Just a few days before accepting her Emmy award for outstanding competition program for the Amazon series Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, the singer shared a video of her taking a cold plunge on TikTok.
Lizzo joined Lady Gaga, Madonna, and Kendell Jenner in the cold plunge challenge
In the clip, the “About Damn Time” singer submerges her body into a tub of water while wearing a matching white workout set. Based on the faces and sounds she makes while getting in the water, it was clearly a challenge. She stays in the small pool for three minutes, noting that the water is so cold, she feels numb. However, the chill is worth it to the star — who’s now halfway to EGOT status — because it helps with her inflammation, according to text set over the video. “My body feels better,” she adds.
Doing a cold plunge also helps her anxiety, she says in a subsequent TikTok, which she posted after followers gave her a hard time about taking an ice bath without ice. In case you were sceptical of how cold Lizzo’s plunge really was because the tub lacked ice, she doesn’t have time for such silly questions.
ICYMI, ice baths (aka cold plunges) have been having a moment lately. Tons of celebrities have shared their love of the unique wellness activity. Lady Gaga, Madonna, and Alyssa Milano have all given them a try. Most recently, Zac Efron revealed that taking an ice bath is one of his favourite parts of the day, and Kendall Jenner shared a clip of her taking a plunge in a Remedy Place ice bathtub in a recent Instagram post about self love.
While cold plunges are currently trending, the practice is ancient, and — as Lizzo notes in her recent video — it boasts plenty of physical and mental benefits. Cold water immersion really does have an anti-inflammatory effect on muscles and joints, Joseph Ciotola, M.D., an orthopaedic surgeon at Baltimore’s Mercy Medical Center, previously told Shape. Research shows cold water decreases skin, core, and muscle temperatures, causing vasoconstriction (narrowing of blood vessels). This may decrease inflammation from muscle damage.
There isn’t a lot of scientific evidence to prove it, but “there is some preliminary data supporting [cold plunge’s] mental health benefits,” Thea Gallagher, Psy.D., a clinical assistant professor at NYU Langone Health and co-host of the Mind in View podcast, previously told Shape. For instance, a 2021 study found people who swam in ocean during the winter felt less stressed than those who didn’t, and more research found taking an ice bath may release cortisol (a stress hormone), which could explain the practice’s energizing effect. “Anecdotally, it’s rejuvenating,” said Gallagher, adding that people can “feel really good afterward.”
There you have it. As Lizzo and more celebrities have claimed, cold plunges really may benefit your body and mind, whether there’s ice involved or not.
This story first appeared on www.shape.com
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