Not every viral wellness fad deserves a spot in your routine.
Just ask Zendaya.
The “Odyssey” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” actress may be one of Hollywood’s biggest trendsetter, but there’s one wildly popular wellness trend she has zero interest in embracing — and according to one expert, women may actually be better off following her lead.
Asked about cold plunges in a recent interview, Zendaya didn’t hesitate.
“I’m definitely not a cold water girl,” she told Vogue. “I like to take very long, hot showers. Everybody knows that’s my thing. When I’m overwhelmed, I just need to go sit in the shower. Sometimes I’ll even bring in an iced tea or whatever, and just sip my little drink.”
As it turns out, Zendaya might be on to something.
What’s the point of cold plunging?
Cold plunges involve climbing into icy water — usually between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit — and staying there from one to five minutes, though some die-hard devotees stick it out much longer, despite experts warning against it.
Taking a dip in frigid water may help ease muscle soreness, especially after a difficult workout, because the cold constructs blood vessels, temporarily reducing swelling and inflammation to aid recovery. (However, cold therapy may also blunt muscle gains if it’s done within four hours of a muscle-building workout.)
Some studies also suggest cold plunges may offer mental health benefits, including reduced stress and improved alertness and focus. There is also preliminary evidence that cold therapy may support immune system function.
“There’s no doubt that some people get great relief from using ice baths,” says Dominic King, a sports medicine physician, told Cleveland Clinic. “We’ve seen people get physical, mental and functional benefits from this kind of cold therapy.”
The case against ice baths for women
Exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist Dr. Stacy Sims challenged the benefits of cold plunging for women during an interview on “The Mel Robbins Podcast.”
When asked whether women should be cold plunging, Sims said, “Women don’t need [to be] as cold.”
She argued that when women immerse themselves in ice-cold water, it triggers a much stronger stress response than it does in men.
Rather than producing the same metabolic benefits seen in males, she said, the intense shock pushes a woman’s body into more of a shutdown phase by activating the sympathetic nervous system.
Sims attributed the difference to women generally having more body fat and relying more heavily on vasodilation and vasoconstriction to regulate body temperature.
However, the research on whether cold plunges benefit women remains mixed.
A 2020 study on the gender differences in short-term cold exposure found no significant differences in thermogenic responses between young women and men. However, researchers did find that some metabolic and hormonal changes were more pronounced in women, suggesting a sex-specific response to cold.
Similarly, a 2025 analysis published in PLOS One found that men — but not women — reported sleeping better after taking ice baths.
Saunas may be the better bet
Sims also backed up Zendaya’s preference for hot showers, saying women tend to tolerate heat better than men, particularly in saunas.
“A woman can sit in there, sit up high 20 minutes or so, not sweating yet, absorbing the heat, vasodilating, it’s great,” she said.
The reason, Sims explained, is that women’s bodies respond to sauna heat by producing heat shock proteins, which help protect cells from stress and support cellular repair.
Those proteins trigger cellular changes that improve how muscles use both glucose and fat for energy.
Heat exposure also boosts blood flow to the brain and improves the ability of blood flow vessels to constrict and dilate efficiently — an important function as women are, enter perimenopause and become more susceptible to high blood pressure.
Women’s bodies also regulate heat differently than men’s, she said.
Rather than immediately breaking into a sweat, women typically begin by widening their blood vessels to release heat before sweating starts. That gives the body more time to adapt to higher temperatures and may reduce the physiological stress of heat exposure.
According to Sims, those differences may explain why women can tolerate heat better than men and why regular sauna use may improve cardiovascular health, blood flow, blood pressure, blood glucose control and fat metabolism.
“If we are doing 10 to 15 minutes twice a week, bare minimum, you get health benefits,” she said.
Research suggests regular sauna use may also offer broader health benefits.
Studies have found that pairing sauna sessions with regular exercise with sauna use may improve overall cardiorespiratory fitness.
“It’s exciting that studies are showing improvements to various markers of health when combining regular exercise with sauna use,” Earric Lee, PhD, a Montreal Heart Institute researcher, told Stanford Lifestyle Medicine.
