Most people prefer having a warm shower instead of cold shower. However, do you know that having a cold shower can actually gives you a lot of benefits?
We all know how cozy it is to have a warm shower after a long tiring day. Not only at the end of the day, having a cold shower in the morning might cause you flu or cold too!
However, according to the research, having a cold shower can give you bunch of benefits starting from boosting your mood, energy, and skin health!
1. Improve Your Mood
Getting in a good mood in the morning is not easy, but it’s not the case if you start your day with a cold shower!
This is because a cold shower can improve the balance of the brain which leads to relaxation in your body.
Cold water can stimulate blood circulation in the brain which can reduce bad moods or feelings and prevent depression.
2. Increase Your Energy
As said before, taking a cold shower can increase metabolism and improve blood circulation. This will make your heart pump blood circulation throughout the body properly.
Even in the ancient times, Japanese samurai started their day with a bucket of cold water from the river which was poured on their heads and it was natural for them to start the day fresher and get more energy for activities.
Read Also: 11 Ways to be More Energetic for Those Who Always Tired
3. Level Up Your Endurance
It turns out that a cold shower can prevent you from getting colds and infections. This is based from research and experiments on the effects of cold water on the bodies of young athletes. They were asked to take a shower using cold water, which is 14 Celsius degrees every 3-6 times a week.
The research found that the circulation of white blood cells in their bodies increased by twofold and that it made the bodies of these young athletes increase in terms of metabolism. Their bodies will try to warm the body so that the body’s resistance and response to white blood cells increases.
4. Prevent Insomnia
Another great benefits to take a cold shower is it helps you fall asleep faster and prevent insomnia.
For those of you who suffer from insomnia, try to take a cold shower before you sleep.
A cold shower will make your body startle or shiver but as soon as you touch the bed, you will start feeling relaxed and sleep easier.
5. Detoxifies Your Body
Another benefits why you feel shocked and shivered when taking a cold shower is because your body is also trying to flush out the toxins in your body through your skin so that it can detoxifies your body.
Having a cold shower prevents these toxins from getting in your body and causing infection. It is also causes the lymphatic system in your body to work more actively.
6. Reduce Weight
Some of you may find this hard to believe. How could a cold shower cause you to lose weight?
But it turns out this is true as it is. When we take a cold shower, when we feel the cold water, our bodies will shiver. It turns out to be a natural response where our bodies are trying to produce what is called brown fat.
Brown fat has many benefits such as fighting aging, fighting obesity, fighting diabetes, and fighting heart disease. Especially with shivering, indirectly the high body’s metabolism will make us lose weight.
7. Makes Your Skin and Hair Healthier
Did you know that hot showers actually dry out your skin and hair, while cold water can make your skin and hair shinier?
Cold water causes pores on the hair and scalp to shrink.
This shrinking of the pores will make our body stronger and prevent dirt from entering the pores. With stronger hair, of course, the chances of it falling out are reduced.
8. Increase Fertility
If you want to have children, try to shower often with cold water so that your reproductive hormones will increase.
This is because a cold shower can increase the production of various hormones compared to those who take a hot shower such as the hormone testosterone which is related to fertility for example.
9. Better Breathing
One of the most noticeable effects of taking a cold shower on a regular basis is that your breathing starts to get longer or deeper.
This is as a result of taking a cold shower where your body begins to adapt by taking in more oxygen and making your body warm.
By doing this, it will make you less tired and able to exercise longer.
10. Maintain Body Temperature
A cold shower has been shown to help maintain human body temperature, ensuring the amount of sweat you can let out.
This means if you are suffering from cold hands or feet, or if you feel you are sweating unnecessarily, then a cold shower can help you.
Not only that, a cold shower also helps you to be more resistant to cold weather which means less chance of colds and the like.
How to Start Shower with Cold Water?
Your body need to adjust or adapt first. If it is forced, it will just cause stress on your own body. Therefore what you can do is:
- Start your day with a cold shower routine, which is to slowly change the temperature of your water each time you shower, which is 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Let your body get used to the temperature of the water, it is advisable not to take a bath completely in cold water when you are accustomed to hot or warm water.
- Do this as a routine you take a shower every day, if your body is used to the temperature of cold water, you can take a full bath with cold water 3-6 times a week.