You always heard the benefits of hot showers but have you ever heard that cold showers have excellent benefits on your health.
I know, it seems to you unappealing. But, the fact is people should not ignore the benefits of taking cold showers.
So, in this article, we will discuss ten incredible benefits of taking cold showers, and I am willing to bet that you will take a cold shower the next morning after reading this article.
INCREASE YOUR WILLPOWER:
Early in the morning, having a bath from cold water is not everyone’s cup of tea. First, you need a solid will to step into the cold water.
You will have goosebumps on your body, and your mind constantly gives you signals that taking a cold shower is not your game. That moment, your task is to gather your willpower to perform the cold shower and ignore the excuses.
Hence, the person who bears that spasms and handles the rejection of his brain and body will be a stronger man than others.
In this way, you will tackle the situations you face the whole day that create mental or physical discomfort to your body. Because every morning, by taking cold showers, you have made your willpower strong.
And that’s how the champions kickstart your day.
COLD SHOWERS REDUCE STRESS:
Another reason for taking a cold shower is it helps in managing stress. After waking up, if you are caught by so many thoughts in your mind, for example: would you be able to perform today’s big presentation without any glitch? What task do you forget to remove from your to-do list? Then you must consider a cold shower before kick off your day.
Almost every person is suffering from stress. But, the thing is, are you capable enough to manage it properly and timely. Thus, the shock effect you feel from cold showers gives you the ability to tackle the stress effectively.
The experiments reveal that the stress-inducing hormone – cortisol decreases, and endorphins (happy hormones) increase during cold showers. So, the feeling of happiness and positivity you feel by the cold shower is mainly due to the emersion of endorphins, according to Dr. O’Brien.
IMMUNITY ENHANCED:
One of the critical benefits of taking cold showers is boosting your immunity to the greatest levels. Research shows that activation of the immune system increases by standing in cold water.
Scientific studies have found that those who took hot showers consistently missed their workdays by 29% more than those who took cold showers.
According to researchers in Britain, the emersion of white blood cells increases during cold showers because your body tries to keep itself warm. Thus, this results in improved immunity.
Taking the precaution of a cold shower during this pandemic with the additional dose of vitamin C will keep you safe from the coronavirus as well.
REMOVES THE DEPRESSION:
Bathing with cold water helps in diminishing the symptoms of depression. Standing in a cold shower triggers noradrenaline (a hormone generated from the adrenal medulla), which helps suppress depression.
The feeling of shiver you get by the cold shower (you will know what I am trying to say) gives constant electric shocks to the brain from peripheral nerve endings. Thus, the anti-depressive effect occurs and gives you instant relief.
Anyways, you may be using many anti-depressants or tried many ways to ease depression, so why not try this simple technique of taking cold showers.
INCREASE IN METABOLISM:
Many diseases, including obesity and heart diseases, grow in our bodies just because of poor metabolism. Hence, by taking cold showers, metabolism increases to good levels.
Cold showers activate brown adipose tissue (good fat), which helps lose weight and protects against cold. In addition, the activation of brown fat boosts metabolism.
People who want to lose weight should try this heck of bathing with cold water. But, of course, it doesn’t mean that cold showers alone will make you slim without changing your daily routine habits.
Moreover, the study shows that cold water heals the gastrointestinal system and balances the hormone levels, which leads to weight loss.
FAST MUSCLE RECOVERY:
The benefits of taking cold showers include the faster recovery of muscles. If you are a sports person, you may know the importance of cold showers.
After an intense workout, athletes used to take an ice bath for 7-14 minutes to speed up muscles’ recovery and reduce inflammation. Thus, cold shower benefits for athletes are magical.
But, you don’t have to go to such extreme levels; an average cold shower will do wonders for your muscles.
BOOST UP YOUR ALERTNESS AND PRODUCTIVITY:
Do you ever feel like a dizzy zombie while performing your day-to-day activities?
If yes, then cold showers can help you. Thoughtfully, the benefits of taking cold showers include the increased productivity and focus. Besides, Dr. O’Brien says that cold water increases energy levels in your body and mind’s attention.
Caird explains that a high level of alertness is achieved by standing under a cold shower because it completely wakes up your body. In addition, the shock of the cold water stimulates you to take deeper breaths. Hence, you will feel energized throughout the day.
Just like meditation, during standing in the cold shower, we naturally start to breathe deeply, resulting in a decrease in carbon dioxide (CO2) levels throughout the body. Thus, it helps you to concentrate more.
BETTER CIRCULATION OF BLOOD:
There are many ways to get your blood pump, and cold showers are one of them. The increased flow of blood is good for your overall health.
The shock you feel when the cold water hits your body, your body turns into survival mode. This results in the speed-up of the circulatory system. The overdrive of blood flow helps in protecting the vital organs.
The increased circulation provides you brighter skin and healthy hair.
INCREASE IN MALE FERTILITY:
Another exciting benefit of cold showers is that it increases male fertility and their sperm counts. According to the UCSF study, a sperm count increases up to 491% by bathing from cold water and regularly avoiding hot showers.
Males use hot showers as contraceptives. But, men who regularly take a hot bath for three consecutive weeks may face infertility for the next six months.
Thus, if you are trying to conceive, opt for cold showers and let your testes be nice and cool.
ATTRACTIVE LOOKS – GOOD FOR YOUR SKIN and HAIR
Maybe this is the benefit for which you have been wondering for so long. Yes, cold showers do wonders for your hair and skin. Dr. Debra Jaliman reveals that hot water removes all the natural oils from your skin and makes it dull and dry.
Yet, cold water retains the natural oils on the skin. Moreover, cold showers make your hair shinier by sealing the cuticles. Hence cold shower benefits for skin and hair are impeccable, and one should not ignore it.
Swelling, puffiness, and inflammation also reduce by taking a cold shower, “Joshua Ross explains.”
CONCLUSION:
The benefits of taking cold showers mentioned above prove that cold showers should be added to your self-care routine. Also, you can quickly adapt the cold shower therapy just by turning the tap the other way.
Moreover, cold showers increase the quality of your life and save some extra bucks on your energy bills. In addition, there will be no usage of heat and electricity. Thus, you can contribute to the green environment.
Please keep in mind that healthy individuals can practice this therapy without any prior consent from medical practitioners. But, sick people and who have severe medical conditions should consult their doctors first.
At Outpost Diary, our health section primarily focuses on how to maintain the quality of life. Here, you can read more health-related articles on our blog.