I’ve tried searching this subreddit and googling but there are conflicting opinions, so I thought I’d try to get some input:

I spent a lot of time in ~11 degree C river water (circulating, no laminar layer building up) over the summer and fall and would always submerge my arms and hands. Life happened and things got derailed but I’m back on the addiction of cold plunging in the same river - but of course, it’s far colder now and I’m struggling to stay in for long durations. I tried a different approach today and kept my arms and hands above my head (as I have seen others do) and went in to a depth up to my armpits and I was able to stay in for a noticeable longer period of time.

Now, I don’t really cold plunge for the health benefits per se as opposed to simply enjoying the process and feeling like it lifts my mood. That being said - am I still reaping the physiological benefits by plunging and keeping my arms and hands out of the water?

I’m considering changing my approach and keeping my arms out of the water for the first ~30 seconds and then submerging them for the rest of the duration. Ideally I will be able to slowly reduce this ‘introductory’ period progressively.

Any thoughts on this approach are welcome.