Why Do People Take Cold Showers?

Taking a cold shower is not necessarily the first option for many people as we all love our comfortable, hot showers. I mean, who doesn't? Especially during the coldest months of the year. But Why Do People Take Cold Showers then? In fact, the mere idea of willingly abandoning your precious hot water and instead using cold water seems a little crazy. Nevertheless, showering with cold water has been consistently shown to provide numerous health benefits.

This lifestyle change will improve your body's capability of dealing with stress, whether it is emotional, physical or mental.

Read on to learn the little-known benefits of cold water showers:

1. Improves Self-Discipline and Will Power

Showering with cold water every day, immediately after waking up, requires a significant degree of self-discipline and mental strength.

Over time this self-discipline and willpower transform into a positive habit that seeps into other parts of your daily life.

Since the average person likes hot showers, fighting against that urge and using cold water can also give you a great confidence boost at the start of the day.

2. Better Stress Tolerance

Is it easy for you to get anxious, agitated or pissed off?

If so, then a cold shower every day can help as it trains you to become more stress resilient.

The cold water acts like a type of beneficial oxidative stress, which your body adapts to over time.

Even though the first cold shower is usually quite breathless and fast, after a few weeks you will be more tolerant of cold water.

In effect, you will be able to tolerate stressful situations in your everyday life the same way as the cold water.

Scientifically, this is referred to as body hardening.



It is where a person is exposed to natural stimuli, like cold water, which leads to better tolerance towards stress and diseases.

An excellent example of this benefit is the James Bond character.

In the famous spy books, 007 usually started off with a hot shower and then finished with icy cold water.

You can now take James Bond's Scottish Shower, and you will soon be as calm and relaxed as he usually is, even in stressful situations.

3. Enhances Alertness

Are you wondering do showers wake you up?

Obviously, showering with cold water early in the morning is going to help you wake up.

If you have trouble waking up and getting excited for your daily activities, switching to cold showers may help you.

Even if you feel you can't breathe when the cold water touches your body, that extreme and rapid deep breathing is beneficial.

It increases your overall intake of oxygen and also boosts your heart rate, which leads to a natural energy boost all through the day.

Furthermore, that deep breathing and cold water will improve your alertness and enable you to avoid that sleepy, exhausted feeling when you wake up better than any coffee.

4. Skin Rejuvenation

According to dermatologists is hot water bad for your skin, although it may feel good every time you take a hot shower.

A hot water bath strips away the natural oils of your skin by opening up your pores.

When you lose these protective oils, your skin tends to become flaky and dry.

Consequently, dry skin is a lot more susceptible to developing aging signs like wrinkles and fine lines.

It also worsens skin diseases like eczema, particularly during cold winter months.

So is cold water good for your skin?

In this case, avoiding hot water is an easy, natural method of maintaining your appearance and no need for exhaust fans.

Showering with cold water tightens up your skin pores temporarily because it constricts blood circulation.

It prevents your skin from losing its vital natural oils very quickly.

Also read: Be sure to shower using lukewarm water after getting a tattoo
Also read: How To Shower When You’re Sick: Tips That Will Help

5. Stronger, Healthier Hair

You might be asking yourself, is cold water good for your hair?

Showering with cold water is also beneficial for your hair.

It seals the hair cuticles, thus blocking grime and dirt from accumulating on your scalp.

The result is a natural shine and healthier looking hair.

Moreover, it also helps to avoid premature loss of hair.

How?

Well, since the hair cuticles are tightened up, your hair becomes smoother and stronger with time.

Therefore, you will have an easier time combing your hair without worrying about long strands coming off your scalp.

6. Improves Blood Flow Around the Body

Will a cold shower lower heart rate?

Cold water showers improve blood circulation through encouraging better blood flow to all essential organs.

As mentioned above, that shock that you get when that first drop of cold water lands on your body helps to make the heart pump blood more efficiently.

It opens up the arteries and enhances your general heart health.

Also, cold showers can also reduce blood pressure and significantly improve the immune system, which helps to combat many heart and skin issues.

You will also save water because for sure your showers will be shorter.

7. Promotes Weight Loss

You have to be asking yourself: do cold showers help you lose weight?

Anyone interested in cutting off a couple of fatty pounds should incorporate cold showers to their daily routine.

The two primary forms of fat tissue found in the body are brown fat and white fat.

White fat comprises all the unhealthy fat that you struggle to shed off.

It is usually piled up around the waist, neck, thighs and lower back.

However, brown fat consists of the healthy fat that is needed for generating heat for maintaining warm temperatures anytime you are exposed to cold environments.

Most importantly, showering with cold water activates the brown fat, which burns calories.

That means taking cold showers may allow you to drop an average of nine pounds per year.

8. Improves Recovery Time

It is a common practice for many elite athletes to use an ice bath after an intense training session or game.

You can also apply the same method to working out, particularly for alleviating muscle soreness and improving recovery time.

We all know that recovery time is essential for muscle building.

Therefore, cold water can help you sustain high-performance workouts without having to wait too long to recover and resume exercises.

