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Experience Cold Immersion: Unlock Physical and Mental Benefits for a Healthier Lifestyle

GeneralEdward Kiledjian

TL;DR: Learn how cold immersion can benefit your physical and mental health. This ancient technique boosts energy, improves recovery, strengthens immunity, and improves overall well-being.

Everyone has their method of waking up; double espresso shots, a quick workout, etc. Cold plunging may be the answer if you seek an immediate boost in the morning or an afternoon pick-me-up. In addition, many people turn to cold plunging when seeking a new way to increase their energy levels.

What is Cold Immersion?

Cold immersion, or cold plunging or cold water therapy, involves submerging your body in cold water for a short period, typically ranging from 50-59°F (10-15°C). In ancient civilizations, such as the Romans and Greeks, this practice was used to promote health and spiritual well-being. Cold immersion is becoming increasingly popular among athletes, wellness enthusiasts, and everyday individuals seeking various physical and mental benefits.

Physical Benefits of Cold Immersion

  1. Enhanced recovery and reduced inflammation: Cold water therapy has been used in sports medicine for years to assist in the active recovery of muscles. Regular ice baths can boost norepinephrine levels by up to five times, which reduces inflammation and relieves chronic pain.

  2. Strengthened Immune System: Cold water stimulates the production of leukocytes, the white blood cells responsible for fighting infection. Additionally, it causes the lymphatic system to contract, forcing fluid through the lymph nodes. As a result, your body is detoxified, and your immune system is strengthened. As a result of a study, upper respiratory tract infections have been substantially reduced.

  3. Improved Sleep: Cold immersion triggers your autonomic nervous system, regulating the stress response. As you learn to control your stress response, you will likely be able to manage your relaxation and sleep better.

Mental Benefits of Cold Immersion

  1. Dopamine increase: Cold plunging has been shown to increase your baseline levels of dopamine. The molecule dopamine is associated with motivation in the brain and body. The research of Dr. Andrew Huberman indicates that dopamine can enhance our ability to focus and lower our threshold for taking action.

  2. There is evidence that hormone imbalances can contribute to depression, which means that a cold plunge could reduce depression and improve overall mood. Cold water therapy is an effective supplemental treatment for stress relief because it reduces the levels of the stress hormone cortisol. A study found cold showers and ice baths to reduce anxiety and improve mood.

Conclusion

Cold immersion offers many physical and mental benefits, making it a valuable addition to your daily routine. Cold plunging is a natural and invigorating method of optimizing your well-being by enhancing recovery, reducing inflammation, increasing motivation, and improving mood.

Disclaimer

This article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any questions regarding a medical condition or health-related concerns should be directed to a qualified healthcare provider.

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Maximizing Your Productivity: Why Starting with the Hardest Task First is the Way to Go

GeneralEdward Kiledjian

An old business saying goes, "do the hardest thing first." This means you should tackle your most challenging task first thing in the morning rather than delaying it until later in the day. It is a strategy that can help you become more productive, reduce stress, and ultimately achieve better results. We will explore in this blog post why "doing the hardest thing first" works and how it can be applied at work.

How does "Do the Hardest Thing First" work?

Do the hardest thing first is a productivity strategy that prioritizes the most challenging task on your to-do list. Instead of procrastinating and putting off complex tasks until the end of the day, you tackle the most difficult task first. As a result, you can get the most challenging work out of the way and make the remainder of your day more manageable.

What makes it effective?

"Doing the hardest thing first" is an effective productivity strategy for several reasons:

  1. Enhances Productivity: By completing your most challenging task first, you can work on other tasks without being distracted by the large one.

  2. Reduces Stress: Delaying a difficult task can lead to anxiety and stress. Taking care of it first will eliminate that stress and give you a sense of accomplishment.

  3. Boosts Performance: By tackling your most challenging task first thing in the morning, you will likely be more alert and focused throughout the day. As a result, performance and quality of work can be improved.

Here are some examples of "Do the Hardest Thing First" in action

  1. Imagine you are a salesperson who dreads making cold calls. If you begin your day by making those calls, you will have the energy to move on to other tasks that require less mental effort.

  2. Creative Projects: If you are a graphic designer, coming up with innovative ideas is the most challenging part of your work. Start the day by brainstorming ideas and then move on to more technical tasks, such as designing or editing, by first doing the most challenging thing.

