COLD SHOWER BENEFITS AND TIPS
Is showering cold really that good for you? Today, I’ll share my experience with cold showers over the past 4 years, so you can come to your own conclusion. This is the first winter for 4 years that we will not be spending time somewhere near the equator. We just moved to our amazing new home here in Valencia and are so in love that we will definitely not be leaving anytime soon.
Although it’s almost always sunny, it gets down to 7°C at night now in November. That has given me the chance to experience my cold shower habit in a new way!
Showering cold in a warm climate can already be a challenge, but showering cold in cold temperatures — that’s just amazing!
It increases your heart rate and makes you feel vibrant and alive. It’s an exciting sensuous full body experience. The benefits of cold showers are not only that you get yourself to do something (at first) really uncomfortable and exercise your willpower, it also has tremendous mood & health benefits, which I’ll list below.
Below you can also see the video I recorded when I was just starting out showering cold. I got so excited that I immediately had to share it with you on my YouTube channel.
UPDATE ON HOW I USE COLD SHOWERS IN MY DAILY ROUTINE
Over time, I have changed my cold shower routine, but I still do it on a regular basis.
In the video, I talk about a side effect: my body temperature stayed low, and I felt cold the entire day. That quickly vanished after a few days as my cardiovascular system got stronger and started to function better.
After daily showers for a few months, I realized that my hair lost its shine. I tried different shampoos until I figured that my scalp & hair needed some warm water for my mild organic shampoos to work. So when I wash my hair (every other day at the moment) I take a warm shower first to wash my hair and then do my cold therapy afterwards.
Naturally I didn’t have a rain shower everywhere I traveled, so I got used to showering with a hand shower, and it’s so much better: Now I start slowly with one leg at a time, going up to my waist line. I take my time to really feel how every call in my body awakens to the cold. Next I shower the arms and then the chest, back, face and head. Only then I switch to rain shower to enjoy a hands-free experience.
I do it first thing in the morning, or after my daily morning movement. I take a deep breath when I start, and keep breathing deeply throughout the cold water experience. When it's a particularly hot day in summer, I might take another cold shower throughout the day.
COLD SHOWER benefits*:
There are many positive effects for our overall health, ranging from physical benefits to mental health benefits:
1. Obviously, it builds mental toughness and willpower as you get out of your comfort zone :)
2. It’s a great embodiment experience
3. Reduces your sensitivity to stress, your body learns to better deal with higher stress levels
4. Improves your emotional resilience
5. Increases brain function, mental alertness and ability to focus throughout the day
6. Gives you healthier skin & hair as hot water dries your skin, it can improve various skin conditions
7. Balances your hormones
8. Helps with weight loss as it stimulates the generation of brown fat, which generates energy by burning calories.
9. Improves blood circulation and increases blood flow throughout the body
10. Trains your cardiovascular system, the little muscles around your blood vessels get a work out every time you experience cold. That makes them leaner and your blood vessels fitter, which makes it easier for your heart to pump your blood through your entire body
11. Strengthens your immune system through increasing the amount of white blood cells in your body
12. Aids lymphatic cleanse
13. Speeds up muscle recovery
14. Wakes you up in the morning and improves your energy levels
15. Boosts your mood more than caffeine or chocolate - my personal experience ;)
16. Alleviates symptoms of depression and stabilizes mental health
17. Improves sleep quality
Are cold showers good for you? My personal experience of the benefits.
DAILY Cold Shower Challenge
Wouldn’t it be a great if you could muster the courage to incorporate this amazing (and time & energy saving) habit into your daily life? I think it's a good idea :)
Let’s make it a challenge! Test this cold shower thing for 30 days, and see if you can see some of those promised results in your own life. I did it — and since I loved my life better with the cold showers — I never really stopped.
Are you joining? Let me know on Facebook or Instagram!
To make it easier, you don’t need to be as radical as I was and just throw yourself into the cold shower. You can shower warm and then shower cold for a short time, increasing the seconds of cold water every day. Just commit to make it a regular routine and don't start skipping days.
* Some cold shower facts above are general cold exposure benefits. They are based on research about ice baths (cold water immersion) or exposure to cold room temperature, so the actual benefits of a cold shower may be slightly different. See this as a general overview and do your own research if you want to make sure you have the perfect information ;)
Here is also an interesting article about the most famous proponent of cold therapy: Wim Hof and the Wim Hof Method by a scientist who looks critically at all the claims and the actual scientific studies in detail.
FEEL INCREDIBLY SENSUOUS and alive
IN YOUR BODY
A lifestyle transformation program to reconnect to your body and your inner wisdom. You will fall in love with yourself!
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