There’s nothing like a warm shower when we want to relax or even warm up on a cold winter day. The idea of subjecting ourselves to cold showers can actually seem crazy at times given how luxurious it has become to enjoy hot showers.
But a cold shower can provide have its place in our lives too, and can come with a number of benefits.
As with anything, if you try cold showers (starting slow and easy) and it’s causing anxiety or some negative reaction, maybe it’s not the right practice for you. Also, this likely isn’t a great idea for really young kids. Don’t let health influencers make you think you gotta do it.
First thing to know, a cold shower is any shower you take where the water is below 21 degrees C (70 degrees F).
1. Improves Immunity & Circulation
Running cold water over your body at the end of a shower can improve circulation as blood is sent throughout your arteries to surround your organs. It can be viewed in the same way we run certain systems at high performance every so often to keep it maintained and well oiled.
Increased blood flow can also help certain skin and heart issues as well as lower blood pressure, help clear blocked arteries and improve our immune system.
2. Improves Hair & Skin Condition
Hot water can dry out your skin and hair. Of course, it doesn’t help that there are high levels of chlorine coming out of our showers which has a drying-out effect on skin and hair as well. If you can run your shower colder or finish cold at the end, it’s a natural way to keep your skin and hair from drying out as cold water tightens cuticles and pores. This helps to prevent natural oils on the scalp and skin to be stripped away so easily. By keeping a proper oil balance you will have soft, shiny natural looking hair. This also helps to keep the skin and scalp cleaner as well.
3. Increase Alertness
Have you ever woken up early in the morning and felt tired hopping in the shower and as you feel the warm water running over your body you want to jump right back into bed? This is where cold showers can come in handy. As cold water hits your neck it causes you to do that almost slightly shocked deep breath. This increases oxygen intake and also gets the heart rate up which pumps blood through the body faster giving the body a nice natural surge of energy.
4. Can Ease Stress & Depression
Cold showers have also been shown to help decrease stress levels in some people. One study found that exposure to cold helped decrease uric acid levels and increase glutathione, an antioxidant considered to be one of the most important for a healthy body.[1] The participants swam regularly in ice-cold water during the winter months and it was found that they adapted to repeated oxidative stress.
Another study found that cold hydrotherapy (i.e. cold showers) helped to improve moods and had an anti-depressive effect with no bad side effects or creation of dependency. Subjects were tested with one to two cold showers at 38 degrees Fahrenheit that were two to three minutes long.
These were followed by a five-minute gradual adaptation to make the procedure less shocking.[2]
5. Speeds Up Muscle Soreness and Recovery
A study conducted in 2009 found that people who rested or immersed themselves in cold water after their exercise saw a decrease in onset muscle soreness caused by resistance training, cycling or running. It was found that a 24 minute bath in water with temperatures around 10 – 15 degrees celsius (50F – 59F) was most effective.
Taking a cold shower after your workouts would still have a positive effect on muscle soreness as well. The longer you go the greater the benefit.[3] Research also believe that alternating hot and cold at the end of a shower after a workout may help reduce pain and speed recovery by decreasing blood lactate concentration.[4]
How To
So how do you do it? Well you turn on the water cold and hop in.. sort of. There are actually differing ideas on exactly how to take a cold shower but I will share what I do.
- Have a show like you normally would. At the end, slowly turn the water to cold. Get the temperature to a point where when you place your hands and feet in, you notice that feeling of it being cold vs luke warm.
- Hands, feet, arms, and legs. Once the temperature is set for the first stage, allow your hands and feet to be in the water, noticing what you feel change in your body as you let the water hit you. Stay present. The water will splash up on your arms and legs, slowly put more of your body into the cold.
- Your Head. Now put your head under the water and notice if you take a big breath. Be careful here as the breath can be an involuntary inhale and you don’t want to get water in your lungs. Again, notice how you feel.
- Your Back. Millions of nerve fibres are routed through your spine so getting your back wet is the hardest part. Some water will have already run down your bad from your head, but now make the intention to get your back wet and again see how it feels.
- Go Colder? If you want, make the water a bit colder and let it hit your whole body. You can keep making it colder for a minute or so if you like, but going slow is OK too. Nothing wrong with slowly building your tolerance over the next few weeks. No, you don’t have to go into an incredibly cold ice bath for 5 minutes to get benefits. In fact, for some, this will be too shocking and may dysregulate the nervous system.
Anywho, there you have it. It’s pretty self explanatory and a fun one to try out. No need to replace hot showers all together. They have their own benefits including being a comforting companion when we’re feeling a bit down. Be the scientist of your own experience and see what you like!
