个人光是想到下进普通泳池就胆战心惊的话，怎么会心甘情愿地泡进温度低至冰点左右的水里呢？其实，“冰浴”后面可以加上“疗法” 一词，因为据说冰浴对身体甚至心灵都有益处。

“Like coffee on steroids1”

“像喝了功效加倍的咖啡”

Kyle Miller lives in Finland， close to Norvaj?rvi， a lake in the Lapland region2 in the north. Ice baths are a daily routine for him—and around 50% of Finnish people. Every day， he walks out of his house in the morning and reaches the lake within two minutes.

凯尔·米勒生活在芬兰，家住芬兰北部拉普兰地区诺瓦贾维湖附近。冰浴是他和大约半数芬兰人的日常惯例。每天清晨，米勒都会走出家门，用不了两分钟就可以到达湖边。

There， he lowers himself into a hole that he hacked out of the ice himself， where he stays for 20 calm breaths—approximately two minutes.

他自己在冰面上凿了一个洞，就从这个洞下水，在水中平静地呼吸20次——大约两分钟。

“Its like coffee on steroids，” he says. “Everything in your system is like， ‘Whats going on？ OK， Im awake; Ive never felt so alive in my life; this is amazing; I want to get out of here.”

“就像喝了功效加倍的咖啡。”他说，“身体各处的感觉就像，‘怎么回事？哈，我清醒了。我感受到了这辈子从未有过的活力。太神奇了。我要出去了。”

Miller calls the practice “an immediate shock of adrenaline on your system”， for obvious reasons. He says， “After going through such a challenging ordeal， Im ready to take on anything and everything in the world.”

米勒将这种体验称为“肾上腺素对人体的直接冲击”，而原因显而易见。他说：“在经历过如此具有挑战性的严酷考验之后，我随时可以迎接世上的一切挑战。”

So what are the concrete benefits？ Cold-water therapy， and its close cousin cold-water swimming， have demonstrated encouraging results in various studies as ways to improve wellbeing， both physical and mental.

那么，冷水疗法具体好在哪呢？冷水疗法以及与其相近的冷水游泳在各种研究中都显示出了可喜效果，可使身心双双受益。

Perhaps most famously， the method is prescribed as a way to mitigate muscle soreness. Like applying ice to a wound， says Miller， it is intended to act as a form of pain relief.

这种疗法最显著的益处也许就是可减轻肌肉酸痛。米勒说，就像在伤口上敷冰一样，这种疗法能起到缓解疼痛的作用。

Various studies in the last ten years have discovered that cold-water immersion can improve muscle pain to some extent. In 2018， cold-water immersion in rugby players was said to have provided “some beneficial effect by reducing fatigue and soreness”; in 2014， another study concluded that “cold-water immersion appears to facilitate restor- ation of muscle performance in a stretch-shortening cycle”.

过去十年的各种研究表明，泡冷水可以在一定程度上缓解肌肉疼痛。2018年有研究结果表明，泡冷水为橄榄球运动员“消除疲劳、减轻酸痛，产生了一定的有益影响”。2014年的一项研究总结称：“泡冷水似乎有助于肌肉在牵拉-收缩循环中的状态恢复。”

Inflammation is a malady treated well by cold temperatures， because blood vessels constrict， helping to bring down swelling.

低温疗法可以很好地治疗炎症，因为低温可以使血管收缩，从而有助于消除肿胀。

The benefits go on. A 2013 study demonstrated a link between cold acclimation—different to cold-water therapy but still all about reducing body temperature—and the production of brown adipose tissue activity， which helps us lose weight.

低温疗法的益处不止于此。2013年的一项研究表明，冷适应（不同于冷水疗法，但仍与降低体温有关）与棕色脂肪组织产生活性之间存在关联，而有活性的棕色脂肪组织有助于减肥。

Weight loss would be unsurprising given that the technique is also proven to increase metabolic rate： when you submerge your body in cold water， your heart rate tends to go up and your body works harder to efficiently pump blood around the circulatory system.

能产生减肥效果并不令人惊讶，因为低温疗法经证明还可以提高人体的代谢速率：浸入冷水中，心率通常会上升，身体会更努力地泵送血液，有效促进循环系统运转。

Patchy proof

有待进一步研究

It is also said that cold-water therapy improves your sleep. Anecdotally， that could well be true for many people， but there are studies that have found both positive and non-existent correl-ations. In fact， there are more studies demonstrating a link between good sleep and hot showers than good sleep and cold showers.

還有说法称，冷水疗法可以改善睡眠。据称，这对许多人来说很可能是真的，但有的研究发现两者正相关，有的则发现两者不相关。事实上，比起发现良好睡眠与冷水浴有关的研究，发现良好睡眠与热水浴有关的研究更多。

Many of the studies on cold-water immersion have used small sample sizes， and their results arent hugely conclusive one way or another. Because the practice is often combined with a few different elements—exercise and socialising， for example—it is difficult to pinpoint the role that the cold water plays.

许多有关冷水浴的研究采用的样本量较小，而且研究结果在某种程度上都存在相当大的不确定性。因为冷水浴往往多少掺杂着其他因素——比如锻炼和社交——因此很难确定冷水所起的作用。

Duncan Leighton， a physiotherapist who works for at-home spin and fitness brand Apex Rides， thinks the findings should be treated with a pinch of salt3 and that， though it has been around for hundreds of years， perhaps ice bath therapy is just in vogue at the moment.

