Cold Water Immersion, Immune Function, Mental Health, Muscular Strength
Conditions
Keywords
Cold Water Immersion, Cold Tub, Cold Shower, Immune Function, Mental Health, Muscular Strength, Healthy Adults, Inflammation, Gut Health
Brief summary
The purpose of this clinical trial is to explore the effects of a 4 week cold-water immersion (CWI) intervention on measures of immune function, sleep quality, mental health and well-being, and muscular strength. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does a 4 week CWI intervention improve measures of immune function, sleep quality, mental health and well-being, and muscular strength? * Are there any differences in these measures when comparing cold tubs versus cold showers? Researchers will compare chronic use of cold tubs to cold showers to see if cold water immersion may improve overall immune health and well-being. Participants will: * Undergo 4 weeks of Cold Tub or Cold Shower interventions at a frequency of 3 times a week for 4 minutes, if placed in the CWI intervention groups * Undergo testing measures at the two pre- and post- intervention time points, if placed in the healthy control group or the CWI intervention groups
Interventions
Once thermoneutral procedures are complete, participants in the CI group will be seated in the cold tub and submerged into the water (10º C). The sternal notch of each participant will be used as the anatomical marker to mark submersion point. Participants will sit with both arms outstretched underwater with their backs not touching the sides of the tub. Participants with a shorter stature will be provided an underwater cushion to meet the submersion requirements. The 4-minute timer will begin once confirmation of the participants submersion level and posture is determined. Once completed, the participant will be instructed to slowly exit the tub and allowed to dry and change as necessary.
Once thermoneutral procedures are complete, participants in the CS group will be instructed to enter the research shower area. Within the shower area, the walls of the shower will be numbered from 1 to 4, with 1 defined as facing the faucet, 2 defined as 90° to the right of side 1, 3 defined as 180° from the faucet, and 4 defined as 270° to the right or 90° C to the left from side 1. Participants will be instructed to turn 90° to the right cycling through sides 1 to 4 and then back to 1 every 15 seconds prompted by the researcher. This will allow the participant to complete four full rotations in the shower during the 4-minute intervention time. The shower faucet is modified and oriented in a way where it only produces cold water (10º C) when turned on. Once completed, the participant will be instructed to slowly exit the shower and is allowed to dry and change as necessary
OTHERControl Group (CO)
Participants will be encouraged to maintain their current diet and exercise across the duration of the 4 week intervention. Participants will still be subjected to the pre- and post-intervention data collection session.
Sponsors
University of Northern Colorado
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Parallel, randomized design, matched for biological age
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 45 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Males and Females * Aged 18-45
Exclusion criteria
* Currently practices CWI for \[\>3 times in the last month\] * Pregnant or planning to become pregnant * Chronic use of anti-inflammatory medication * Prior history of chronic disease conditions: * Cardiovascular Disease * Diabetes * Cancer * Raynaud\'s Disease * Severe and untreated anxiety or depression
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| C-Reactive Protein | Visit 1A (Week 1) and Visit 2A (Week 4): 15 minutes for blood draw. The assay itself takes 3 hours. | Approximately 60mL of whole blood will be collected into serum separator tubes (Beckton Dickinson, East Rutherford, NJ, USA), allowed to clot for 30-min at room temperature, then centrifuged at 2000 RPM for 15 min. The serum will be pipetted into 1.5 mL microcentrifuge tubes (Eppendorf AG, Hamburg, Germany) and immediately stored in a -80 °C freezer. Serum concentrations of CRP will be determined with a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ALPCO Diagnostics, Salem, NH, USA). Microplates will be read with an ELx800 BioTek microplate reader (BioTek Instruments, Inc., Winooski, VT, USA) at the recommended wavelength of 450 nanometers. |
| Interleukin-6 (IL-6) | Visit 1A (Week 1) and Visit 2A (Week 4): 15 minutes for blood draw. The assay itself takes 3 hours. | Approximately 60mL of whole blood will be collected into serum separator tubes (Beckton Dickinson, East Rutherford, NJ, USA), allowed to clot for 30-min at room temperature, then centrifuged at 2000 RPM for 15 min. The serum will be pipetted into 1.5 mL microcentrifuge tubes (Eppendorf AG, Hamburg, Germany) and immediately stored in a -80 °C freezer. Serum concentrations of IL-6 will be determined with a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA). Microplates will be read with an ELx800 BioTek microplate reader (BioTek Instruments, Inc., Winooski, VT, USA) at the recommended wavelength of 450 nanometers. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) | Visit 1A (Week 1) and 2A (Week 4): 10 minutes each | Participants will be asked to complete a paper version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The PSQI is a 19-question self-reported sleep quality tool broken up into 7 subcategories for scoring, such as subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medication, and daytime dysfunction. There are also 5 additional questions directed to the respondent's roommate or bed partner not used in the scoring, but utilized for clinical purposes. |
| Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21) | Visit 1A (Week 1) and 2A (Week 4): 10 minutes each | Participants will be asked to complete a paper version of the 21-item Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). The DASS-21 consists of 21 questions using a 0-3 Likert scale assessing the participant's subjective mental health and stress state with a "0" indicating "Did not apply to me at all" and "3" indicating "Applied to me very much or most of the time." The DASS-21 contains 3 sub scales assessing Depression, Anxiety, and Stress consisting of 7 questions for each sub scale, where a high score of 28+ indicates "Extremely Severe" levels of Depression, a high score of 20+ indicates "Extremely Severe" levels of Anxiety, and a high score of 34+ indicates "Extremely Severe" levels of Stress, while low scores of 0-9 indicates "Normal" levels of Depression, scores of 0-7 indicates "Normal" levels of Anxiety, and scores of 0-14 indicates "Normal" levels of Stress. |
| Handgrip Dynamometry | Visit 1B (Week 1) and Visit 2B (Week 4): 10 minutes each | Isometric grip strength will be measured by a Baseline 12-0286 Electronic Smedly Hand Dynamometer (Fabrication Enterprises, White Plains, NY). To begin the test, participants will stand upright in a relaxed position; their upper extremity peak isometric grip strength will be assessed with the shoulder in 180º of flexion, elbow at full extension, and wrist and forearm in a neutral position. When prompted, participants will squeeze the device with their dominant hand, delivering a maximal effort for 3-seconds, followed by relaxation. After 30-seconds, the test will be run again. Three sets are completed for this test, and the highest value (kg) will be recorded for analysis. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed