While New Year's is known for sparkly banners and watching the ball drop on TV, I woke up on the morning of Jan. 1 and began 2024 in 38ºF water at Massachusetts beach with two friends.

2023 was the year I not only overcame my fear of cold water but learned to love it. No longer do I let out a cry for the gods when cold water hits my ankles. Now, I know my day will be exponentially better if I start by submerging myself in cold water for minutes at a time.

Cold plunging is not just another health fad for 2024. Instead, I believe that it contributes to a holistic life choice that forces you outside your comfort zone.

This practice dates back to ancient Egyptian and Greek traditions and is used as muscle therapy for high-intensity athletes. But now anyone with a bath and cold water can adventure off the couch and into the freezing cold.

Dr. Andrew Huberman at Stanford University shared research behind the scientific effectiveness of cold water therapy. During a cold plunge, there is a significant release of epinephrine (adrenaline) and noradrenaline in the brain and body that helps us feel alert and elevates energy levels for several hours. It's a natural high that will help you gain clarity and connection to the sensory experience of being alive.

In Huberman's podcast, he advised a total of 11 minutes of cold exposure per week, which can be split up into multiple sessions. So, if you hop in the ocean for five minutes one day and take one minute cold showers the other six days of the week, then you’ve met this recommendation!

Cold plunging is particularly accessible to Santa Clara students. Santa Clara’s Into the Wild added an ocean cold plunge to their list of off-campus adventures last year. Trip leader Audrey Bland believes that it's a great way to build community and connect with nature.

“At first everyone is freaking out at how terribly cold it is and then you’re in the water and you calm down and everyone else is experiencing the same thing around you,” Bland said. “It turns out cold plunging can bring people together in a unique, fun way.”

Nevertheless, other health fads are not so fun. Between green smoothies, going keto and a whole load of other trends shared on social media, it's hard to know which ones are worth adding to your regular schedule. But unlike diets that require major lifestyle and consumption changes, cold plunging or cold water exposure is a fairly accessible activity.

Making time for a few minutes of a cold shower, bath or ocean dip, you’ll quickly see higher energy levels, metabolism and a better immune system for the rest of the day.

The benefits of cold plunging extend beyond the physiological impacts. Realizing that we can do difficult activities and push past mental barriers is how we grow.

If finding a new health hack is a part of your new year's resolutions list or if you're just curious about what it's like to consistently challenge your mind and body with cold water submersion, the time to get freezing is now.