Hey, R.

Do you struggle with the idea of full-body cold plunging? 

Well, did you know that you can experience a lot of incredible benefits just by dunking your face in cold water regularly? (I find this to be even more impactful—and not as hard to suffer through!—than cold showers, too, where you’re also dealing with the ambient colder air around your body.)

It also tends to be a FAR better option if you’re someone who experiences low leptin issues, an already stressed and/or regularly dysregulated nervous system—really, anyone whose body is too taxed to handle the more shocking stress of a full-body cold plunge.

How does it work?

When you submerge your face in cold water and hold your breath, powerful reflexes are triggered. This isn’t just a “shock” response—it’s the Mammalian Dive Reflex, designed to conserve oxygen. It has a profound impact on your autonomic nervous system (ANS) —

• The 1st 5 Seconds
  Cold receptors in the glabrous skin of the face (forehead, cheeks, around the eyes) detect the drop in skin temperature. Signals travel via the trigeminal nerve to the brainstem. Almost immediately, the vagus nerve slows the heart to preserve oxygen.
  
  Those same glabrous cold receptors also project to the hypothalamus. This activates brown adipose tissue (BAT), the body’s heat-generating fat. BAT burns fuel to create heat, boosting metabolism and energy expenditure.
  
  
• 10-30 Seconds
  During breath holding, CO2 levels rise, increasing activity in the sympathetic nervous system. Meanwhile, vagal parasympathetic activity continues to slow the heart. This sympathetic + parasympathetic co-activation, when controlled and transient, strengthens ANS adaptability.
  
  
• 30-60 Seconds
  Chemoreceptors sense dropping oxygen and raise blood pressure. Blood vessels in your arms and legs constrict, conserving flow for the heart and brain. This reflex protects vital organs when oxygen is scarce.
  
  
• After Emerging
  As soon as you breathe again, oxygen floods back in. Parasympathetic activity stays elevated: slower heart rate, better HRV, more calm. With repetition, you activate brown fat, conserve oxygen (likely leading to a healthier breathing rate), and balance the ANS. It’s a natural way to train stress recovery, cold adaptation, and energy regulation.

Like all the other recent topics I’ve been discussing, I’ll cover this (and how to do it!) in more depth in my upcoming Prep for Winter Challenge.

We start on THURSDAY next week!

If you don’t join before we kick off at 8am ET on October 2nd, you’ll have to wait until next year to participate!

Here’s a quick reminder of what the challenge is:

• It’s just $19
• It will last 19 days—each day will have a short video lesson
• Lessons include all the key ways to utilize winter to activate MASSIVE healing repair programs in your body like never before (and will help you learn to love winter! — or at least that’s my goal 🤪)
• I’ll host a closing Q&A when it ends
• Registering gets you lifetime access to the content, including the Q&A replay
• Registering this year also gives you one entry into a drawing for ~$1,700 worth of winter-supportive tools, including ONE FREE YEAR of access to my online community + things like a red light device, blue-blocking glasses, and much more!

If you’re already registered, I can’t wait to begin.

If you haven’t registered yet, I hope you’ll join us! — You might even consider inviting your friends and/or family to join and follow along with you!

— Carrie

P.S. Live somewhere where it’s turning to spring? You can purchase my “off-season” Spring Reset Challenge! Or, have other questions? Check out the FAQ section on the challenge page here.