Cleanliness is a virtue. It is highly important to maintain favorable personal hygiene. This means that we should keep our bodies, our clothes and our homes clean, and out of all these, the body requires the most attention. It is known now that the temperature of the showers and baths we take have an effect on our health and brains. Majority of us prefer hot showers, it's a fact, we feel warm, cosy and sometimes even relaxed after having a hot shower. However, recent studies indicate that cold showers do us more good than hot ones, and despite the chilling effect, cold showers can provide us with many worthwhile benefits. Read on to learn how daily cold showers can change your life for the better.
You'll develop stronger willpower
A cold shower is one of the most uncomfortable situations that you can find yourself in. Every drop of the freezing water feels as though it is cutting into your skin. Majority of us simply want to run out of the shower when faced with a cold one. Thus, it takes nerves of steel and tremendous willpower to stay in that cold shower and take your bath. Normally, we are resistant to uncomfortable situations such as a cold shower. However, if you train yourself to embrace it, you will develop mental strength and will power. As a result, you will find comfort in the uncomfortable. This mentality will spread to all the other factors of your life. You will find yourself having greater will power and as a result, you will achieve more in your life.
Cold showers assist you to become emotionally resilient
Are you the kind of person who is reactive and gets angry at the slightest provocation? If you are, this sort of attitude has definitely got you into a lot of trouble. You can overcome it by taking cold showers. Interestingly, regular cold showers train your nervous system to resist stress. This is because they actually cause small doses of stress on your nerves. By taking cold showers regularly, you expose your body to stress every time. Gradually, it adapts and becomes able to handle more and more stress comfortably. After taking cold showers regularly for a month, you will reach a state of ice-cold coolness. Almost nothing wil be able to make you agitated.
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You'll be able to reduce your stress levels
Cold showers act to reduce stress in your life. They do this by reducing the level of uric acid in your body. Moreover, they increase the level of glutathione in your bloodstream. The combination of these two effects result in less stress and more calmness in your life.
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Cold showers can boost your immunity and overall circulation
A cold shower stimulates the heart rate. This causes fresh, oxygenated blood to flood our organs. This provides them with much needed nutrients. Also, this makes them to have better health and keep heart and skin problems at bay. Moreover, a quicker heart rate causes the blood to rush through our veins, arteries and capillaries. This clears out any blood vessels that could be blocked, reduces blood pressure and improves our immune system.
A cold shower increases your alertness
If you have ever taken a cold shower, you know that it is quite difficult to breath the moment that the cold water hits your body. You find yourself gasping for breath. If you are experiencing this in the early morning, the low atmospheric temperatures contribute to the chill. It turns out that this deep breathing is highly beneficial. It increases your heart rate and intake of oxygen. As a result, you become more energetic in a healthy way. You also stay alert and are more likely to outperform your competitors or your co-workers.
Cold showers reduce muscle soreness
We normally see professional athletes sitting in ice baths after they complete their training. They do this to reduce the soreness in their muscles. You may not have an ice bath to soak in but you can definitely take a cold shower. This actively helps to reduce and even eliminate the possibility of delayed-onset muscle soreness. Spending twenty minutes in a cold shower will prevent muscle soreness for up to four days. Thus, if you exercise regularly, cold showers should be part of your recovery regimen.
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Cold showers can assist you to lose weight
There are two main types of fat in our bodies. These are the brown and the white fat. White fat is not good for us while brown fat is great. When we exercise, we strive to get rid of white fat. Any calories which we consume and are not utilized as energy are stored in the body as white fat. This one accumulates around the neck, the tummy, lower back, thighs and waist. Brown fat does not accumulate in this way. It actually helps to keep your body warm. The generation of brown fat also burns calories. When you take a cold shower, brown fat is generated at an accelerated speed. This burns calories and helps you to lose weight by burning white fat. Over time, this can contribute to your overall weight loss effort.
Cold showers improve the health of our skin
Cold showers have a wealth of benefits for the skin and hair. Hot water dries out the skin. However, cold water does not. It actually causes your pores to tighten. The cold temperature seals the pores in your skin and your scalp. As a result, they do not get clogged with dirt. Moreover, cold water does not strip away the natural oils in your skin. It also does not strip away the natural oils in your hair. Therefore, cold water allows you to develop long, strong, healthy and shiny hair. As an added bonus, cold water flattens out the hair follicles and boosts their capability to grip your scalp. This prevents hair breakage.
The Important Take Away
A cold shower has many more benefits than most of us knew. It can boost your body health and even make you look better. A number of positive effects of regular cold showers are indicated above. You can experience them by changing your shower regimen to use cold water instead of hot water. The results are worth it and can change your life for the better.
