All About Doodip

Brrrrr

We get it. When you think about a blissful, happy place it’s probably going to involve warm sunshine or maybe a cozy fire. It’s not going to be about shivering in cold water. 

But what if we told you that just a few minutes a day of dipping in cool water could boost your mood, improve your health and rev up your metabolism? What if we backed that up with science? (Like, real science, not some phony studies put out by Big Ice. As far as we know, there is no ice lobby pulling strings.)  And what if we told you getting access to a clean, cool dipping tub year-round is easier and more affordable than you think?

 

Why Doodip?

Doodip was founded on the radical belief that one of the best, most natural and effective tools to improve mental and physical health should be accessible to everyone. You shouldn’t  have to live in a Nordic country or in a lakefront house to get the benefits of cold water dips. And you don’t have to. 

The huge markets for supplements and prescription drug markets like anti-depressants, weight-loss pills, anxiety relievers, and immunity boosters tell us that collectively, we need some help. And that’s OK! It just means we’re human. But because we’re human, we need more than we can get from a drug store. We need community. We need connection with nature. We need to feel in touch with our bodies and to reset our minds from the everyday things that stress us out.

Doodip is available without a prescription and includes a connection to cold water enthusiasts to help keep you motivated and focused on your journey to better physical and mental health. We aren’t just about selling a tub and moving on. We want to build a community. And we want you to be a part of it.

 

Cold water? Really? It’s not a miracle drug, it’s just … cold water?

It sounds too good to be true. We get it. We were dubious, too. But then we tried it. And it worked for us.

So maybe we’re just weird, we thought. But then we started researching it and discovered there is a lot of solid research on the benefits of a daily or even weekly dip in cold water. And we discovered it doesn’t even have to be that cold. (It still counts even if there isn’t ice floating on top. Who knew?!) 

That’s when we realized this is legit. And that too many people don’t know about it. Too many people don’t have access to it. And too many people are scared or think it’s just something for pro-athletes or people with some kind of freakish ability to withstand the cold. And we decided that’s not fair or good for humanity and we should do something about it. And thus, Doodip was born.

(And for the record, we acknowledge that we may be weird, but it’s not because we take cold water dips.)

 

What is this science you speak of?

If you want to dive deep into the science, you’ll find details here. But among other things, it’s scientifically proven that cold water dips will:

• Release more dopamine, endorphins, serotonin and oxytocin than a right swipe on your Tinder profile.
• Activate “brown fat” to boost your metabolism
• Reduce inflammation 
• Increase insulin sensitivity
• Release cold shock proteins
• Slow aging (Yes, really.)

 

Wait! I wasn’t listening in my biology class! What does that mean?!

• Increased dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin. and endorphins mean it’s a real natural high and a big mood booster. Which means cold water dips will make you happy. And the levels of these feel-good catecholamines and neurotransmitters stay elevated for much longer after a cold dip than with other methods..

• Brown fat is baby fat. Literally. Babies are born with plenty of it because they can’t shiver as newborns. (Strange fact that you probably never thought about.)  It’s the fat that is quickly activated by cold because it helps regulate your body temperature. “Activated” means you start  burning fat quickly when you’re cold. Best of all, a cold dip can actually signal your white fat cells – the bad kind – to convert itself into beige or brown fat. It won’t just jump start your metabolic engine, it turbo charges it.

• Inflammation is, simply put, a stress on your whole body. Anything you can naturally do to reduce inflammation translates into better cardiovascular health and a strengthened immune system.

• Insulin sensitivity helps keep your blood sugar levels steady. You know how you get hangry if you skip lunch? Or you need that 3 p.m. snack to make it to the end of the day? That’s because your blood sugar is spiking and falling faster than Game Stop stock prices.  And that’s because your insulin sensitivity needs some help. (One in three Americans is considered “prediabetic” and they don’t even know it. That means they’ve already begun to develop significant insulin resistance, which causes much more than just diabetes.) Increasing your insulin sensitivity is good for virtually every part of your body because it keeps your glucose levels steady. That helps with acne, wrinkles, brain function, hormonal and fertility issues, mental health and symptoms of menopause. But wait! There’s more! Keeping your glucose balanced also boosts your immune system and reduces risk of fatty liver disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. And yes, increasing your insulin sensitivity can prevent you from getting diabetes and even reverse it.

• Cold shock proteins. When your body thinks it’s about to die from suddenly being in cold water, it panics a little. But unlike your unhelpful coworker, it actually puts that panic to good use. Your liver dumps multifunctional RNA/DNA binding proteins into your bloodstream to save your life. But since you aren’t really dying, just dipping, these proteins find something else to do. So they help with muscle repair, injury recovery and supporting your circadian rhythm. They’ve even been shown to encourage regrowth of bone and cartilage after injury.

• Slowing the aging process is more than just Botox and expensive lotions. It turns out, the “fountain of youth” is cold. Because the balanced glucose levels you can get from cold water slows glycation – which is a fancy science word for cell aging. As the body ages, it loses its ability to fight the effects of free radicals. The result is more free radicals, more oxidative stress, and more damage to cells, which leads to aging that’s worse than just a few wrinkles and gray hair. We’re talking big scaries like cardiovascular disease, autoimmune and inflammatory disorders and cancer.

I want to know more – and, no offense,  not from someone trying to sell me something.

No offense taken. We want you to know more. We want you to enjoy the benefits of cold water immersion because we believe in it. May we suggest a couple of options from people who have absolutely no connection to Doodip, other than the fact that we think they’re really smart?

Check out Winter Swimming by Dr. Susanna Soberg, for a well-researched and fun read (complete with photos of naked butt cheeks!) about the benefits of cold water written by someone who really, really did not want to go into cold water.

Or, The Huberman Lab podcast, which is both well-researched and entertaining and features great perspectives on both hot and cold therapies.

Whether you do it with Doodip, or some other way, we hope you’ll dip your toes (and the rest of your body) into the world of cold water. Come on in – the water’s fine!