Chris Hemsworth took an ice bath as part of the Limitless with Centre challenge he posted on Wednesday.
The 39-year-old actor posted a social media clip where he took the plunge in an icy tub of water.
‘If you want to join me, find yourself an ice bath and try to stay in it for three minutes,’ the Thor actor told his more than 56 million followers.
He then hopped into the bath, almost instantly saying he needed to go to his ‘happy place’ to get through the harrowing experience.
Hemsworth then cracked several jokes before relaying an experience he had in Norway when he swam in icy cold water on a frigid day.
He swam in freezing arctic waters earlier this month to increase his health and longevity. He went a full 250 yards for his new television show, Limitless, now streaming on Disney+.
Hemsworth joked in the clip that he could stay in the water for 30 minutes and even invited his friend running the timer to jump in the bath with him.
‘One of the biggest benefits from an ice bath is mood elevation,’ The Avengers star said. ‘I think it’s because, when you’re in here, you feel like you’re dying and when you get out you feel like you’re alive again.’
Though he was joking earlier in the video about a friend joining him, the friend did hop into the bath with 30 seconds remaining to finish out the challenge with Chris.
Ice baths reportedly boost the immune system, something Hemsworth may be interested in since taking time off from acting.
The actor told Vanity Fair, he has decided to take ‘time off’ after filming a confronting episode about death on his new Disney+ docuseries Limitless.
‘Doing an episode on death and facing your own mortality made me go, “Oh God, I’m not ready to go yet”,’ he said.
‘I want to sit and be in this space with a greater sense of stillness and gratitude. And then you start talking about kids and family…’
Chris explained: ‘It really triggered something in me to want to take some time off. And since we finished the show, I have been completing the things I was already contracted to do.’
He said he has decided to have a ‘good chunk of time off’ with his wife Elsa Pataky and their three children – India, 10, and twin boys Sasha and Tristan, 8.
It came after Chris discovered he is genetically predisposed to Alzheimer’s, causing him to confront his ‘own mortality’ while filming the show.
After having bloodwork done for the program, he was informed he is ‘between eight and 10 times’ likelier to develop Alzheimer’s than the general population, because he is one of only two to three percent of people with two copies of the gene APOE4.
Playing on Chris’ stardom through superhero movies, Limitless follows him as he pushes up against the boundaries of what his body can do.
He will be seen on the Disney+ program pursuing various physical goals, such as what Variety reports was 40lbs of weight gain for a Thor film.
The blood work he got in aid of the show resulted in the bombshell news that he is several times likelier than the general population to get Alzheimer’s, a degenerative brain condition characterized in part by memory loss.
However there are evidently a number of steps that people in his position can take to reduce their level of risk, such as ensuring they get a good night’s sleep, curbing their alcohol intake and cutting out cigarettes, according to the CDC.
As a result, Chris reacted to the news of his own predisposition to Alzheimer’s by cultivating a healthier lifestyle.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
