Cold Plunges Are Hot. But Can You Do It in Your Home Pool?
With interest booming, wellness experts and pool builders have seen more homeowners hoping to take cold therapy immersion into their own backyards.
4 min
Cold plunges have gone from fringe curiosity to full-blown cultural phenomenon, the wellness world’s equivalent of a headline-grabbing breakout star.
Adherents slip into icy water on a daily basis, chasing an electric jolt of clarity that feels like a flip has been switched inside your brain.
Dedicated cold plunge practices are everywhere from upscale fitness studios and pro sports locker rooms to renowned wellness destinations such as Mountain Trek Health Reset Retreat in British Columbia.
Considering the ever-expanding assortment of companies flooding the market with cold plunge tubs and other custom devices dedicated to achieving icy bliss—with costs potentially reaching into the tens of thousands—some homeowners are tempted to use their swimming pools as an alternative.
“We’re absolutely seeing more homeowners use their pools as year-round cold plunges, especially in colder climates,” said Nick McNaught, CEO and co-founder of Toronto-based Stay Unbounded, which offers cold exposure workshops, retreats and certifications.
“The motivation is often simplicity and cost. If the water is already cold, people see value in keeping the pool open longer or winterizing it differently to support cold exposure.”
Suzanne Vaughan, president of Massachusetts-based pool builder SwimEx, points out the inherent convenience that comes with taking a frosty dip out back.
“From what homeowners tell us, the appeal of a cold plunge at home is less about chasing extremes and more about having a simple ritual that’s always available,” she said.
“It’s quick, accessible and easy to build into a daily routine.”
Among new clients Vaughan works with, year-round cold plunge use is usually planned from the start rather than as an afterthought.
“More are choosing indoor pools or small attached structures because that makes temperature control, equipment protection and day-to-day use much easier in colder climates,” she said.
If someone is thinking about using an existing home pool as a cold plunge, the main questions are likely to involve practicality and protection.
“Larger volumes of water take more energy and time to keep at colder temperatures, and you need a plan to protect plumbing, finishes and equipment from freeze–thaw cycles,” she added.
“Whatever the design, you want a system that’s built for the temperature range you have in mind, and a pool professional who can help you winterize safely.”
One such professional is Hunter Gary, a certified master pool builder and owner of H2 Outdoor Living in Tennessee.
“Most everyone has a ‘number’ in degrees when it comes to cold plunging. When a client asks our company to design a cold plunge for them, I ask ‘what’s your number?’” Gary said.
“A smaller body of water or cold plunge vessel may be much easier for maintaining a balanced temperature…but if using a pool gets you excited about a more serious approach to inviting this wellness experience in your life, then go for it.”
Amy McDonald, owner and CEO of Under a Tree, a wellness consultancy, said transforming a pool into a plunge might not be worth time and investment
“It is almost impossible to retrofit a standard swimming pool into a cold plunge,” she said.
“The energy and money to do it properly is greater compared to just creating a complimentary contrast circuit.”
A proper setup needs to be exceptionally cold, she noted, so depending on where the pool is located it might not get chilly enough to provide optimal health benefits.
“That could work in northern areas of the U.S., but it takes a lot for a pool to generate and keep that kind of cold, not even considering if the pool ices over,” she said.
McNaught echoed those concerns, citing how home pools aren’t designed specifically for cold plunging, so temperature consistency, cleanliness, ease of access and safety become important factors.
“Dedicated cold plunge setups offer more control, smaller volumes and lower ongoing maintenance,” he said.
“For many people, a pool works as an entry point. Over time, those who commit to the practice transition to a dedicated setup because it better supports frequency, comfort and long-term use.”
Beyond geography and climate, industry experts pointed out other challenges homeowners are likely to face.
“Pools are saturated with chlorine and other chemicals that directly absorb into the bloodstream. The advantage of many cold plunges is that no chemicals are required for residential use,” said David Haddad, as the co-founder of Oregon-based BlueCube Wellness.
“Constant ozonation and filtration is enough to kill organic compounds without exposure to sanitizing chemicals.”
Most cold-plunge systems are monitored to stay between 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit—with experienced plungers often preferring lower temperatures.
While “the ultimate experience might be a glacial lake in Finland, unfortunately that’s a bit out of reach for most of us,” said Andreas Stelluti, co-founder at Texas-based Colderatti, whose vessels feature the world’s first chemical-free cold plunge technology, powered by a triple filtration system that removes 99% of impurities to provide a system with drinking-quality water.
“Having a cold plunge at home brings that experience to your backyard, making it very easy and accessible, so you have the ability to make it part of your lifestyle,” he added.
Stelluti noted that as spring arrives and clients’ home pools start to warm up again, they begin to miss the cool water.
“Many say ‘I really need this to be part of my lifestyle year-round’ and that desire for consistent, accessible cold immersion is what motivates them to invest in a dedicated cold plunge setup,” he explained.
