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Are you brave enough for a COLD SHOWER?

Why I Take Cold Showers And You Should Too

For the past three years I’ve taken a cold shower almost every single day. You might think I’m crazy and at first; trust me, at first I thought I was too. But hold your judgment, hear me out, give it a try and then you can thank me.

What are the benefits of cold showers?

1.    Improve Mood

A 2007 study looked at how cold showers affected people with depression. Here is what the authors of the study hypothesized:

“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 noradrenaline 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.”

The study ended up finding that cold showers of 2-3 minutes helped to relieve some of the symptoms associated with depression (1).


2. Relieve Stress

A 1994 study found that short term cold water exposure helped to reduce the blood levels of uric acid and glutathione which suggest a decrease in the stress response (2).

Cold showers are a form of “stress” on the body. Just like the body responds to exercise (also a “stress”) by becoming more resilient and resistant to all types of stress, the body adapts to cold showers and becomes more resistant to stressors. Therefore, cold showers can help improve your ability to handle stress on a daily basis.


3. Fat Loss

The body has two main types of fat, white fat and brown fat.

            White fat is reason why most of us don’t have 6-packs all year round. White fat a site of    energy storage and is involved in the body’s hormonal response, In other words, when you eat too much food on thanksgiving, it gets turned into white fat.
            Brown fat is more closely linked to our metabolism and is most well-known for helping to keep us warm.

When the body is exposed to the cold, brown fat is activated and burn more calories in an attempt to keep us warm. A 2009 study found that exposure to extremely cold temperatures increase brown fat activity by 15% in 95.8% of subjects (3). In other words, cold showers cause your body to burn more calories, which can help you lose weight if that is your goal.



4. Improve Circulation

When the body is exposed to the cold, the blood vessels near the surface of our skin constrict in order to minimize heat loss. Blood rushes from the surface of our skin in towards our internal organs. According to natural health expert Dr. Joseph Mercola, cold showers can help lower blood pressure, improve the health of our circulatory system and help our heart more efficiently pump blood (4).


5. Build Will Power

This one is simple… cold showers aren’t appealing and aren’t comfortable (at least at first).

It’s easy to whimp out and turn the dial towards hot; trust me, there were a few failed attempts before I actually took the plunge. It’s not easy to will yourself to get into a cold shower. BUT, if you can successfully conquer cold showers and become comfortable forcing yourself to step into an uncomfortable situation, you can create a habit that will carry over into other areas of your life.


References:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17993252
2. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0891584994900302
3. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0810780

4. http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2012/04/27/cold-water-immersion-benefits.aspx

Comments

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  3. UnknownSeptember 20, 2017 at 11:40 PM

    Nice post
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