Benefits of A Cold Shower/Bath

January 31, 2022
Stephen Ajulu
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Hello there guys! How are you? Today I’d like to cover the benefits of bathing with cold water.

  • It wakes you up faster than a coffee cup. Struggling to shake off morning grogginess? Freezing water boosts the production of norepinephrine and dopamine, two hormones that shift your nervous system into a sympathetic state – which essentially means that it’s a great way to get hyped up.
  • Relieves stress. As the first point mentions, cold water boosts the production of norepinephrine and dopamine. Dopamine is a happy hormone. It’s that simple.
  • Makes the day easier. Once you’ve conquered your cold shower in the morning, things become less difficult as you’ve built up momentum by doing something difficult.
  • Improves circulation. It can feel uncomfortable to immerse our bodies in cold water, but it can also be invigorating. That’s because water that’s colder than our natural body temperature causes the body to work slightly harder to maintain its core temperature.
  • Helps fight off common illnesses. Our bodies are designed to become resistant to the elements we are exposed to. For example, leukocytes help fight infection in the body. The shock of cold water in the bloodstream stimulates leukocytes. This means that taking cold showers can help your resistance to common illnesses, like colds and the flu.
  • Boost metabolism. Counter-intuitively, an icy bath or shower can help you warm-up before training. It flips your body’s internal thermostat, raising your metabolism and kick-starting your in-built heat-producing mechanisms – an energy-intensive process that torches through calories.
  • Speeds up post-workout recovery & eases DOMs. Here’s how: it constricts the blood vessels near the surface of your skin, diverting blood towards your core – a process known as vasoconstriction. “The purported recovery benefit is that this reduces swelling and inflammation in the muscles,” says sports scientist Adam Ridler, a master trainer at Ten Health and Fitness. “It helps to draw waste substances and lactic acid away. When the body begins to warm up, vasodilation occurs, pumping fresh, warm blood around the tissues bringing nutrients, oxygen and aiding in recovery.”
  • Build your resilience. “Cold showers definitely help with mental resilience,” says Hayes. “Simply having one is a feat of willpower in itself. You’re training your body and mind to go out of your comfort zone, which makes you stronger and more resilient. Things that once felt really tough can suddenly feel a lot less tough as you can tolerate more physical and mental discomfort.”
  • Raises testosterone. When athletes were subjected to extremely low temperatures after a tough sprint session, the concentration of testosterone in their saliva was 21 percent higher two hours after their workout, and 28 percent higher after 24 hours, sports scientists at Swansea University found. Being athletes, they used a cryotherapy chamber, but a cold dip will work just as well.
  • Keeps skin and hair healthy. Hot water extracts oil from the skin hence drying it out.

And that’s it for today. My suggestion? Start taking cold showers. Do this gradually.

See Also
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