The Scientific Research on "Doing the Hardest Thing First"

Research has demonstrated that "doing the hardest thing first" is an effective strategy for increasing productivity. According to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, people who tackle their most challenging task first are more productive and feel less stressed than those who delay it. According to another study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, people who completed their most challenging task first were more likely to maintain self-control throughout the day.

Keywords: productivity, hardest task, strategy, stress reduction, scientific research

How to thrive under pressure

GeneralEdward Kiledjian

Your body is a miraculous creation that is able to quickly adapt to different situations often without you even realizing it. When working in pressure situation, your body reacts by making physiological changes [for the worst] that also impact how you think. Truth is pressure is the new normal and you must learn to deal with it or it will crush you. 

Here are simple steps to help you conquer any pressure situation:

Be in the moment

As an IT professional, I have seen the effect of extreme pressure on experts handling large and complex IT outages or security incidents. Even the most expert professional can find themselves in a vortex of destruction. If I notice people going down the wrong path, I try to help them centre themselves and concentrate on this moment. 

I ask them to sit down and find an object they can concentrate on. I ask them to find a small spot on that object and to stare at it. I ask them to then be mindful of their breathing. To concentrate on long inhalations, to hold it and then to do a long exhale. I ask them to keep looking at that spot and to feel their body breathing. To feel their chest expanding and contracting.

Gratitude

When you are under stress, your body releases cortisol. This is what fuels the fight or flight response and isn't ideal when the situation requires deep thought and solid reasoning. 

Once we complete the first breathing step. I then work with the person to find out what they are grateful for. Research has shown that gratitude can reduce the level of cortisol by 23%. Even when things seem very bad, there are always things to be grateful for. Think about what is going right, even when it seems there isn't much. 

As an example, there are large forest fires in Fort McMurray right now forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. It is a horrible situation but if I were a family being forced out of my house, I would also be grateful that i was with my family and they are safe. I would be thankful that I had a car that is allowing me to evacuate. You get the idea. regardless of how bad things may seem at first, there is always something to be grateful for.

Prioritize

When under extreme pressure, the situation may seem hopeless and you may lose track of what really is important. IT is important to take a step back and put things into perspective. My mantra is "this isn't brain surgery". I recommend you sit down in a quiet area and (once you have done the breathing exercise) ensure you are working on the right priorities. It is easy to get "mixed up" and focus on the wrong things when under extreme pressure. We tend to fix the thing that is the latest and loudest. 

Surround yourself with the right people

We were handling a major datacenter outage a couple of years ago and the entire tech team was struggling to figure out what was going on. As I observed the lead, I realized he was getting too stressed and was starting to make "less rational" decisions. I took him aside and guided him through the first 2 steps. Once he was calm, I asked him to perform the prioritization activity alone in an isolated room and he did an excellent job. As soon as I put him back in the control room, things started to boil over again and I realized it was partially due to the amount of technical people around him being overly pessimistic. 

I replaced to people with fresh non negative experts and realized the lead was now "more in control" and less stressed. Moral of the story is to take the time and ensure you are surrounded by the right people. If there are people being overly negative, push them away and you will see the level of pressure diminish greatly.

Take a break

You may be under pressure because you are handling a major situation or because your boss expects a major deliverable in a short window and key information may be missing. Regardless of why you are under pressure, sometimes you have to take a short break and change your mindset. Once you perform the above steps, it is also important to stop, walk away from the situation and do something that changes your mood, mindset and situation.

Let's say you are working on an important report, information is missing, people are not cooperating and your boss is breathing down your neck. You may be a little stressed. You will feel pressured to perform. Make sure you follow the above steps, then determine an interval at which you will step away from your desk and go for a short walk.

As an example, my personal limit is 45 minutes. After 45 minutes of straight undivided concentrated work, I will typically walk away for 5 minutes and do something else. The something else may be a short walk in the office, a trip to get a coffee, sit outside and take a breath of fresh air, etc.

You will be energized when you get back and be much more productive. The complaint I hear too often is I can't go because there is too much work. Research has shown that not taking these short breaks will actually hurt your productivity and the stress will also dull your abilities,

 

The Hidden Killer of Your Creativity

GeneralEdward Kiledjian
Image by Becky Wetherington used under creative commons license

Image by Becky Wetherington used under creative commons license

Last minute work on school assignments was the norm for most university students. They wait until the last minute then “pull an all-nighter”.

