What to do After a Marathon. Cold Plunge or Sauna Bath?

Running a marathon and thinking of the best ways or recover? You have a few good options and spending time in the sauna or taking a cold plunge could be one of them. Both options offer different benefits to a recovering marathoner as any physical therapist or wellness expert will tell you. So, what do you do after a s? A cold plunge or sauna bath? Let’s find out!

The truth is, a sauna bath or cold plunge is great for post-marathon recovery because they have numerous benefits as recent research can prove. If you can, include both in your recovery plan and make sure you follow the right process and procedure.

But they don’t offer the same benefits so let’s look at why you should do both after a marathon.

Why Take A Cold Plunge After A Marathon?

A cold plunge is a centuries-old self-care practice that involves immersing your entire body in cold water or water mixed with ice for a set period. It has been around for many years but only recently became popular especially due to social media. Professional athletes and clubs have been using cold plunges as a post-workout or post-event activity for years as well.

Cold plunging (also referred to as cold water immersion -CWI or cold-water therapy) is said to have numerous positive effects on your body as emerging studies have proven in recent years. For marathoners in recovery, cold water immersion offers the following benefits:

Reduces Muscle Damage

Cold water immersion or cold plunging has been proven as an effective way to reduce or deal with muscle damage related to physical exercises. As research into the impact of marathons on muscle stiffness has shown, long-distance running inflicts high mechanical stress and damage to muscle fibers. A cold plunge helps your muscles recover after a marathon in the following ways:

a.     Dealing with Inflammation

Running stresses your muscles, which can cause swelling due to inflammation. Cold plunging helps constrict blood vessels to limit inflammatory responses that could further damage your already strained muscles.

b.    Reducing Muscle Soreness

Immersing your limbs in cold water numbs the nerve endings. This has the net effect of reducing your body’s perception of pain for strained muscles after a marathon. Reduced muscle soreness allows you to return to normal mobility and muscle function.

c.     Speeding Muscle Repair

Immersing your body into an ice bath or cold plunge triggers a hormone called norepinephrine which supports muscle tissue repair and regeneration.  This response has enhanced cellular recovery to a higher degree than resting after a marathon.

d.    Lowering Muscle Temperature

You will probably be sweaty and boiling in the muscles after a marathon. Using a cold plunge to lower your muscle temperature post-marathon can help prevent cellular breakdown and microtrauma.  Lowering muscle temperatures also prevents excess inflammation for faster recovery.

Apart from muscle recovery, which is an important thing for recovering marathoners, cold plunging has the following additional benefits:

Boosting Immune System function

Your immune response systems will get temporarily suppressed during and shortly after a marathon. A cold plunge can help stimulate your immune cell activity post-marathon by reminding the body to produce more white blood cells. The net benefit from this is not having to deal with post-marathon illness.

Improving Sleep Quality Post-Marathon

Many people who take cold baths or cold-water therapy report having better sleep and research has proven that as well. For a recovering marathoner, a cold plunge will help you sleep better so your body can release more growth hormones and repair damaged muscle tissues. It does It by regulating your body’s natural temperature cycle for deeper sleep.

Promoting Mental Recovery Post-Race

Preparing for and running a marathon can be stressful and the resulting strain can last for days if you don’t take steps to return to normal. Taking a cold plunge, alongside other mental recovery techniques, triggers the release of endorphins and dopamine. These chemicals can help your body deal with the mental fatigue that comes after a marathon. It also gives you a much-needed psychological reset for better moods. 

These are some of the main benefits of taking a cold plunge after a marathon but what about sauna therapy? Let’s find out!

How Sauna Therapy Helps After A Marathon

 In addition to cold plunging, sauna therapy is also great for recovery after a grueling marathon. Unlike cold water therapy, a sauna experience is usually more enjoyable and therefore easier to do regularly as part of your recovery process.

The following are some of the specific ways a recovering marathoner can use sauna therapy for recovery and overall body-mind wellness:

Accelerate Muscle Recovery

Like cold plunging, sauna therapy can help stressed muscles recover faster after a marathon. The sauna heat stimulates shock proteins in your body and they in turn repair damaged muscles. The shock proteins in your body are like cellular protectors. They strengthen your muscles and tissues and speed up post-marathon recovery.

Hormonal Recovery

Sauna therapy can help marathoners recover more quickly after a marathon through a hormonal reset. The heat from sauna steam triggers your growth hormone and stimulates the endocrine system. The net result is that your body gains an enhanced ability to balance cortisol levels which are usually quite elevated during a marathon. Hormonal recovery also helps marathoners steer clear of the “overtraining syndrome” very common for endurance events.

Enhancing Cardiovascular Recovery Post-Marathon

Marathons tend to stress the cardiovascular system and lead to waste accumulation. Sauna therapy is a great self-care method used to improve blood circulation and flush our metabolic waste after a marathon. The sauna heat also improves your blood flow allowing more oxygen to the muscles. Regular sauna therapy even when you are not recovering can also help improve your cardiovascular system.

Relaxing the Muscles

Just like cold plunging works on the muscles to aid recovery, sauna therapy also helps in muscle recovery post-marathon but in a different way. A sauna helps relax your stressed muscles after a marathon to reduce soreness and aid in recovery. The heated steam from the sauna helps dilate your blood vessels which increases blood flow to the skin and muscles. This also makes you feel more relaxed.

For Mental Recovery After A Marathon

Sauna therapy is not just about recovery. The experience is also pleasant and provides a meditative environment for mental relaxation and stress reduction. Use the relaxing heat and scented steam to engage in mindful recovery and enjoyment.

In Conclusion

So, what have we learned today as marathoners? Both sauna therapy and cold plunges are great for you when recovering from a grueling marathon. We would suggest combining both but probably alternate them on different days or hours. For instance, do a cold plunge in the morning and enjoy sauna therapy in the evening for better sleep. Happy recovery!