12 Surprising Benefits of Taking Cold Shower!
Cold showers have long been known to have tons of health benefits. Plus, did you know that our ancestors use to bathe in cold water?
Yes, chances are your ancestors took cold baths in the rivers and streams so maybe they knew something about the benefits of bathing in cold water that many of us are just now discovering.
But you still may be asking yourself why would anyone in their right mind jump into an ice cold shower voluntarily?
Well if you stick with us for just awhile we are going to give you many reasons why cold showers can help improve your lifestyle and well-being.
#1 Increased Alertness
When you jump into your freezing, cold shower you are zapped into to a state of shock and awe. If you’re anything like us, after getting in a cold shower, you’ll jump around in circles in complete horror and terror as you try to allow your body to adjust to the cold temperature.
This really helps to put you in your body and is a great way of waking up in the morning. This causes you to be alert but it’s more than that because this alertness lasts throughout the day.
You’ll have more energy and feel more alert. Give it a try and see if it’s not also true for you.
#2 Better Hair and Skin
Cold showers improve your hair and skin. Very hot showers dry out the skin and are very bad for your skin.
Taking cold showers can also help reduce skin itching and acne because it will help close your pores and cuticles by reducing inflammation.
Taking cold showers enhances circulation and you’ll notice a difference in how your skin feels the minute you get out of the shower.
#3 Improved Circulation and Immunity
Immediately when you step into a cold shower you’re going to take a deep breath. Taking this deep breath will automatically make you breathe deep and improve the oxygen levels in your blood.
The cold water on your skin will improve circulation. In fact, the cold feeling on your skin will cause the blood to flow to your internal organs improve circulation in your organs as well.
It will also help to speed up the recovery of damage to your internal organs.
#4 Promotes Weight Loss
Cold showers are great for weight loss because it helps stimulate brown fat cells. Why is this good? Because there are white blood cells and brown blood cells and the white ones grow and accumulate when we eat too much.
The white blood cells tend to aggregate around our mid-section, lower back and by our neck.
Brown fat cells are our healthy fat cells and they are thermogenic. When they are introduced to a cold stimulus such as being out in the cold or taking a cold shower our body needs to warm up.
The cold temperature activates the thermogenic brown blood cells and they start to rev up producing heat. This in turn, starts our metabolism and promotes weight loss.
#5 Muscle Pain Relief and Decreased Recovery Time
In terms of sports medicine, taking cold baths has been shown to relieve muscle soreness while also decreasing the time of recovery.
This is becoming more and more popular where professional athletes are concerned.
Many trainers are having them sit in ice baths after their games or training sessions so this is something that clearly works as it’s being used in the circles of professional athletes.
#6 Reduce Depression
The cold water helps to stimulate special spots in your brain that activate a hormone that reduces depression.
#7 Adapt To Stress and Become More Emotionally Resilient
Many times when you are introduced to a small toxin or a decent amount of stress that can be good for your body because the body adapts and becomes stronger as a result.
This phenomenon is known as Hormesis and basically means what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Cold showers are a shock to the body and it’s a stressor but it’s one that is on a low enough level that our body actually adapts to all the physiological changes that are going on.
The adaptation to these changes allow us to become stronger and more adaptable to other stressors.
#8 Decreased Uric Acid Levels
Prolonged ice baths or cold showers decrease uric acid levels tremendously. When uric acid builds up this is what causes gout.
If you’ve got gout you should definitely be taking some ice baths because this is going to decrease your uric acid levels without you having to take any of your other pharmaceuticals that you may already be taking.
#9 Increases Glutathione
Cold showers increase your body’s glutathione which is your body’s most powerful antioxidant. This will also help the other antioxidants in your body function at high speed and work more efficiently.
#10 Produces Better Sleep
You may find that if you take cold showers before you go to bed that you also sleep better. This is because your body temperature is lowered and when that happens you will enter a more peaceful sleep.
You are making your body ready for a more optimal sleeping experience.
#11 Increase White Blood Cells
Taking cold showers will increase the amount of white blood cells in your system which help improve your immunity to viruses and bacteria.
#12 Help Improve Environment
With the energy you are saving by not having to heat the water when taking your cold shower you’ll also be helping the environment too.
Cold Shower Tips:
- Avoid taking cold showers if you have a heart condition, this includes the use of a pacemaker.
- Avoid cold showers if you are pregnant or suffer from extreme adrenal fatigue because your body may not be able to adapt to the sudden temperature change.
- If you are a complete newbie begin with tepid water and gradually let your body get used to taking a cold shower.
- As time goes on your body will begin to adapt to the temperature change and you will begin enjoying many of the health benefits mentioned in this post.
We could go on and on about the benefits taking cold showers but you’re not going to really get any of those benefits until you try taking cold showers yourself for a couple of weeks.
So the next time you take a shower why don’t you turn that dial to the cold setting for a few minutes and see what benefits you notice.
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