Feeling Stressed? This Cool Trick Can Instantly Calm You Down

A wave of anxiety can hit when you least expect it. It might feel like your body has betrayed you at the worst possible moment—especially when you’re surrounded by friends or loved ones. But could the key to calming down be as simple as grabbing a couple of ice cubes?

Creators on TikTok and Instagram claim that applying ice to the back of your neck can stop anxiety in its tracks. We spoke to mental health experts to find out whether this viral hack holds up.

The truth is touching ice, or anything cold, can feel like a shock to the system, but when applied strategically, it does trigger physiological changes that help regulate stress.

“When you put ice in this lateral part of your back neck, it prompts this vagal nerve stimulation, and that in turn really kind of drives down the body’s fight or flight mechanism— the key part being that cold exposure on the back of your neck or even your chest,” said Ashwini Nadkarni, MD, associate medical director of Brigham Psychiatric Specialties at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.

Why Does Cold Help With Anxiety?

The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve in the body, extending from the bottom of the brain down through the neck and into the chest and stomach. It forms a part of the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system controls nonvoluntary functions like heart rate and digestion and helps the body relax and recover.

“You can think of it as an opposing force to your sympathetic nervous system and that fight or flight mechanism. It’s that ‘rest and digest’ force in your body,” Nadkarni said. While the sympathetic autonomic nervous system governs our fight or flight response and prepares the body for potential physical exertion, the parasympathetic essentially acts like a brake.

“It’s like a gas pedal and a brake, back and forth. Sometimes you may floor it, other times it may be much more gentle, but you’re always kind of switching back and forth between these two systems,” Emily Casanova, PhD, an assistant professor of neuroscience in psychology at Loyola University, told Verywell.

When your body is in fight or flight, ice touching the back of your neck stimulates the vagus nerve and parasympathetic nervous system all the way down the body and up to the brain. Once activated, it begins to counter the fight-or-flight response.

This stimulation can create feedback loops in the body and brain, said Casanova. While the cold can help reduce the body’s heart rate, the brain’s close monitoring of the body can actually help decrease anxiety as it picks up the feedback.

“The main thing is to get that core temperature down, and [ice on the neck is] going to cause that,” said Casanova. You can also achieve that by dunking your head in cold water, taking a cold bath or shower, splashing your face in cold water, or even drinking very cold water, Nadkarni added.

What Are Other Ways To Stop Anxiety? 

Try Humming, Laughing or Gargling

Humming, laughing, and gargling water are other effective ways to stimulate the vagal nerve in a way that really disrupts a panic attack, Nadkarni said. Because the vagus nerve runs through both the larynx and pharynx, as our vocal cords vibrate, sections of the vagus nerve are stimulated, effectively moving the body out of fight-or-flight mode.

Take Long, Deep Breaths 

“Breathing through a straw can actually stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system,” said Casanova. Even just pursing the lips and taking slow breaths can help put on the brakes. As your brain continues to monitor your body, taking deep breaths can help your body regulate its heart rate and create a feedback loop that calls for relaxation and calm.

Sit Down and Put Your Feet Up

Sitting down and elevating your legs can help your heart take it easy, promoting relaxation and effectively taking the foot off the gas. “You wanna make your heart not have to work as hard,” Casanova said.