How to Set the Correct Cold Plunge Temperature and Time?

Cold plunge isn’t only for athletes anymore; people can find it in spas, recovery centers, and even gyms.

With its rise in popularity, the proven benefits, and customer demand, more businesses are adding cold plunge tubs to their offerings.

Whether you’ve been thinking of adding one to your business or already have one and are wondering how to manage it, you’re in the right place.

In this article, we’ll show you how to set the correct cold plunge temperature and time, how long your clients should be in the cold plunge, how to adjust for custom sessions, and how to run a cold plunge tub along with your business.

How to Set the Correct Cold Plunge Temperature and Time for Your Clients

When you have a cold plunge available to a wide range of customers, setting one temperature and time for everyone can be tricky. However, with this system, you’ll do your best to fit everyone’s needs and help each one of your clients make the most of their cold plunge session.

Ideal Cold Plunge Temperatures for Different Clients

If you’ve been browsing cold plunge tubs, you’ll notice that not all cold plunge tubs are created equally, and neither are the clients using them.

For example, athletes who are looking for muscle recovery need a colder plunge than a wellness client who’s purely looking for relaxation.

Water that’s too cold will most likely put off first-time users as well, and if you set the water to be too mild, more experienced cold plunge users won’t be experiencing the full benefits.

Therefore, as a business that’s incorporating a cold plunge tub, you have to pay attention to the following factors when setting the right temperature:

• Client satisfaction

• Safety and comfort

• Operational efficiency

If you consider these 3 factors when setting the temperature, you’ll ensure every customer can get the experience they’re after, prevent unnecessary discomfort, and manage energy costs efficiently.

We highly recommend setting the correct temperature based on the profile of your customers and their needs:

Who Are Your Customers?

If you’re a fitness center or athletic facility, you’d want to set an ideal temperature between 39 and 50 degrees, which is perfect for post-workout recovery

Wellness and spas, including recovery clinics, should increase the temperatures to 50 to 59 degrees. This will help ensure better comfort and relaxation while providing plunging benefits to a certain degree (ideal for beginners or occasional users).

On the other hand, a luxury hotel or resort can choose a moderate temperature range of 45 to 55 degrees, as this will accommodate a diverse clientele and provide all-around accessibility.

When dealing with customers you can’t categorize, setting your temperature as if you’re running a hotel or a resort makes the most sense.

Other Factors Affecting Temperature Range

Other factors that can affect the temperature range for your business include:

• Local climate

• Seasonality

• Equipment capabilities

• Energy costs

If your business is in a warmer climate, there’s a greater possibility your clients might tolerate lower temperatures. However, in colder regions, 50 degrees might feel intense for some users, so that’s something to consider.

As you run the business, tracking energy costs is important. Keeping temperatures lower will consume more energy, increasing your operational costs. Therefore, trying to adjust the temperature to your customers or even to individual groups within your segmented customer base can help optimize efficiency.

How Long Should Clients Stay in a Cold Plunge Tub?

Now that you have an idea of the ideal temperature for a cold plunge in your business, it’s important to understand that the length of the session is as crucial as the temperature.

If your clients stay cold plunge for too short, they might not experience full benefits. On the other hand, staying in for too long will almost always cause discomfort and even health risks.

Therefore, as a business, you definitely want to avoid health risks and ensure the length is optimized so your clients stay safe and comfortable while experiencing the plunging benefits.

Most experts recommend cold plunge sessions lasting 2 to 5 minutes. However, the ideal time will again depend on your client’s experience, goals, and water temperature.

Client Comfort Level

If your clients are inexperienced and only get started with a cold plunge, they may struggle with even 1 to 2 minutes in the tub. That’s why it’s important to offer a guided experience, which will help them adjust and get used to cold plunging.

Also, encourage clients to control their breathing using various techniques, as this can improve tolerance and relaxation. 

PMC’s research shows that combining cold-water immersion and breathwork has mental health benefits.

Temperature vs. Time

The most common way to set the right balance between temperature and time for a cold plunge is the following:

The lower the water temperature is, the shorter the recommended duration is.

Experts recommend:

• If the water is 35-39 degrees, time should be limited to 2-3 minutes for most users

• If the water is 50-59 degrees, the time can be longer, up to 5 minutes

Client Goals

Another important factor to consider is your client’s goals. 

