The Cold Shower Health Benefits only get better with time
I don't have too many regrets, but not taking more cold showers in the past might be one of them. Cold showers were a game-changer for me. I took cold showers in my early twenties because I didn't have hot water at times, but I had no idea of the benefits.
I have been taking cold showers for the last two years. So, why am I enthusiastically reporting on them? Because I noticed results just a few days after starting—this is how powerful they are. They are as health-powerful as the electric shock you get when cold water hits your body. Get started today; it's free!
Here's how to start
At first, when you're getting ready to open the cold water, you think you're about to die. And when the cold water hits your body, you get a shock lasting about 30 seconds. But If you stay for a minute or two, something remarkable happens.
You feel the water begins to warm up, but that is not what's happening. Instead, your body gets used to the cold, and you feel comfortable. But if you keep taking cold showers daily, your body becomes used to them. They become second nature. You'll crave them in the morning and can't be without them. Soon, you'll think hot showers are strange.
Initially, some people find it helpful to either graduate from hot and slowly to cold water or alternate hot and cold. I find this to be more difficult. I recommend instead biting the bullet and going for the cold altogether. However, alternating has some advantages since it creates a stimulating effect of tensing and relaxing on your skin nerves and vessels.
How cold should the water be?
The colder the water, the better because the effects will be stronger, faster, and long-lasting. Think about jumping in a cold pool or lake. If you go slowly, inch by inch, it can become a prolonged agony. If you jump full body, you're done. A nice shower head that puts out a lot of water also makes things easier because your whole body will touch the water immediately.
How long should I stay in the shower?
Two to three minutes should be just fine to feel the health benefits of a cold shower. It also depends on how cold the water is. The colder the water, you'll immediately get the message on how long you should stay. In near-freezing water, say 35 degrees Fahrenheit, you won't be able to take more than a minute or two unless you're used to it or feel like you should.
My rule is to stay under the water until you feel comfortable and no longer feel the cold. At that point, your body tells you, "I'm OK; I have made the adjustments, we're good."
Always remember, don't force yourself. Do what feels reasonably comfortable, or you'll hurt yourself. The most important thing is to do it regularly, every day, and for a long and extended period of time.
Some people disagree cold showers are beneficial
Some are skeptical of the benefits of cold showers. I'll place a video here from the YouTube channel SciShow: "Can Cold Showers Actually Change Your Life?" The presenter goes over some studies he calls inconclusive. Most studies have their flaws, but most, in my opinion, do not conduct testing over a long period of time. Some studies that show positive results are conducted in near-freezing conditions, which can bring results quickly, but cold showers are to be tried on a medium to long trajectory. Find out the results for yourself. History is your friend.
Ice therapy throughout history
The Ancient Greeks primarily used cold-water immersion as a medical treatment for fever and pain relief, believing that the cold could counteract the body's heat. This practice continued for physiological symptoms until the late 1950s.
Whether your ancestors came from the North Sea or the equator, the early evolutionary experiences shared by all human ancestors likely shaped our anatomy to require regular cold water immersion. Just as our bodies have evolved to expect exercise and to get sick if we're not getting enough of it, it is likely that we will experience less-than-optimal health if we don't get enough cold water immersion.
"Here's what I noticed over the last few months taking cold showers. I'm looking forward to many cold showers in the future. Jump in and activate your body, mind, and soul"
#1. Mood enhancement and well-being
The first unequivocal change you'll notice right away is the happiness levels. After you take a two—to three-minute cold shower in the morning, it feels better than drugs. It is simply an explosion of endorphins that will make you laugh and sing. Forget about taking Prozac; take cold showers instead.
Singing in the shower is an old expression that probably originates from a time when people didn't have hot showers. Take a cold shower and you'll be singing too, you didn't even know you could sing.
After you get dressed and dry and walk out of the bathroom, you feel a freshness all over your body, as if all your nerves and muscles have been reset and stabilized. This feeling will follow you all morning. The mental clarity and overwhelming sense of well-being are priceless.
There are other psychological benefits to doing so. You put yourself out of your comfort zone. Taking a cold shower is like a mini-death. If you have the guts to put your guts under the cold water, you'll have the balls to fight many other battles. It makes you feel at ease with difficult and stressful situations.
#2. Circulation
I suffer from poor circulation and feel cold in my hands and feet. The improved circulation is perhaps the most dramatic immediate effect of cold showers. My hands are warm, and I can feel it as my blood circulation vastly improves in the extremities of my body. The other noticeable change is that I rarely feel cold when I go out. While everyone is bundling up, I'm only wearing a thin sweater or a t-shirt.
#4. Blood Pressure
With your newly gained increased circulation, there are more areas where your blood can flow, freeing your heart from the burden of pumping with so much pressure. Because 1/3 of your blood is found on your arterioles, the smaller vessels in your body, this can have a dramatic effect on your blood pressure.
Your blood pressure drops because there is less resistance as cold showers fix the tightness and dysfunction of arterioles. I have high blood pressure, and after just a few showers, I noted that my BP was lower.
#5. Increased Libido and erections
Check, check. For men, it's all about the pump and circulation. An improvement in circulation helps you to have and maintain erections. Your libido also increases because of a hormonal cascade occouring during cold exposure. Growth hormones and testosterone are released as part of the hormonal cascade. Helps testosterone production.
#6. Enhanced Immune system
The physiological adjustments in reaction to the cold can elicit immunological changes possibly unrelated to cold exposure per se. For example, it is well known that exercise causes profound changes in the immune system.
Similarly, shivering contractions in cold showers or icy baths are similar to exercise. Redistribution of blood flow, loss of plasma volume, and increases in cardiac output all have been observed to affect components of the immune system, and these physiological changes occur during both exercise and cold exposure.
When we are exposed to cold, we also trigger our immune system differently. Cold elicits a defense mechanism in our body since our organisms perceive a sudden exposure to cold as a threat. Cold exposure also reduces inflammation, which can wreak havoc on your immune system.
#7. Quick recovery from strenuous exercises
Temporarily reducing inflammation and alleviating pain sensation.
Post-workout thermal stress and muscle fatigue. helps reduce Post-workout thermal stress and muscle fatigue.
This causes your blood vessels to dilate, which can reduce blood flow to areas of inflammation
Enhancing post-workout recovery and improving subsequent performance.
Temporarily increasing the levels of feel-good chemicals such as epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine in the brain and body
Temporarily boosting your mood
Temporarily increasing your metabolic rate as your body works to thermoregulate
Now, I’ll leave you with some great videos. Cold Showers Will Bring You Back to Life! Enjoy cold shower health benefits
Scientific Evidence and Resources:
The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Cold exposure: human immune responses and intracellular cytokine expression
Cold Stress Effects on Exposure Tolerance and Exercise Performance
Modulation of Pain Sensitivity by a Hyperventilatory Breathing Exercise and Cold Exposure Training
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