邓肯·莱顿是一名理疗师，就职于专攻家用动感单车与健身的公司“顶点骑行”。他认为，应对相关研究的结果持怀疑态度，尽管冰浴疗法已经存在数百年，但也许只是目前风行一时。

One issue， Leighton says， is that there isnt even conclusive scientific evidence on why we get muscle soreness. If we dont exactly know why the problem occurs in the first place， its tough to assess treatments “because we kind of dont know what were treating”. Indeed， a 2019 study found that ice baths seem to impair muscle conditioning after leg exercises.

莱顿称，问题之一在于甚至还没有确凿的科学证据表明我们为何会肌肉酸痛。如果我们连肌肉酸痛的原因都不能完全理解的话，那就很难评估治疗方法，“因为我们连治疗什么都没搞清楚”。事实上，2019年的一项研究表明，冰浴似乎会有损于腿部运动后的肌肉调节。

But it isnt just physical problems that cold-water therapy purports to help. It is also marketed as a method with significant mental health benefits.

然而，据说冷水疗法能解决的不仅仅是身体方面的问题。它还被营销成一种对心理健康有显著益处的疗法。

Laura Fullerton is the founder of Monk， which in 2022 launched as “the worlds first at-home ice bath”. Fullerton says that， given how horribly stressful the last few years have been， its not a shock that the practice has entered the headlines.

勞拉·富勒顿是蒙克公司的创始人，这家公司成立于2022年，号称“全球第一个家庭冰浴”服务公司。富勒顿认为，鉴于人们在过去几年里承受着巨大压力，冷水疗法成为头条新闻并不令人感到震惊。

“I know many people whove used CWT [cold water therapy] as a core tool to help them overcome PTSD， anxiety， depression， and head injuries，” she says.

她说：“我认识许多接受过冷水疗法的人，他们都将其用作核心疗法来帮助自己战胜创伤后应激障碍、焦虑、抑郁和头部损伤。”

Perhaps “overcome” might be overselling the efficacy， but there are various studies that demonstrate a link between the practice and a reduction in stress. Though the jury is out on4 whether it is cold-water immersion alone that help.

也许用“战胜”一词会有夸大疗效之嫌，但各种研究表明，冷水疗法与减轻压力之间存在关联。不过，是否只有泡冷水一个因素在起作用，尚无定论。

Jeremy Howick， a researcher who studies evidence-based medicine5 says that it is impossible to hide from a participant the fact that cold-water treatment is taking place—making the placebo effect a real possibility. Thats the point， says Leighton： whats most important is your attitude to the method.

从事循证医学研究的研究员杰里米·豪伊克称，不可能向参与者隐瞒正在采用冷水疗法的事实，因此真的有可能产生安慰剂效应。莱顿认为，这就是问题的关键所在，最重要的是你对待这种疗法的态度。

“If someone believes that somethings helping them and they buy into the whole process of it， then I think it can be really beneficial for people，” he says. He himself likes the practice， recommending it as a “physical full-stop”， which can be helpful mentally in the separation between exercise and relaxation.

他说：“如果某人确信某件事对自己有帮助，而且对整个过程深信不疑，那么我认为这确实会对他们有益。”他本人很喜欢冷水疗法，推崇用它“让身体停顿下来”，这会在运动和放松之间的空当带来精神上的愉悦。

Of course， the risks of cold-water therapy need to be considered alongside the benefits. For pregnant women， or anyone with heart or circulation problems， it will be a dangerous endeavour.

当然，考虑冷水疗法益处的同时，其产生的风险也应一并考虑。对于孕妇或所有存在心脏疾病或血液循环问题的人来说，尝试冷水疗法相当危险。

In open water there can be a real risk of exhaustion and drowning—something that companies like Monk will seek to take out of the equation6 by bringing the experience into the home. Even there， however， there are risks because of the shock the cold water can inflict.

在开阔水域，确实存在因疲勞而溺水的风险——蒙克等公司将冷水疗法引入家庭，以此来消除这种风险。然而，即便如此也存在风险，毕竟冷水会对人体造成冲击。

There are a good many merits to cold-water therapy， and the people who practise it clearly get a lot from it. In order for it to be recommended robustly， however， the studies into its efficacy need to involve more participants.

冷水疗法的优点很多，采用冷水疗法的人显然也从中受益匪浅。然而，要想大力推广冷水疗法，对其功效的研究还需要有更多人参与其中。

Before we all plunge into the freezing depths， we should know exactly what were letting ourselves in for7. Its very cold in there.

在我们扎入冰水深处之前，我们应该清楚地知道自己会陷入怎样的境地，毕竟水里很冷。

（译者单位：江西宜春学院体育学院）

1 on steroids〈习语〉夸大的。  2芬兰北部、瑞典北部和挪威北部地区统称为北欧拉普兰。这个地区有四分之三处在北极圈内，独特的极地风光和土著民族风情使其成为旅游胜地。

3 treat sth with a pinch of salt〈习语〉对某事持有怀疑态度。

4 the jury is out on sth〈习语〉某事仍未定夺，悬而未决。  5循证医学指遵循科学论据的医学，是20世纪末提出的新医学理念和实践模式。循证医学的经典定义为：慎重、准确和明智地应用当前所能获得的最好研究依据，结合医生个人的专业技能和临床经验，同时考虑患者的价值和愿望，将三者完美结合，制定出患者的治疗措施。  6 take out of the equation〈习语〉从问题或者问题解决方案中剔除不相关的因素。

7 let sb/yourself in for sth使陷入；使卷入；牵涉。