Cold water showers prevent the accumulation of toxic metabolic waste and lactic acid in your muscles.

9. Fights Depression

A cold shower has been proven to help fight depression symptoms.

It works by stimulating noradrenaline production, an important chemical that helps alleviate depression.

Additionally, the mild shock delivered to your brain by cold water produces a beneficial anti-depressive effect.

It boosts your mood and makes you feel more cheerful or energetic.

A recent study on this particular issue found that cold water hydrotherapy provided an analgesic benefit, without any risk of dependence or side effects.

10. Boosts Mood

Even though there is slim evidence for this particular benefit of showering with cold water, there is no doubt that cold water helps to boost mood.

One study researched the winter swimming practice in Finland and discovered that regular cold water baths might improve mood, energy and general well-being.

Since your breathing and heart rate accelerate when you shower with cold water, it helps you become energized and ready to take on the day.

11. Cold Showers Enhance Fertility

One interesting advantage of showering with cold water is that it increases fertility in men by increasing the sperm count.

Soaking in a hot bathtub could be causing a significant loss of your male fertility.

The reason that male testicles are located outside the body is that they are supposed to be in a cold environment.

Therefore, your sperm count will reduce if your place your testes in hot showers regularly.

Once you cut down your exposure to hot water, particularly around your testicles, there is a substantial improvement in overall sperm count as well as motility.

It explains why pregnancy rates usually increase in colder seasons.

So, if you are currently trying to have a baby, increase your chances by starting to shower with cold water.

12. Boosts Lymphatic System

The function of the lymphatic system is to transport white blood cells for handling infections and also eliminating waste products.

Most notably, this particular system contains neither blood nor blood vessels, meaning that the heart can't blood through it.

Rather, the lymphatic system depends on muscles contracting the lymph and pushing it to mix with blood so that it can reach other organs in the body.

How does the lymphatic system benefit from showering with cold water?

Well, every time the cold water reaches your skin, it causes your muscles to contract.

Your whole body shivers anytime it is subjected to cold water.

Although it is not one of the most pleasant feelings that your brain senses, it does great things for your lymphatic system.

It ensures that white blood cells get to where they are needed efficiently, thus fight infections quickly.

That full body contraction caused by cold showers improves detoxification.

Many health experts are even promoting this simple body detoxification method as it squeezes toxins and wastes out of your skin.

By improving detoxification, you will feel fresher and also look cleaner and younger.

13. Cold Showers Lead to Energized Breathing

The first instincts when that cold water lands on your body are to take deep breaths and move away from the water.

You will start deeply inhaling and exhaling while you pant and move around.

While in this situation, your body tries to fight the stress caused by shock, vasoconstriction and the general urgent requirement for oxygen.

That energized breathing is necessary for maintaining a warm body.

It provides a great energy boost that will stimulate your physiology better than a cup of coffee.

14. Enhances Testosterone

Heat appears to be very bad for testosterones, as it negatively affects sperm production and also reduces testicular weight.

Although studies show that these effects might not come instantly, they will come eventually.

Actually, due to such studies, it is advisable to use looser boxers and take cold showers to improve your testicular health.

Russian weightlifters even used to ice their testicles before competitions to increase testosterone levels and enable them to handle big lifts.

15. Helps Achieve Better Sleep Quality

Getting quality sleep is an essential factor for staying healthy, and cold water showers assist in achieving the desired good night's rest.

Insomniacs and anyone who has trouble sleeping are highly advised to shower with cold water just before bedtime.

The reason for this is that cold water helps in calming down the whole body, which brings a relaxed feeling that will allow you to fall asleep easier.

Tips for Showering with Cold Water

Are you ready to jump in a cold shower but don't know where to start?

Here are a few tips to give you an idea and some motivation to start:

• Feet first – Start by putting your feet first into the cold shower as they usually adjust to temperature very quickly. You can move upwards to your stomach, and then you will feel more comfortable with the cold shower.
• Hands second – The next thing is to get your arms and hands wet, and then start splashing water on your torso. At this time, your front and legs will be wet and be soaking with water.
• Head under – Breathe deeply and put your head under the water. Don't be afraid; it is that energetic breathing that will bring so many benefits. As you will be inhaling quite heavily, make sure you are careful that you don't inhale the shower water through your mouth or nose.
• Back last – Finally, you can slide in your back. Be prepared to feel lots of sensations, like an electrical shock, as there are numerous nerve fibers routed through the spine.

If you consistently take cold showers daily, you will start noticing that the water gets warmer after some time.

After one month of cold showers, it will become part of your daily habits, and you will feel self-confident whenever you hear people talking about taking hot showers.

Conclusion : The best news is that you do not have to take long cold showers to see all the benefits mentioned above. If you are just starting off incorporating cold water into your routine, you can start with hot water and then finish off with cold water at the end. Aim to introduce cold showers gradually and always lather up using fragrance-free, gentle soap and apply moisturizer while your skin is still damp. It is time for you to try out cold showers and get all the benefits mentioned above.

The Vader Cold Shower Challenge Infographic, courtesy of HomeOfficeGym.com