It's Cool To Get Cold

Ice baths are popping up around Singapore, waiting for you to take the plunge.

- Karen Fong

Sitting at the edge of the cold 2 deg C pool at Como Shambhala, I feel the urge to chicken out and put my sweaty gym clothes back on. I can feel the cold air hovering above the water.

"You're going to feel like your body can't do it," says Jeremy, the trainer responsible for guiding guests through the spa's contrast therapy experience. "But you have to remember to push through the fear, because it's only in your head." There's nowhere to go but in. Stepping into the pool, I feel my heart rate shoot up - I can't control my breathing, so I close my eyes and imagine a happier place. However, breathing is exactly what gets you through the initial shock, so I work on getting that under control. Miraculously, everything else starts to fall into place.

I feel my body calm down, enough to stay in the water for two minutes. It's really a mindover-matter exercise as I battle to maintain my breathing and keep my "cool" (pun intended).

Recovering in the infrared sauna, I reflect on how the experience gave me a "high". I'm psyched that I managed to stay in the water at all, and I do feel physically better.

A study published by the University of Bournemouth in January last year validates my feelings, finding that "participants felt more active, alert, attentive, proud and inspired, and less distressed and nervous, after having a coldwater bath".

Kathy Gabriel, founder of Soma Haus, one of the first places in Singapore to offer ice bath treatments since 2017, says that ice baths have grown in popularity in recent years.