The Surprising Benefits of Cold Showers: Why You Should Consider Taking the Plunge

What Are Cold Showers?

Any showers with temperatures below 70°F are Cold Showers. These icy chilly showers have been used in water therapy, also known as hydrotherapy, for ages. This practice takes advantage of our body’s ability to adapt to difficult conditions, making us more resilient to stress.

Boost Your Mood with Endorphins

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, At Least 10 percent of Americans are battling with depression. While there are obviously multiple treatments and therapies available to cure this but one synergistic approach gaining attention and popularity is hydrotherapy. Taking a cold shower for up to 5 minutes, 2 to 3 times per week, has been shown to help relieve symptoms of depression.

   Cold showers transfer electrical impulses to the brain, which increases alertness,clarity and energy levels. They also trigger the release of happiness hormones, often known as endorphins, which leads to the feelings of optimism and well-being.

Improve Metabolism and Fight Obesity

We all have two types of fats in our bodies white and brown fats. While white fat is associated with heart diseases and obesity, brown fat plays an important role in adult health. Cold showers can activate brown fat, which helps in maintaining healthy levels of white fat and also boosts metabolism.

  Although cold showers alone can’t lead to substantial weight loss, trying cold showers 2 or 3 times per week can help in increasing metabolism and support other good lifestyle habits.

Enhance Circulation

submerging your body in cold water will obviously make you feel uncomfortable but it is also exhilarating. Cold water pressure forces the body to work harder that helps to maintain its core temperature and improves the efficiency of the circulatory system. Regular cold showers can lead to improved circulation, which also helps in improving skin appearance.

    Athletes have been using cold water for a really long time to help in recovery from sports injuries. Cold showers speed up the delivery of warm, oxygenated blood to muscles, reducing tenderness and inflammation and speeds up recovery time.

Fight Common Illness

Our bodies are designed in such a way that it becomes resistant to the elements we are exposed to. Cold showers ignited leukocytes, which helps the body to fight infections. Cold showers can boost your resistance to common illnesses such as cold and flu.

  Various studies and reports have shown that cold showers help in making the body more resistant to certain types of cancer. Also, people who take cold showers on a daily basis tend to call out of work less frequently due to illness.

Getting Started with Cold Showers

If one wants to start taking cold showers they can try to ease it into the habit. Start with slowly decreasing the temperature of your usual shower until it feels uncomfortable. Try staying under the cold water for at least 2 to 3 minutes, use breathing techniques to reduce or avoid discomfort. Progressively make the water colder and prolong your time under it with each attempt.

Cold showers have various health benefits, from boosting metabolism and mood to improving circulation and fighting common illnesses. While they are definitely not a cure-all, assimilating cold showers into your daily routine can significantly improve your overall health and well being.