I can hear the groans and moans already, I can feel the resistance just by you reading the title of this article, but hold on one minute please stay with me on this one, there is method in the madness! Firstly this isn't a new idea, it has been around a long time. The ancient Greeks, Romans, and Russians have all been advocates of bathing in cold water. Native Americans used to dive into cold lakes and streams from their sweat lodge, and just look at places like Finland today, where they're straight into icy bodies of water out of the sauna! When you think about it its only in recent times with the modern day privileges of central heating etc that these hot water luxuries have been normalised, maybe we are supposed to be washing our bits and bobs in a much more natural way as Nature intended?
After stumbling across some You Tube videos on the subject and seeing how others were reporting benefits I decided to wade in (excuse the pun). Now granted I am in slightly warmer climates so maybe its cheating a little bit, the water is certainly not coming out as cold as say in the UK or other parts of the World. However I have noticed some positives myself. Firstly and perhaps the most obvious is that you wake the Hell up! After you're out you feel fresh and ready to start the day, no slouching about and procrastination, I really find it easier to get into my groove with tasks I need to get done.
Secondly an increased amount of energy, not just immediately after the shower but throughout the rest of the day. Also my recovery time after a work out has reduced I have noticed, if I am having a challenging workout the next day I don't seem to be feeling the aches or pains in my muscles. This stands to reason when you consider that athletes have ice baths to recover after a sporting event.
In a sick and twisted way it gets you used to being comfortable in uncomfortable situations, when you first hit that cold water in the morning after a long nights sleep in a cosy bed, its really the last thing you want to be doing, its uncomfortable personified! Yet in a way it seems to help with those interactions and events in daily life that maybe might rattle your cage a bit more. Its hard to explain, its very subtle but noticeable at the same time. Many others have reported this 'emotional resilience'.
Other benefits that research is showing is that they can help improve circulation, depression as they release a combative hormone called noradrenaline, and can help burn fat. This is without mentioning their ability to improve the quality of sleep (apparently a cold shower before bed is just as good as one in the morning) and improve the condition of skin and hair because hot water dries them out. For the men out there cold showers are reported to increase testosterone, boost libido, and overall strength.
As always don't take my word for it, the info is out there. Ive been trialing them and they do seem to give me an extra 10% to my day. Have a good one folks.
Tony Sayers
Love, care, courage