The one thing Hailey Bieber says helped her anxiety

Maybe save this one for summer

The star credits cold water with helping her with anxiety. Image: Getty

After a turbulent year, the model and Rhode Beauty founder says cold-water plunging has helped her when it comes to managing stress and anxiety.

If it seems like everyone on your social media feed is jumping into ice baths, you’re not imagining things.

The benefits of cold water plunging have long been touted by Wim Hof, the Dutch motivational speaker known as the Iceman, who discovered the benefits after he first jumped into an icy lake when he was 17.

In recent years, the practice has boomed in popularity, with everyone from Kim Kardashian to Harry Styles touting the benefits of a chilly dip.

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The latest famous face to take the plunge? Hailey Bieber. The beauty entrepreneur recently documented her dip on TikTok, submerging herself in cold water in an outdoor bath.

Speaking to her 10.8 million followers, she explained in the caption that she takes a dip for “30 seconds minimum” and that “cold plunging has helped me a lot with anxiety and overall mood.”

The model has previously spoken out about how she’s faced “some of the saddest, hardest moments ever” during the first half of 2023, with ongoing speculation around a feud with Selena Gomez.

@haileybieber

back with another cold plunge series. cold plunging has helped me a lot with anxiety and overall mood. 💙

♬ girls like me don't cry (sped up) - thuy

Celebrities aside, cold water therapy is a common practice among athletes who harness the cold as a method of post-workout recovery, but it also has mental health benefits for us regular folk.

According to neuroscientist, author and host of the Thriving Minds podcast Professor Selena Bartlett, extreme temperatures can shake up our senses while calming us down, making it worth our while to plunge out of our comfort zones.

“The Wim Hof Method [of cold water plunging], like other examples of neuroplasticity, shows how the brain can be trained like a muscle and that the brain is like a machine,” she previously told Body+Soul.

“When we repeat the same activities for years, the brain no longer has to think about what to do next – it’s on autopilot.”

This is great when we have mundane tasks to achieve every day. But doing something new every day is a great way to train the brain to feel comfortable with discomfort - and she says you don’t need to jump into an icy lake or take extreme measures.

“To get started, try turning the shower handle to cold water at the end of a warm shower. Start small for 10 seconds; you can even aim your shower nozzle on your toes or legs first. Work your way up to the back of your neck and notice how it makes you feel.”

Originally published as The one thing Hailey Bieber says helped her anxiety