What benefits will I see from cold showers?

[JohnLeyo]

1. Increases your energy

Step into a cold shower at 6am and guess what will happen—you will wake up from your seven-hour coma. You will suddenly feel alert. This surge of energy will last once you get out of the shower and you will be ready to take whatever the day throws at you.

There’s also a hypothesis that cold showers can help treat fatigue and chronic fatigue.

2. You’ll look better

Sorry, it won’t fix the way your face looks, but it will help your skin and hair. Hot showers dry your skin and hair by opening your pores and hair cuticles. Opening your pores and hair cuticles increases the risk for acne and other blemishes. Keeping your hair cuticles closed may strengthen the bond to your head, preventing hair loss. Cold showers will prevent your cuticles and pores from opening as well as maintain some of the good natural oils your body produces.

3. Boosts immune system

Cold showers immediately tell the body’s immune system to get to work. Constant exposure to this type of environment will cause the body to adapt, resulting in higher level of antibodies.

Source: US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health
Source: US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health

4. Fights depression

“Exposure to cold is known to activate the sympathetic nervous system and increase the blood level of beta-endorphin and noradrenaline and to increase synaptic release of nor-adrenaline in the brain as well. Additionally, due to the high density of cold receptors in the skin, a cold shower is expected to send an overwhelming amount of electrical impulses from peripheral nerve endings to the brain, which could result in an anti-depressive effect.”

Source: US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health

5. Fat loss

When your body is cold, it has to process more energy to keep you warm. This means it has to burn more fat than normal. Your body will also make good use of a “good fat” called brown fat. The cold temperature can activate the brown fat which will activate our metabolism and burn calories.

Source: WebMD
Source: Joslin Diabetes Center

6. Sex

Throw away those testosterone pills. Taking a cold shower is a natural way to increase your testosterone levels. They’re also good for your little soldiers. Hot water is detrimental for sperm count so if breeding is on your horizon then improve your chances of reproduction by turning down the hot water knob.

Source: Midwest Men’s Clinic

7. Improve circulation

Healthy blood circulation is good for your organs and cardiovascular health. Cold temperatures causes blood to move to your organs and extremities to keep them warm, aiding in good blood circulation. Hot water has the opposite impact by moving the blood towards the surface of your skin.

8. Lower stress levels

Do you get anxious or stressed easily? If so, being exposed to cold temperatures may reduce your cortisol levels to keep you calm when shit hits the fan.

Source: US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health

9. Aids in muscle recovery

There’s a reason why athletes take ice baths after a game or training session. The cold temperature helps their muscles recover after taking a beating. I’m not LeBron James nor Tom Brady so I’ll settle for the cold shower.

Source:US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health

10. Mental toughness

I would say this is one of the biggest health benefits of cold showers. Waking up to a cold shower is one of the most daunting things you can do. In fact, there’s a chance it will be the toughest thing you’ll do all day. Pushing through this will help you push through other challenging tasks thrown at you. I assure you that sales call will not taunt you like that steam-less stream of running water. If anything, once you take that cold shower, you’ll be waiting to crush that sales call.

[pluto]

Very good!

The other thing why they are good is also due to chlorine, fluoride and other toxins in our water supply which are absorbed far less in cold water than hot. I actually look forward to cold showers now pushes those ego-comfort zones

Edited December 29, 2017 by pluto