“Unfortunately, you can’t use your pool as a year-round cold plunge during the summer. Especially not here in Texas.”
Copyright 2020, Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. LEARN MORE
From elevated skincare to handcrafted home pieces, this year’s most thoughtful gifts go beyond the expected.
A haven for hedge-fund titans and Hollywood grandees, Greenwich is one of the world’s most expensive residential enclaves, where eye-watering prices meet unapologetic grandeur.
At least for people who carry the APOE4 genetic variant, a juicy steak could keep the brain healthy.
3 min
Must even steak be politicised? The American Heart Association recently recommended eating more “plant-based” protein in a move to counter the Health and Human Services Department’s new guidelines calling for more red meat.
Few would argue that eating a Big Mac a day is good for you.
On the other hand, growing evidence, including a study last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that eating more meat—particularly unprocessed red meat—can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s in the quarter or so of people with a particular genetic predisposition.
The APOE4 gene variant is one of the biggest risk factors for Alzheimer’s.
You inherit one copy of the APOE gene from each parent. The most common variant is APOE3; the least is APOE2.
The latter carries a lower risk of Alzheimer’s, while the former is neutral. A quarter of people carry one copy of the APOE4 variant, and about 2% carry two.
APOE4 is more common among people with Northern European and African ancestry. In Europe the variant increases with latitude, and is present in as many as 27% of people in northern countries versus 4% in southern ones. God smiled on the Italians and Greeks.
For unknown reasons, the APOE4 variant increases the risk of Alzheimer’s far more for women than men.
Women’s risk multiplies roughly fourfold if they have one copy and tenfold if they have two. Men with a single copy show little if any higher risk, while those with two face four times the risk.
What makes APOE4 so pernicious? Scientists don’t know exactly, but the variant is also associated with higher cholesterol levels—even among thin people who eat healthily.
Scientists have found that cholesterol builds up in brain cells of APOE4 carriers, which can disrupt communications between neurons and generate amyloid plaque, an Alzheimer’s hallmark.
The Heart Association’s recommendation to eat less red meat may be sound advice for people with high cholesterol caused by indulgent diets.
But a diet high in red meat may be better for the brains of APOE4 carriers.
In the JAMA study, researchers at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute examined how diet, particularly meat consumption, affects dementia risk among seniors with the different APOE variants.
Higher consumption of meat, especially unprocessed red meat, was associated with significantly lower dementia risk for APOE4 carriers.
APOE4 carriers who consumed the most meat—the equivalent of 4.5 ounces a day—were no more likely to develop dementia than noncarriers. (
The study controlled for other variables that are known to affect Alzheimer’s risk including sex, age, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and education.)
APOE4 carriers who ate the most unprocessed meat were at significantly lower risk of dying over the study’s 15-year period and had lower cholesterol than carriers who ate less. Go figure. Noncarriers, however, didn’tenjoy similar benefits from eating more red meat.
The study’s findings are consistent with two large U.K. studies.
One found that each additional 50 grams of red meat (equivalent to half a hamburger patty) that an APOE4 carrier consumed each day was associated with a 36% reduced risk of dementia.
The other found that older women who carried the APOE4 variant and consumed at least one serving a day of unprocessed red meat had a cognitive advantage over carriers who ate less than half a serving, and that this advantage was of roughly equal magnitude to the cognitive disadvantage observed among APOE4 carriers in general.
In all three studies, eating more red meat appeared to negate the increased genetic risk of APOE4.
Perhaps one reason men with the variant are at lower Alzheimer’s risk than women is that men eat more red meat.
These findings might cause chagrin to women who rag their husbands about ordering the rib-eye instead of the heart-healthy salmon.
But remember, the cognitive benefits of eating more red meat appear isolated to APOE4 carriers.
Nutrition is complicated, and categorical recommendations—other than perhaps to avoid nutritionally devoid foods—would best be avoided by governments and health bodies.
Readers can order an at-home test from any number of companies to screen for the APOE4 variant.
The Swedish researchers hypothesize that APOE4 carriers may be evolutionarily adapted to carnivorous diets, since the variant is believed to have emerged between one million and six million years ago during a “hypercarnivorous” period in human history.
The other two APOE variants originated more recently, during eras when humans ate more plants.
APOE4 carriers may absorb more nutrients from meat than plants, the researchers surmise. Vitamin B12—low levels have been associated with cognitive decline—isn’t naturally present in plant-based foods but is abundant in red meat.
Foods high in phytates (such as grains and beans) can interfere with absorption of zinc and iron (also high in red meat), which naturally declines with age. So maybe don’t chuck your steak yet.
Travellers are swapping traditional sightseeing for immersive experiences, with Africa emerging as a must-visit destination.
From Italy’s $93,000-a-night villas to a $20,000 Bowral château, a new global ranking showcases the priciest Airbnbs available in 2026.
