Probably some of you might have heard that cold showers have benefits. You couldn’t believe it and you thought:
How can cold showers help me improve my life?
Plenty of studies have shown that they can help you improve both physically and mentally. After a few weeks or months the results will astonish you and you will feel better in general. What are these health benefits then? So let’s jump right into it.
- Strengthens the inside
It activates the immune system, which releases more white blood cells (the ones that fight viruses) thus you don’t get sick easily. It improves blood circulation around the organs and that helps the system work more efficient. It can even lower your blood pressure. That helps a lot of people. - Faster recovery
As we said above, it improves blood circulation. Therefore more blood flows inside your muscles and that helps speed up the recovery and repairing phase. After a few cold showers you will not feel pain or soreness anymore. That’s why many teams around the world force their players to take cold showers or even ice baths. - Protects your hair and skin
Probably you heard before that hot water opens up the pores and cold water closes them. That’s correct. Also hot water dries out your skin and removes the natural oils of your scalp that are needed. On the other hand cold water tightens your skin and makes it glow. The same effect has on your hair too. It makes your hair shinier, stronger and closes up the pores on your scalp, which protects it from dirt. Hence you have healthier skin and hair.
- Wakes you up
The last thing you want when you wake up is freezing water on your face. But that’s a good thing actually. It makes you alert in seconds. If you have a cold shower first thing in the morning, that’s even better. Your body tries to warm you up and it increases the oxygen intake. That’s why you start deep breathing. Therefore your heart pumps more blood and gives you more energy. - Weight loss
Now I have your attention huh. Cold temperatures increase the metabolic rate which helps you burn fat faster than usual. Also your body in low temperatures burns calories in order to keep you warm and save you. It activates the brown fat (adipose tissue) which is found around your neck, collar bones, sternum and upper back. This fat generates heat by burning the white fat, which can be found on your stomach, hips, legs and butt. So it removes the fat that most people want to get rid of. Of course it’s not as fast as dieting and exercising, but in the long run it does help. - Helps you sleep
We talked about low temperatures helping with sleep and ways to do that in another article. Check it out to learn more. - Mentally stronger
It toughens you up not only physically but mentally too. Think about it. Even if you have read all the above benefits probably most of you still are afraid to do it because you know how hard it is. It’s like pain that you know it hurts like a b*tch but it’s a state of mind, like everything. If you think that you can do it and give it a try, then you will. Thus improving your mental strength.
- Lowers your stress levels
Since it mentally strengthens you against fearful and painful situations, it was only right to help you with stress too. It decreases your uric acid levels and increases your glutathione (the antioxidant that helps the other antioxidants perform at their maximum levels). Resulting in helping you face stressful situations too. - Relieves depression
Another mental issue that helps you with is depression. Hard to believe but it does. The shock you experience while the cold water touches your skin sends a large amount of electrical impulses from the peripheral nerve endings to the brain. This process creates the anti-depressant effect that relieves depression symptoms; plus it boosts your mood, therefore you feel great.
Now that we talked about the benefits let’s talk about putting words into action. I know it’s hard and most of you think that it’s not possible for you. I used to think the same way; if the water wasn’t hot I couldn’t have a shower.
Don’t rush into it. Start with not so cold water and everyday expose yourself to colder showers, in that way your body adapts to the temperatures because it’s not a big difference. It’s like exercising, it needs time. At some point you will see that your body got used to colder temperatures. Also you can do contrast showers. Use hot water for 1-2 minutes and then use cold water for 1-2 minutes and so on. In the worst case scenario use lukewarm water until you are able to use colder water. However if you are a tough man/woman and can take ice baths, go for it. The positive effects on your body get faster and greater.
Those are my views from learning and trying cold showers. You didn’t expect all these benefits, right? I couldn’t believe it either until I added them into my routines and since then I feel amazing. So you shouldn’t neglect it, start with small steps and your efforts won’t go wasted, guaranteed.
Share this article to inform more people and tell us your thoughts in the comments below: Did you know all these health benefits about cold showers? Do you know any other? Do you use cold showers or ice baths? What improvements did you notice?