Many feel that this pressure to deliver makes them work better but recent scientific evidence shows that this may actually be completely false.

It seems pressure may actually stifle innovation and creativity. It pushes you down a conventional path.

Some of the most successfully entrepreneurs are people that have learned to deal with pressure. Even when carrying the weight of the world, they are cool, calm and in control.

Be mindful

Any yogi or meditator will extort the virtues of living “in the moment”.

Think about the last time you were waiting in the lobby to be interviewed for a job. In this particular situation, most people feel stressed. They feel fear. They feel eager. Their body reacts to this stress by releasing cortisol. They may sweat a little and even have some nervous ticks.

None of these is ideal for creativity. You are rarely putting your best foot forward in these stressful situations.

But remember that the stress you feel isn’t because of something that is happening then and there (in the moment). It is because you are worried about what you think may happen.

If you are able to be “in the moment”, then you will release the stress and shine like the star you are meant to be.

The research

Professor Teresa Amabile (from Harvard Business School) conducted research into creativity in the workplace and discovered that employees under pressure almost never performed optimally when completing tasks. Funny enough many thought they were optimally creative but measurably they were not.

Rear my article Monotasking is the new productivity hack

Read my article How to set personal goals, which talks about starting with the end in mind.

Stress Physiology

Epinephrine and norepinephrine are stress hormones produced when you feel stressed. It is the physiological response know as flight or fight. These hormones help you move faster during emergencies.

The other hormone produced during excessive stress is cortisol. Psychology Today called Cortisol The Stress Hormone public enemy No 1

Excess cortisol in your system can lead to a host of health issues including weight gain, osteoporosis, digestive problems, cancer and much more (1, 2, 3.

In addition to wreaking havoc on your body, it can have devastating effects on your mind.

Stress creates free radicals

Cortisol creates a surplus of the neurotransmitter glutamate. Glutamate in turn creates free radicals that attack brain cells (similar to how rust affects metal).

Stress makes you forgetful and emotional

One of the early symptoms of stress is becoming forgetful and emotional.

Studies show that stress causes a reduction in brain electrical activity associated with memories and an increase in activity associated with emotions.

Stress negatively impacts intelligence

I wrote about stress on creativity and stress makes your brain seize up. Think about our primitive ancestors and how they reacted when being chased by a lion. The fight or flight response means your physical characteristics are improved, your reactions are improved but your reasoning and logic suffer. After all you don’t need deep critical thinking when running to save your life.

How can you handle pressure?

First thing first, remember that regardless of how important you think your job is, you aren’t performing brain surgery. Our job is important to us but it isn’t critical to the survival of all humans so chill. Take it easy on yourself.

When feeling stressed about an upcoming situation, ask yourself, “whats the worst that can happen? Then realize that things aren’t actually that bad and relax.

Olympic athletes spend as much time mentally preparing as they do physically. They mentally perform their duties over and over to ensure they are relaxed when they need to perform. It becomes automatic and routine. If you are heading into an interview and you know you will be stressed, prepare and practise.

The second tip is to mentally practice over and over. Make sure you know what the ideal final result looks like and focus on that.

I ran the information security team for a large multinational manufacturer that was regularly attacked. By constantly practising the incident handling processes, our handlers were calmer and more confident when the real thing did happen.

Confidence is the third technique I want to share.

Having confidence in yourself will usually lead to less stress and increased productivity.

When handling an incident, it is easy to get overwhelmed. You are dealing with a skilled adversary out to get you. They are technically strong, well funded and extremely motivated. It is easy to get overwhelmed and freeze up. But I always tell my people to be optimistic. Regardless of how bad it may seem in that moment, I truly believed that things would get better. And my ensuring my team believed in that as well, it makes the process easier to manage and made my people more productive and efficient.

Optimism is the fourth technique.

De-stressing transforming tea bags

GeneralEdward Kiledjian

These specially designed teabags start off in a "stressed out shape" and then slowly transform into a more relaxed version of that shape when dunked in hot water. This creative idea was hatched by the bright minds at M&C Saatchi (link) for the BOH tea company (link).

It's a great visual reminder to just take a minute and relax.