Why You Should Never Combine Ice Baths and Wim Hof Breathing
If you want to stay alive, keep your Wim Hof breathing and your cold water immersion separate. Some people might see the perfect opportunity for habit stacking in combining ice baths with breathwork, but, just don’t. Let’s explore why.
Wim Hof breathing is a type of hyperventilation style breathing method. Cold water immersion is a huge stressor, also causing strong vasoconstriction of the blood vessels.
The combination of hypocapnic (low CO2) breathwork methods, such as the Wim Hof breathing technique, with water immersion, particularly in ice baths, presents a complex interplay of physiological responses that can potentially lead to adverse effects. Recent lawsuits against Wim Hof and his business, highlight the dangers of combining practices, with these two powerful practices causing unexpected injuries and deaths from misuse and lack of understanding.
This article delves into the scientific underpinnings of the dangers associated with hypocapnic breathwork methods around water, focusing on the relationship between hyperventilation, hypocapnia, and the risks posed to undergoing these practices in combined environment.
Hyperventilation and Hypocapnia
Physiological Basis:
The Wim Hof breathing technique involves deliberate hyperventilation, characterised by rapid and deep breaths. Hyperventilation leads to the elimination of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the body at an accelerated rate. This process, known as hypocapnia, results in reduced partial pressure of CO2 in the blood. This reduction in CO2 also has the effect of reducing the urge to breathe, or air hunger – one of the key dangers of combining hyperventilation with water based breath holding or diving activities.
Vasoconstriction and Dizziness:
Hypocapnia induces vasoconstriction, particularly in the cerebral blood vessels. This constriction reduces cerebral blood flow, potentially leading to dizziness, light-headedness, and altered cognitive function. When this state is combined with exposure to cold water, the risk of these symptoms is heightened.
Cardiovascular System and Cold Water Immersion
Cold-Induced Vasoconstriction:
Cold water immersion independently stimulates vasoconstriction, primarily to conserve heat and maintain core body temperature. This constriction affects peripheral blood vessels and, when combined with the vasoconstriction resulting from hypocapnia, can intensify the overall cardiovascular strain.
Increased Heart Rate:
Both the Wim Hof breathing technique and cold water exposure independently elicit an increase in heart rate. The combination of these factors places additional stress on the cardiovascular system, potentially leading to irregularities in heart rhythm and compromising cardiovascular stability.
Risk of Fainting and Submersion:
a. Syncope and Loss of Consciousness: The synergistic effects of hyperventilation-induced hypocapnia, cold-induced vasoconstriction, and heightened cardiovascular stress increase the risk of syncope (fainting). Loss of consciousness, especially in a water-immersed setting, poses a serious threat to the individual's safety.
b. Submersion Reflex and Inhalation of Water: In the event of loss of consciousness in water, the body may undergo an involuntary submersion reflex, potentially leading to the inhalation of water. This poses a risk of drowning and respiratory complications, emphasizing the importance of exercising caution when combining breathwork techniques with water immersion.
Shallow Water Blackout
The dangerous combination of hyperventilation style breathing and water based activities lies in the possibility of a shallow water blackout. A shallow water blackout, also known as a hypoxic blackout, is a potentially life-threatening condition that can occur when a person loses consciousness underwater due to a lack of cerebral oxygen. This phenomenon typically happens in shallow water, often during activities like freediving or breath-holding.
Here's an explanation of how a shallow water blackout occurs:
Breath-holding and Hyperventilation: When a person holds their breath, the body continues to consume oxygen, and carbon dioxide levels in the blood rise. However, many individuals engage in hyperventilation before breath-holding, which involves rapid and deep breathing. Hyperventilation reduces the levels of carbon dioxide in the bloodstream, giving a false sense of extended breath-holding capacity.
Depletion of Oxygen: While holding their breath, the person's body consumes oxygen. The initial high oxygen levels from hyperventilation might make you feel like you can hold their breath for an extended period. However, the actual trigger for the urge to breathe is the rising level of carbon dioxide in the blood, not the decreasing level of oxygen.
Lack of Warning Signs: Because of the preceding hyperventilation, the usual signals (such as the urge to breathe) are suppressed. The person may not feel the need to take a breath, even as oxygen levels in the body decrease.
Loss of Consciousness: Eventually, the oxygen in the bloodstream is depleted to critical levels, leading to unconsciousness. This can happen suddenly and without warning. When the person loses consciousness, there is a risk of drowning if they are submerged in water.
It's important to note that shallow water blackout is more common among individuals engaged in activities like freediving, where breath-holding for extended periods is a part of the sport.
However, it can also occur during recreational activities like underwater swimming or breath-holding contests. This has been the cause for recent injuries and deaths associated with people practicing Wim Hof breathing while in the water - long story short, big no no.
Breath and Ice Practitioners and Courses
With the rise in popularity of both breathwork practices and cold therapy, the demand for practitioners, and indeed a high quality of certification for practitioners has boomed.
There are breath and ice workshops, breakthrough events, community plunges and other related events popping up in a town near you. Before you join, it’s a great idea to look for events run by people with a good understanding of the ins and outs of cold exposure and breathwork, ideally with some level of qualification.
With cold therapy and breathwork being two extreme and intense practices, it is important to be guided and supervised by someone who has an understanding of the physiological effects of this practices on the body and mind, and the potential negative effects that they may need to help you deal with.
While you may think you are prepared for extreme cold or breathwork practices, it is paramount to realise that both of these practices can effect pre-existing medical conditions and can bring up the sub-conscious, and all that comes with it, including past traumas.
If you are going to an event that doesn’t first ask for your medical background, you may be choosing the wrong event.
Final Word – Don’t Mix Wim and Swim
The dangers associated with hypocapnic breathwork methods, particularly in proximity to water, are rooted in the intricate physiological responses triggered by hyperventilation and cold exposure.
We say, never “Wim and Swim”.
While both ice baths and the Wim Hof Method have shown promise in promoting physical and mental well-being independently, caution should be exercised when combining them.
The interplay of vasoconstriction, cardiovascular stress, and the risk of syncope underscores the need to avoid combining practices like Wim Hof breathing and cold exposure, breath holding or diving.
Scientific understanding of these mechanisms emphasises the importance of responsible guidance and supervision, especially when combining breathwork with water immersion activities, to mitigate potential risks and prioritise your safety above all when undertaking these practices.
