The magic of cold showers
Do you know the feeling when you let ice-cold water pour over you for the first time? And when I say ice cold, I mean ice cold. A full switch to the blue end, full power, deep breath, go. When I did that, I started to believe the deep breath could easily also be my last. Then the euphoria kicked in, and it grew with every second I was able to keep enduring the cold. Even though it was maybe like five seconds in total, it still felt like a victory.
Today, the internet and media start to be more vocal on the subject and benefits of cold showers, and there is no wonder why. It becomes increasingly popular among people who invest time and energy into optimizing their health and physical performance as well. There are plenty of good reasons for that, like:
Improving blood circulation and cardiovascular health. The heart starts to pump blood faster to keep your organs warm. This leads to, very simply put, that you are making your heart healthier and stronger through controlled and regular exposure to cold. Nevertheless, be careful, please, and always be mindful of your pre-existing medical conditions of any kind. If you have any concerns, make sure to consult your physician.
Boosting muscle recovery. Thanks to improved blood circulation, muscles can deal with the lactic acid faster, and prevent or ease the soreness. Just give it a shot – after a hike or a run, at the end of your shower, let some cold water flow over your feet and calves. You will feel reborn.
Improving your immunity. Cold showers help to strengthen the lymphatic system and therefore help to remove toxins from your body.Increasing psychological resilience, even on the biological level. As cold shower itself presents a certain level or type of oxidative stress imposed on your body, doing so regularly and in a controlled environment helps you to train your body to endure such a future situation with more ease.
Increasing your overall resilience. Training your mind and body to overcome difficulties and momentarily discomfort gives you a sense of accomplishment, and doing so on a daily basis boosts your confidence in the long run. With a cold shower, you basically easily add the feeling of success to your everyday routine.
Creating a good mood. According to multiple pieces of research, stimulating your sensory receptors on the skin with cold water releases neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepinephrine, and therefore may help treat depression.
...and to reap all of these benefits, you supposedly don’t need more than two minutes a day. Yes, that is still much more easily said than done. There are, however, plenty of ways how to get there and everybody can surely find one that works for them. I have initially tried to decrease the temperature gradually to stay comfortable while progressing to colder and colder every day; however, I did not manage to make the habit stick this way. On the other hand, since I literally jumped into the deep end head first and tried ice cold, I feel like I finally am getting the benefits even if I am extending the time very slowly. This, on it’s own, is enough to keep me going and having cold shower every day. Did you already try including cold showers in your routine? Which strategy helped you to get used to it? Are there any benefits you can see you want to call out? Or do you think it is just a pile of nonsense bringing people nothing but discomfort? I am looking forward to seeing your thoughts on this in the comments!
