8 Surprising Advantages of Taking a Cold Shower
8 Surprising Advantages of Taking a Cold Shower
An energising and reviving experience should come from taking a shower. Even though most of us prefer a pleasant, warm shower, some people enjoy a cold shower because they believe it has health benefits. Can you benefit from taking a cold shower? We made the decision to investigate.
In the past, a cold bath or shower would be recommended as a treatment for a number of illnesses.
The idea of taking a cold shower is not for everyone. Recently, it has been recommended as a treatment for people who feel a little too overly in love, and both masochists and athletes have used it. When it comes to curing disease and illness, provoking the body to react in some way is nothing new.
However, are the myths validated by scientific evidence? What advantages actually come with taking a cold shower? The following advantages were shown to me after doing research and taking a few cold showers.
Benefits of a Cold Shower
Cold showers can help you feel better and are just as healthy as hot showers, which have their own advantages. You will need to adapt to the frequently piercingly cold weather, as I recently learnt for myself, but many people claim that the benefits to your health exceed this. So let’s look at 8 of these listed below.
1. Aids in Reducing Stress and Anxiety
The first unexpected benefit of taking cold showers begins with something we cannot see but can definitely feel: endorphins. Endorphins are most generally recognised as the hormones that make us feel content and decrease pain naturally throughout the body. A cold shower promotes the flow of endorphins throughout our body, making us feel happier and more pleased.
How does this work though? Your brain receives electrical signals in a flood when you are immersed in cold water. The body experiences a challenge and responds by releasing endorphins. Because of this, whenever we do physically challenging activities like putting up furniture or exercising, we often feel more contented and joyful afterwards. We experience a sense of excitement and love along with the production of endorphins, adrenaline, and oxytocin (the love hormone).
Taking cold showers for around 5 minutes, two to three times per week is a natural alternative to taking typical antidepressant medications to treat anxiety or depression.
A cold shower may also improve your mood by making you feel less stressed. Yet how? The stress hormone Cortisol also referred to as the “fight-or-flight” hormone, is released by the body in reaction to stress. Decreased cortisol levels are good for lowering stress, anxiety, and even depression because increasing cortisol relates to increased stress. Researchers have shown that exposure to cold water lowers a person’s blood cortisol levels.
2. Tightens Skin and Seals Pores
The natural oils essential for a good and long-lasting complexion are often removed by hot water, which causes drying out of the skin. After taking a bath, some people believe that splashing their faces with cold, fresh water will tighten their pores and make their skin appear more youthful and vibrant.
If you’re susceptible to breakouts, tightening your pores will be beneficial because it will prevent the amount of dirt that can penetrate them. You’ll most likely feel more secure and at ease, if your skin appears healthier.
3. Reduces Muscular Pain and Healing Time
Have you ever tumbled over as a kid and held an ice pack or a bag of frozen peas to your knee? Have you ever overheard an athlete bragging about their post-race, 10-minute, ice-cold shower?
But do you actually understand why this is happening? Your blood and heat move toward your centre to try to keep you warm when you press anything cold on your skin. Injury healing and muscle soreness essentially speed up when you remove the cold treatment because new, oxygenated blood rushes to the area.
According to research done in 2014, exposure to cold water actually sets up an innate pain response known as SIA (stress-induced analgesia). This is a decreased pain response that occurs after or during stressful situations, such as getting submerged in cold water.
4. Helps with Weight Loss
While it is believed that drinking cold water may increase metabolism and improve in fat loss, what about taking a shower with it?
Our bodies contain two different forms of fat. White fat that sticks to our lower back, stomach, and neck is frequently the result of consuming more calories than we expend. We also have brown fat, a beneficial fat that helps our bodies stay warm and fight white fat. Our bodies’ ability to produce brown fat, which keeps them looking lean and healthy, can be increased by exposure to cold water.
Another technique to lose weight is by taking a cold shower. Your cardiovascular system may be startled into action by the shock of the water, which will enhance your metabolism early in the day.
5. Boosts our Energy and Alertness
A cold shower will shock the body into action much to like putting a set of jump leads on an automobile. You should therefore experience an increase in alertness and vigour. Even if it might be one of the oldest tactics in the book, it works without a doubt!
6. Leads to a Healthier Hair
Frequent hot showers may dry out your hair, robbing it of its natural oils and resulting in a dull, lifeless appearance, similar to how hot showers can dry out your skin.
You may encourage your hair to look better by giving it a cold shower, which will make it look shinier and healthier. The flattening effect of cold water makes it simpler for hair follicles to stick to your scalp.
7. Promotes and Boosts Circulation
Our bodies work at a base temperature of 37°C if you pay attention in biology class. Our bodies have to strive hard to keep a balance when we are exposed to hot or cold conditions in order to prevent overheating or freezing. Sweating helps to cool the skin when we become overheated. We shiver when we become too cold, which releases energy to warm us.
The body must therefore make more effort as a whole to keep that core temperature when taking a cold shower, which makes your circulatory system more effective. Your overall health may benefit as a result of decreasing blood pressure.
A 2019 study shows that taking a cold shower after working out may even increase overall hydration by naturally chilling the body.
8. Increases Immunity
Stepping into a freezing cold shower, as we’ve already seen, will certainly shock your entire body and set off a defence mechanism. As a result, this may also increase the number of leucocytes in your blood. White blood cells, or leucocytes, help in the body’s defence against infection and chronic diseases like the flu and the common cold.
You could increase your immunity by regularly taking a cold shower, which could result in fewer sick days from work.
Obviously, the purpose of this blog post is simply to inform. It’s important to consult a health expert who can offer you personalised guidance if you’re wanting to improve your health.
Discover more about the advantages of taking hot showers and decide which is ideal for you.
Tips to Enjoy a Chilly Shower
There are some ways to get the best benefits of cold shower besides just turning the temperature to the lowest setting and stepping in:
- Lessen by a degree every time
- Using a digital or smart shower and set the temperature.
- Using body jets
- Make use of a removable shower head.
To make Showering more Enjoyable
Take a look at our excellent, high-quality Showers Rooms Projects if you want more control over your showering experience.
Arrange A Bathroom Showroom Visit
Visit one of our four bathroom showrooms for inspiration, we have lots of beautiful bathroom displays arranged in real-life-sized room settings that will aid you in making the most out of your new bathroom. Would you like to arrange a visit to view some of our stunning bathroom displays? We have bathroom showrooms in Glasgow, Ayr, Edinburgh and Stirling.