Does the thought of a cold shower send shivers down your spine? Once the shock subsides, you may want to consider trading your daily warm shower for a chillier morning ritual. Let's sink into the top ten benefits of cold showers and soon you might warm up to the idea.
What is Cold Water Therapy?
Cold water therapy is intentional, repeated exposure to cold water immersion to promote health benefits by cooling the body’s deeper tissues and activating the circulatory system. It is often used by athletes as recovery practice in the form of showers, outdoor swims, and ice baths.
How to Use Your Shower as Cold Water Therapy
Curious to try cold temps at home? All you need is a shower that reaches temperatures below 60°F. This type of therapy can be used to treat muscle soreness and localized pain, but it's not advised to apply colder water for more than a few minutes at a time.
What’s the Best Temperature for a Cold Shower?
The water around a temperature of 59°F is best for maximizing the health benefits of cold therapy. Experts advise alternating between a hot shower for three minutes and a colder shower for one minute, then repeating the temperature change three times, always finishing with colder water.
What Are The Benefits of a Cold Shower?
Cold water immersion can help with a wide range of symptoms in the body, from reducing muscle soreness to boosting overall health, immunity, metabolism, mood, and more.
1. Bolster Immunity to Common Colds
Taking cool showers has been associated with improved work attendance, potentially outperforming the outcomes of those who prefer hot showers. The practice not only enhances productivity but may also contribute to a decrease in illness. Delving into the various benefits to cold showers, this effect could be attributed to the physical shock response triggered by cold temperatures, prompting the release of white blood cells in an effort to warm the body.
White blood cells, or leukocytes, are linked to fighting infections and building immunity. When a low body temperature makes lymph vessels contract, a toxin release kick-starts the immune system.
2. Relieve Pain, Treat Inflammation, and Reduce Muscle Soreness
Cold therapy can relieve localized pain and reduce inflammation, among other health benefits. Cold exposure dulls the sensation of pain as it travels through the nervous system and encourages blood vessels to constrict throughout the body.
Upon reheating, blood vessels expand, and oxygenated blood is returned to the body’s deeper tissues, helping to fight inflammation and muscle soreness.
3. Promote Mindfulness, Discipline, and Gratitude
What tends to stand out about those moments when we have no hot water? Probably a deep appreciation for hot showers. Making an uncomfortable daily sacrifice by taking a cold shower can strengthen self-discipline while making time and space to practice mindful gratitude.
4. Boost Alertness and Increase Willpower
Unsurprisingly, a colder shower sends a surge of alertness throughout the body, usually improving energy, focus, creativity, and productivity all day long.
Shocking your system with a shivery shower creates an adrenaline boost to wake up naturally and quickly without harming your body with substances like caffeine. Hot showers, on the other hand, can make us feel even sleepier.
5. Improve Your Resistance to Cold
Briefly dealing with cooler water helps us build a resistance to it. Adjusting to cold showers can influence how we receive other cool environments. Soon, you may find yourself building positive associations with colder temperatures!
6. Improve Mood and Combat Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression
Studies suggest taking cold showers daily has a mood-boosting effect, as well as a positive impact on depression and anxiety symptoms.
This link appears to be due to the surge of neurological electrical impulses involved in cold therapy, along with the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the resulting boost of endorphins.
7. Improve Circulation and Metabolism
Colder water sends our bodies into survival mode, rapidly increasing our oxygenated blood flow in an effort to maintain our core temperature. This also gives our metabolic rate and energy levels a boost, as trying to stay warm may actually burn calories.
8. Conserve Water and Energy While Saving Time and Money
Cool showers aren’t just greener for the planet, they also save you green! Reducing the temperature will cut your spending on water and electricity bills since we tend to spend less time in colder showers.
9. Promote Vibrant Skin and Hair
When our blood vessels constrict in response to low temperatures, our skin’s pores are tightened, and inflammation is reduced. In turn, cold temps promote balanced, moisturized skin and can even help fight certain skin conditions, like eczema.
Colder water also locks in moisture and shine for your hair, even fighting hair loss with follicle tightening. Meanwhile, hot showers are more likely to worsen inflammation, irritation, itchiness, and dry skin.
10. Burn Calories and Fight White Fat Cells
Studies show those who shower in colder water tend to burn more calories daily. Interested in the idea that cold showers burn calories? Scientists theorize that cold stress boosts the activity of brown fat cells, fighting white fat cells, kickstarting the metabolic process, and promoting weight loss.
Although results are based on anecdotal evidence and more research is needed to fully understand the links between burning calories and making an uncomfortably cold one part of your daily routine, there are far less convincing arguments to support taking warm showers.
BONUS: Cold Showers May Extend Your Shower Head Filter’s Longevity!
Another difference between a cold and hot shower is the impact of each on your shower head filter. Who doesn’t want to keep their shower working better, and longer? Turns out, colder showers can actually contribute to good housekeeping.
Are Cold Showers Suitable for Everyone?
Exposure to cold temperatures in short time periods is typically safe, but it’s still best to check with your physician before starting any new health practice.Chilly showers may not be right for anyone concerned about the following:
- Hives, or cold urticaria
- Heart conditions, high blood pressure, or heart disease
- Raynaud’s syndrome
Cool and hot water affect the body differently, and shockingly cold water can increase cardiac stress, so anyone with heart problems should start by talking with their doctor before trying cold water therapy.
Start Reaping the Many Rewards of Cold Showers Today!
In conclusion, while a chilly morning shower may not initially sound inviting, the positive results far outweigh the brief discomfort. Beyond the revitalizing effects of heightened energy and a strengthened immune system, consider taking your shower experience to the next level with AquaBliss, a trusted wholesale provider of shower head filters.
AquaBliss showerhead filters are meticulously crafted to prioritize not only the health of your skin and hair but also your overall well-being. So, take the plunge into the revitalizing cascade, embrace the invigorating chill, and embark on your journey towards a healthier and more refreshing self today with AquaBliss. Your body and mind will thank you for the rejuvenating experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are cold showers good for you?
Yes - they are shown to activate our fight-or-flight response, promoting increased circulation of oxygenated blood in the body.
2. What happens after 30 days of taking cold showers?
Showering in colder water for 30 days is reported to increase energy and alertness, improve physical and mental health, and promote healthier-looking hair and skin.
3. What are the benefits of cold showers in the morning? What are the cons of cold showers?
The upsides are improved circulation and immunity, along with reduced depression and anxiety symptoms. The only major downside is feeling temporarily uncomfortable.
