Fox & Friends Tests Red Light Therapy and Cold Plunges in Wellness Week

The practical read

If you are deciding whether a plunge setup is worth your time and money, the cleanest takeaway is this: red light therapy has the more believable pitch, while cold plunges have the bigger adrenaline spike. One is a gradual, low-drama treatment that may help with skin support and recovery; the other is a hard physiological hit that can feel dramatic in seconds, but still sits on a much shakier evidence base.

That is why Fox & Friends’ Wellness Week works as more than a novelty segment. By putting red light therapy and cold plunges side by side in downtown New York City, the show turns the usual wellness marketing into a useful stress test: what sounds good on social media, and what actually survives a doctor’s scrutiny?

What red light therapy is really doing

At La Reserve Esthetics and Wellness, the red light portion of the segment is framed less like magic and more like mechanism. The devices are described as LED-based and closer to infrared light, which matches how dermatology circles usually talk about the treatment: red light therapy is also called photobiomodulation, and it uses red or near-infrared light aimed at the skin.

The pitch is familiar to anyone who has seen the wellness reels: recovery, cell production, inflammation, and skin support. Dr. Marc Siegel’s point cuts through the hype, though. If you expect a visible change after one session, you are probably misunderstanding the tool. Consistent use over a few weeks is the more realistic timeline, and that matters if you are weighing whether to buy a home panel or pay for office visits.

The American Academy of Dermatology says office-based devices are more powerful than many at-home units, and that distinction is not just marketing trivia. If you are spending real money, you want to know whether you are buying a device with enough output to matter, or just a dim light box with a wellness label attached. Harvard Health also notes that red light therapy is generally discussed as a complementary therapy, not a cure-all, and that it is often linked to claims about reducing inflammation and boosting collagen production.

Why the cold plunge scene hits harder on camera

The cold plunge part of the segment is built differently. Klotz’s sauna-to-ice-bath sequence gives you the contrast immediately: heat, then shock, then the body trying to catch up. The first thing most people notice is the gasp reflex, because breathing becomes part of the protocol the second you hit the water. That makes cold plunging easy television, but it also explains why the practice keeps spreading. You can see it, you can feel it, and it offers a clean before-and-after story that wellness influencers love.

The problem is that drama is not the same thing as proof. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of cold-water immersion in healthy adults looked at 11 studies involving 3,177 participants. It found possible short-term benefits for stress, sleep, and quality of life, but the evidence base is still limited. A 2023 review looking at cold-water immersion after exercise came to a similarly cautious place, with mixed findings and no clear mechanism. In other words, the cold plunge may help some people feel better, but the science is nowhere near as settled as the marketing implies.

Harvard Health’s read is blunt enough to matter here: the purported benefits for stress, sleep, and immunity are still thin. That is the part many cold plunge buyers miss. The setup may feel hardcore and recovery-adjacent, but the strongest claims still outrun the evidence.

The safety line you should not cross

Cold plunges also come with a risk profile that red light therapy simply does not have. The American Heart Association has cited the National Center for Cold Water Safety warning that sudden immersion in water under 60 degrees Fahrenheit can kill a person in less than a minute. That is not a scare tactic; it is the difference between a wellness habit and a genuine hazard.

The National Weather Service adds another critical detail: cold-water shock can trigger gasping and rapid breathing, which raises drowning risk even for confident swimmers. That is why the “tough it out” mindset is so dangerous in this space. The body’s reflexes do not care how many clips you have watched, and they do not care how expensive the tub is.

Harvard Health also says people with cardiovascular disease, especially those with heart rhythm abnormalities, should avoid cold plunges. If you are building a plunge routine around ego, aesthetics, or a fitness challenge, that warning should hit harder than any influencer testimonial. This is one of those rare wellness trends where the risk starts before you even decide whether the benefits are real.

When cold water is medicine, and when it is not

There is one important distinction worth keeping clear: cold or ice-water immersion is not always a fringe wellness move. Mayo Clinic says it is the most effective way to quickly lower core body temperature in heatstroke. That is emergency medicine, not lifestyle optimization, and the difference matters.

In a heatstroke scenario, the goal is to save someone’s life. In a recovery routine, the goal is usually to feel better, bounce back faster, or chase a mood lift. Those are not the same claims, and they should not be sold as if they are. The fact that cold water has a real medical use does not automatically validate the entire cold plunge market.

How to decide what is worth your money

If you want a simple decision rule, use this: red light therapy is the more plausible add-on if you are looking for something low-risk, consistent, and skin or recovery adjacent. The important question is whether you are getting a serious device, not a glossy gimmick. Office-based treatments are stronger than many home units, and visible results may take weeks, not a weekend.

Cold plunges are different. They are more intense, more expensive to set up well, and more dependent on your tolerance for discomfort and your medical profile. The evidence suggests there may be short-term benefits for stress, sleep, and quality of life, but it is still limited, mixed, and not strong enough to justify the bigger risks if you have cardiovascular concerns.

That is the real split this segment exposes. Red light therapy asks for patience and consistency. Cold plunges ask you to trust a shock response. Only one of those comes with a serious safety warning at the door.