Ashton Hall’s Morning Routine Ice Dunk

Ashton Hall’s morning routine took the internet by storm, and suddenly Saratoga Springs water in it’s beautiful blue bottle was all over the place. People who came in to eat at Jean Georges were suddenly saying “oh, it’s the famous water”, when we offered the water we’ve been pouring for the last three years.

Anyway, this interesting “fitness” influencer (not as good as my husband I very biasedly believe), went viral for his little morning routine dipping his head in a bowl filled with Saratoga Spring water and ice cubes.
I guess there are dumber things to go viral for, so whatever works.

Anyway, this isn’t a spa treatment.
This is Ashton Hall’s morning routine, and it’s got the internet absolutely obsessed.

Who Is Ashton Hall, and Why Are People Copying Him?

Ashton Hall, TikTok creator and personal development guy with a flair for “simplicity” (okay, it’s not simplicity, he’s just renting all of his “luxury” things for the clout and trying to make others envious of his lifestyle that doesn’t exist), has amassed a following by showing us something radical: a moment of discomfort that becomes a ritual of presence.

Each morning, he films himself dunking his head in a stainless steel bowl filled with ice water, sometimes laughing, sometimes grimacing, always emerging awake, alert, and transformed and ready to take on the day and make $10,000 or something ridiculous.

No 20-step skincare or protein pancakes, just water (expensive bottles water), ice, and willpower.

And viewers can’t get enough of it for some reason.

It’s primal and visceral, but is it actually doing anything for your health? Or is this just another digital placebo and more full of hot air than this influencer’s fake lifestyle?

The History of Cold Water as Wake-Up Call

Ashton Hall didn’t invent this, he’s just stripped it down to its essence in his short clips.

Cold water immersion has been a staple of human health rituals for thousands of years. Ancient Romans ended their baths with cold plunges, Nordic cultures alternate between hot saunas and icy rivers, Japanese samurai practiced misogi, spiritual purification through cold water, and modern science confirms that exposure to extreme stimuli (light, cold, fasting) can activate powerful regenerative systems in the body.

What Ashton did was remove the barriers.

You don’t need a fancy tub that all the other fitness men are touting around with them, and you don’t need $40 cryo packs. You just need ice, a bowl, and a reason. (And Saratoga Spring water, I guess)

What Happens to the Body During a Cold Water Dunk?

Here’s what goes down, physiologically, when your face meets 34°F water:

1. It activates the “diving reflex”

Your body thinks it’s submerged underwater, triggering a slowed heart rate, blood redirected to vital organs, and immediate focus due to the life or death situation. Okay, so it’s not life or death, but your body doesn’t know that.

It’s the same reflex that lets whales dive for 90 minutes without breathing, but we aren’t whales, so in us, it’s more like hitting the reset button.

2. It shocks your vagus nerve

The vagus nerve runs from your brainstem down through your body and is key to regulating anxiety, inflammation, and digestion. Cold stimulation of the face activates this nerve, calming your nervous system even as your skin screams.

It’s like slapping stress in the face with a glacier. SLAP.

3. It floods your brain with adrenaline

That gasp when you hit the cold? That’s your body releasing epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine.

AKA you feel alert, your mood lifts, your focus sharpens, and your pain thresholds rise. It’s why people who cold plunge in the morning report feeling invincible for hours.

What About Just the Head, Not the Whole Body?

This is where Ashton’s version gets interesting.

Most cold immersion routines involve full-body exposure. Ice baths, cryo chambers, Wim Hof-style mountain plunges.

But Ashton just dunks his head, and that might be exactly enough, because many of cold exposure’s key benefits are triggered by facial receptors, particularly around the eyes and forehead.

It’s the face that engages the parasympathetic nervous system, the face that holds tension, expression, and identity. By submerging the face, you’re sending the “reset” signal straight to the command center.

So, Ashton Hall might have this right in more ways than one.

The Psychological Power of Starting With Discomfort

There’s also something deeper at play here besides dunking your face in some cold water.

This isn’t just physical, it’s symbolic. Dunking your head in freezing water first thing in the morning is a declaration to yourself: “I do hard things, I choose my discomfort, I start the day on my terms.”

It’s more about the ownership in a world so full of chaos it’s actually more hard to control anything than you or I would like to believe. We need anchors in that chaos, moments where the body knows what to do even if the brain doesn’t.

In that way, Ashton Hall didn’t just start a trend.
He offered people a mirror, and said: “Face it.”

For most healthy people this routine is safe.

But there are caveats and I’m not a doctor, so check with them if any of the following sound familiar to you.

If you have cardiovascular issues, consult a doctor before any sudden shock stimulus.
If you get migraines from cold, ease into it, don’t submerge your whole face immediately.
Don’t stay submerged longer than 30 seconds at a time.
And if the water is so cold it burns or gives you frostnip? It’s too much and not worth it.

A great way to try it gently is with a reusable ice facial mask like this one on Amazon. It lets you simulate the effect without a full dunk, and can double as a tension reliever post-work.

Does It Really Work Long-Term?

Like most wellness trends, the magic is in the consistency.

One dunk = a shock
Daily dunks = a pattern

And patterns are what train the brain. There’s growing research showing that micro-stressors like cold exposure, fasting, and breathwork increase resilience by teaching your body to handle discomfort without panic.

In that sense, Ashton’s morning ice ritual becomes a mental rep, a workout not for your muscles, but for your will.

Want to Add a Ritual Like This to Your Life?

Here’s what I’d suggest, start with 10 seconds. Use a clean, stainless steel or ceramic bowl. Add plenty of ice and let it sit for a minute before dunking and to psych yourself up to it. Take a deep breath before you submerge. Focus on what it feels like, not how it looks.

And then write down how you feel. Or maybe record it, you do you.
Because what makes it real is how it makes you feel, nothing else.