Immersing your body in cold water is nothing new, as people have been doing hydrotherapy for centuries. However, you can’t do this at home; you should find an expert who can help you. But anyone can take a cold shower at home and enjoy the resulting benefits.
They may not be the most comfortable thing in the world, but you can try to see how a cold shower affects your well-being. We would like to tell you about the 5 benefits of cold baths plus the drawbacks of hot baths.
Are Cold Showers Good for You?
They Improve Blood Circulation And Reduce Muscle Soreness
By the time cold water reaches your body, your blood is forced to circulate much faster in an effort to maintain its temperature. But cold showers are also great for athletes as they can help them get over injuries much faster.
That’s why they use ice on injured body parts, bringing new oxygen and extra circulation to the affected area. And you don’t have to hurt yourself to take a cold shower. You can do it after a hard workout when your body needs to come back to life.
They Reduce Itchy And Dull Skin
People who have naturally dry skin or who suffer from skin conditions like eczema often feel itchy after a hot shower. One way to combat this is to lower the temperature of the water as much as possible.
Just don’t stay in the shower as long as you would with hot water and you’ll notice the itchiness start to go away. You’ll still need to apply a good moisturizer afterward to capture all the moisture, but the itchiness will start to go away.
They Stabilize Your Metabolism
Let’s start by saying that brown fat is the type of fat that we are all born with and is activated by cold showers. And by turning it on, brown fat can help keep white fat (which is associated with obesity) at healthy levels. So taking a cold shower 2-3 days a week can really stabilize and even improve your metabolism.
Of course, you won’t start losing weight just by taking a cold shower, as you’ll need to make some lifestyle decisions first. However, cold showers can stabilize certain hormone levels and treat your gastrointestinal system. In this way, along with a balanced diet, they can help with weight loss.
They Reduce Stress And Improve Your Mental Health
The way cold showers work is by inflicting a lot of shock and stress on your body. So if you take them regularly, you start a process called hardening. During this time, your nervous system gets used to being “hit” with small amounts of physical stress and prepares you for when really stressful times come.
As a result, your body and mind are ready to deal with any difficult situation when it comes your way.
Also, cold water releases endorphins into our bloodstream and as a result, makes us more alert, energized, and happy. In a clinical trial, it was shown that people suffering from depression relieved their symptoms after taking cold showers for up to 5 minutes, 2 or 3 times a week.
They Boost Your Immune System
Cold showers can make your body more resistant to the common cold and seasonal flu. As proof of this, a clinical trial saw a 29% decrease in people who left work after taking cold showers.
That’s because cold water shocks the body and forces it to produce more leukocytes, which are responsible for protecting our body from infection.
Do you take cold showers often? If yes, have you noticed any changes in your physical and mental health?
