The number one principle or practice to follow is listen to your body! If you begin to shiver in the water, your heart rate is increasing and your breathing will be affected. This is your body telling you it’s time to get out and get warm. Dry off with a towel and allow your body to warm up on its own. ​ Research suggests that you only need to be immersed to the neck in cold water for 30-90 seconds to reap the benefits of brown fat activation, mood-boosting hormones, and improved immune response. In fact, it’s much more effective to do shorter plunges more regularly than it is to do one long plunge. ​ When you push yourself to stay in the cold water for longer than 2 or 3 minutes, it becomes more about mental toughness, since you don’t need to stay in the water that long to receive benefits. ​