If you’ve spent any time at all in the self-improvement scene over the past few years, you’ve undoubtedly come across some video where an unnaturally organized and well put-together productivity guru tells you how cold showers can strip off the pounds, boost your immune system, and bring back your childhood dog.
Now there are physical benefits to taking cold showers, but the real magic actually happens in your head, not your bloodstream.
Before we jump in, I want to say that I don’t take a cold shower every single day, and I don’t take my entire shower cold. I m take most of my shower hot, then at the end drop it to as cold as it will go for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. (I actually don’t count it out anymore, so that’s my best guess.)
Now.
Here are 3 changes I’ve noticed since I started taking 2-3 cold showers a week:
Contentment
This one is my favorite.
A few seconds after switching the water to cold, sometimes it feels as if somewhere inside me a switch has flipped, and all of a sudden the cold not only doesn’t bother me, but I feel at home in it, like I was meant to be a Finn rather than a Nebraskan. I breathe deeply with visions of Helsinki and Villi Lapsi by Elinoora in my head.
When this happens, all the prattle in my head stops and I’m able to simply be in the moment. I feel at peace, the way those gurus talk about meditation.
I’ve tried numerous methods of meditation over the past few years, and by getting used to taking cold showers, I stumbled upon the one that seems to work best for me. Stepping out of the shower now feels like I’ve won a battle.
Always best to start your day out with victory. Which brings me to change number 2…
Confidence
Though I’ve been at this for a while now, I still feel before I get in the shower that I don’t want to do it. I think “Maybe I’ll just take my shower and forget about turning it to cold.” But then invariably I get myself washed, and then turn it to cool, then to cold, and I win.
I don’t always get pumped up and look for something to smash, but I do always feel accomplished and free from the fear that tried to stop me from doing it.
It doesn’t end there, though. Conquering the fear of cold water helps me move past my other fears, not least of which is my fear of talking to other professionals. It’s easier to remind myself now that they’re just people, and their view of me is nothing at all like mine (more about that in a future post).
Consistency
I used to struggle really bad with my sleep schedule. Once I moved to a life not bound to a time clock and a boss, my sleep went all over the place and I was virtually unable to get anything done.
I’m not saying that cold showers fixed this. First off, it’s not fixed. I still have work to do. And second, I started taking cold showers after I started getting up in the mornings reasonably consistently.
What I am saying is that my practice of turning the water to cold at the end of my shower has solidified my view of myself as someone who is consistent in his commitments, and is willing to follow through. And that’s not nothing.
Conclusion
This post isn’t here to tell you to take an ice bath every morning so you’ll wake up a productivity giant in two weeks (productivity is overrated anyway, but we’ll talk about that another time). I’m writing this to share with you my experience, and if you’re on the fence about trying cold showers, hopefully this’ll give you that last little push over the edge to give it a shot.
Really, though. A cold shower is cheaper than a hot one. What do you have to lose?
Photo by Seth Doyle on StockSnap