If you have spent any time on fitness or wellness social media over the past couple of years, you have almost certainly seen someone jump from a hot sauna straight into an ice-cold plunge pool. What looks like a dramatic stunt is actually an ancient practice with a modern name: contrast therapy. Athletes like LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo have reportedly used versions of this hot-cold combination as part of their recovery routines, and it has become one of the fastest-growing trends in the wellness world.
But does alternating between extreme heat and extreme cold actually do anything, or is it just an uncomfortable trend? Here is what the current research actually supports.
What Is Contrast Therapy?
Contrast therapy involves alternating between a hot environment, typically a sauna heated to 150°F to 195°F, and a cold environment, typically a cold plunge pool between 40°F and 55°F. The practice has deep roots in Nordic sauna culture, Japanese onsen bathing, and Roman thermae, where hot and cold bathing were part of the same ritual for centuries.
The basic mechanism is mechanical and physiological. Heat causes your blood vessels to dilate, increasing blood flow to the skin and extremities. Cold causes rapid vasoconstriction, pulling blood back toward your core. This repeated expansion and contraction is believed to improve circulation over time, according to information referenced by the Cleveland Clinic.
What the Research Actually Shows
It is worth being honest about the current state of the evidence. According to the American Medical Association, large meta-analyses on cold plunge and contrast therapy show genuinely mixed results, with much of the long-term benefit still uncertain due to inconsistent study protocols across different research groups. You can read the AMA’s full breakdown on ama-assn.org.
That said, several specific, shorter-term benefits do have reasonable research support:
Reduced muscle soreness. A Cochrane Review found that cold water immersion can modestly reduce delayed onset muscle soreness after intense exercise. The effect is real, though not dramatic, and tends to matter most for athletes with heavy training loads rather than casual gym-goers.
Improved circulation. The alternating vasodilation and vasoconstriction from hot-cold cycling has a plausible mechanical effect on blood vessel tone and circulation, according to research referenced by the Cleveland Clinic and supporting studies available through the NIH.
Mood and alertness. Cold exposure has been shown to increase dopamine levels significantly, a neurotransmitter tied to motivation, focus, and mood, according to research published in Neuroscience Letters. Combined with the endorphin release from the sauna portion, many people report a genuine mental “reset” after a full contrast therapy session.
Short-term pain relief. Cold therapy can temporarily reduce pain signaling, while heat improves mobility and muscle relaxation, according to Dr. Rebecca Evans of the AMA. Combined, the contraction and dilation effect can support noticeable short-term pain reduction.
One important caveat: research published in the Journal of Physiology found that jumping straight into cold water immediately after strength training may blunt certain anabolic signaling pathways involved in muscle growth. If your primary goal is building muscle rather than general recovery, it may be worth separating your lifting sessions from cold exposure by a few hours.
The Right Order: Sauna First or Cold Plunge First?
The most commonly studied and traditionally practiced protocol is sauna first, followed by cold plunge. This sequencing matters because ending your session on heat versus ending on cold produces different physiological outcomes.
Ending with a cold plunge tends to reduce residual inflammation and soreness while leaving your nervous system more alert and activated, which works well if you are finishing a demanding workout or want to feel sharp for the rest of your day. Ending with sauna heat, on the other hand, allows your body to settle into a more relaxed state, which some people prefer for an evening wind-down session.
Metabolic researcher Dr. Susanna Søberg has also popularized what is now known as the “Søberg Principle,” which recommends ending your session with cold exposure and resisting the urge to immediately warm back up. This forces your body to generate its own heat through processes like brown fat activation, which some researchers believe carries additional metabolic benefits.
A Safe Contrast Therapy Protocol for Beginners
If you are new to contrast therapy, easing into it is important. A reasonable starting protocol looks like this:
- Spend 15 to 20 minutes in the sauna at a comfortable heat level.
- Transition to a cold plunge or cold shower for 1 to 3 minutes.
- Repeat this cycle two to three times if desired.
- Always finish with whichever temperature matches your goal for the rest of the day.
- Stay well hydrated throughout, since both heat and cold exposure place real stress on your cardiovascular system.
People with cardiovascular conditions, uncontrolled blood pressure, or who are pregnant should consult a physician before attempting cold plunge or contrast therapy protocols.
Pairing Contrast Therapy With Your Training
Contrast therapy has become particularly popular among student athletes and recreational lifters in Mankato looking for an edge in recovery. If you train regularly and want to understand how heat exposure alone supports recovery before adding cold into the mix, our detailed guide on sauna for muscle recovery breaks down the science in more depth.
Bringing Contrast Therapy Home in Mankato
While Stoked Saunas’ core offering is our authentic wood-fired mobile sauna, many of our clients pair their rental with their own cold plunge setup, a cold shower, or even a quick dip in a Minnesota winter to complete the contrast therapy cycle. Renting a wood-fired sauna gives you the most important and research-supported half of the equation delivered directly to your property, with the flexibility to build the cold exposure portion around your own comfort level.
Book Your Sauna Session in Mankato
Ready to start your own contrast therapy routine? Explore our rental packages or book a wood-fired sauna session today and bring authentic Finnish sauna culture to your home in Mankato, MN.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is contrast therapy safe for everyone?
A: No. People with cardiovascular conditions, uncontrolled high blood pressure, Raynaud’s disease, or who are pregnant should speak with a doctor before attempting contrast therapy. The rapid shifts in blood pressure and heart rate caused by alternating hot and cold exposure can be risky for people with certain underlying health conditions, even though it is generally well tolerated by healthy adults.
Q: How cold does the plunge need to be for contrast therapy to work?
A: Most research and practitioner guidance points to a range of 40°F to 55°F for meaningful vasoconstriction and circulation benefits. Colder is not necessarily better. Temperatures below 38°F offer diminishing returns for most people and meaningfully increase the risk of cold-related injury, so there is no need to seek out extreme temperatures to see benefits.
Q: Should I do contrast therapy every day?
A: Most protocols studied in research use contrast therapy two to four times per week rather than daily. Overdoing cold exposure in particular can increase overall physiological stress without providing additional benefit, so building in rest days between sessions is a reasonable approach, especially when you are just getting started.
Q: Can I do contrast therapy without a cold plunge pool?
A: Yes. A cold shower or even a brief period outdoors in Minnesota’s winter temperatures can approximate the cold portion of contrast therapy for people without access to a dedicated cold plunge setup. The sauna portion is generally considered the half with the strongest research support, so a wood-fired sauna rental combined with a cold shower is a practical and accessible way to start.