Most clients are focused on muscle recovery and improving their athletic performance. In this case, a 2 to 3-minute plunge at 39 to 50 degrees water is optimal. This temperature range allows people to adjust the temperature to their preference while still gaining the recovery and athletic benefits of a cold plunge.

General wellness and relaxation allow users to experience benefits at higher temperatures of 50 to 59 degrees. At such water temperatures, average wellness users can plunge for up to 5 minutes and still experience the benefits.

However, if you encounter advanced users, keep in mind that they’re used to extreme cold adaptation. For example, high-performance athletes can plunge for longer than 5 minutes at lower-end water temperatures. It’s highly recommended that you adjust the water temperature and session length for each individual.

Common Cold Plunge Mistakes Businesses Should Avoid

As you can see, cold plunging sessions should be highly regulated and clients should be advised of how long to cold plunge for after you’ve set the correct temperature for their experience, preference, and goals.

The most common mistakes businesses should avoid include:

1. Setting the wrong temperature

2. Not providing clear guidelines on duration and cold plunging in general

3. Neglecting safety measures

4. Poor maintenance and water hygiene

5. Ignoring customer experience and comfort

It’s very hard to set one temperature that fits all customers. Luckily, the temperature can be easily changed since quality commercial cold plunges come with powerful chillers and, in some cases, remote temperature setting control.

You can either set the temperatures according to your customers' experience or allow the customers to set the temperatures themselves.

Whichever way you choose, it’s important to post clear time recommendations based on experience levels. Also, a digital timer must be included to help track the sessions.

It's also crucial to train your team to recognize the signs of cold shock and educate clients on entry and exit techniques. To minimize the room for error, it’s not a bad idea to provide step-by-step instructions to clients.

Cold plunge tubs used for commercial purposes should have a cleaning schedule. This allows you to regularly check the filters and use sanitizing methods to ensure hygienic sessions for each client.

Lastly, it’s important to look beyond the cold plunge session and come up with ways to provide a comfortable session to each client. This can be done by adding/improving seating around the tub, warming towels, or offering a contrast therapy option.

Avoiding these common mistakes will also help you improve your operational efficiency, client safety, and experience.

Why Your Business Should Offer Cold Plunge Therapy

With cold plunges becoming a mainstream wellness trend and on the rise, businesses that integrate them can improve their offerings.

Improvements in the offerings can increase revenue, attract new customers, and keep a business competitive in the market. For some, they can be a business game-changer.

If you’re still thinking about why your business could benefit from a cold plunge therapy, here are a few good reasons to consider:

1. There’s a growing demand for cold therapy in the wellness and recovery industry

2. It allows businesses to stand out from the competition

3. It can increase revenue and improve customer retention

4. Health benefits that keep customers coming back

5. Low maintenance requirements with a high ROI potential

While some people consider it a trend, businesses implementing cold plunge will quickly discover it’s a strategic business move.

The driving growth factors are a wide range of users who could benefit from cold plunge therapy, while businesses can add premium membership upgrades, session-based pricing, and improve client retention to drive revenue.

Customers have additional benefits from quicker recovery, boosted circulation, improved mental clarity, and strengthened immune system, among many others.

A cold plunge has a small footprint, low staffing requirements, and is energy-efficient (if you invest in a quality plunge model), so it’s a great investment.

Research like the one from BrassMonkey shows that businesses can get the ROI back in only a few months.

Conclusion

Setting the correct cold plunge temperature and time will ensure the safety of your clients and your business, as well as improved benefits and customer experience.

It’s important to consider your business type and your clients before setting the temperature. Also, allowing individual planning for experienced users is a good way to ensure everyone’s needs are met.

From the business perspective, a well-managed, high-quality cold plunge leads to a better experience, better service offerings, and better customer retention, which results in a quick ROI.

Reference

1. Emma L. Reed, Christopher L. Chapman, Emma K. Whittman, Talia E. Park, Emily A. Larson, Brendan W. Kaiser, Lindan N. Comrada, Karen Wiedenfeld Needham, John R. Halliwill, Christopher T. Minson. Cardiovascular and mood responses to an acute bout of cold water immersion. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10842018/

2. Jan Czarnecki, Katarzyna Nowakowska-Domagała, Łukasz Mokros. Combined cold-water immersion and breathwork may be associated with improved mental health and reduction in the duration of upper respiratory tract infection (a case-control study). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10962303/