Day 23: You’re As Cold as Ice
“Help me understand this cold showers thing… I get all the other stuff as being important to becoming a better man, but what does this have to do with anything?”
For the answer to that, I’ll kick it over to Brett McKay at the Art of Manliness (an absolutely incredible resource if you’ve enjoyed the story of my 30 Days):
TLDW version: Cold showers may help 1) improve circulation, 2) relieve depression, 3) burn fat, 4) improve sleep, 5) keep skin and hair healthy, 5) increase fertility, 6) improve emotional resilience, 7) improve immunity, 8) speed up exercise recovery, 9) increase testosterone, and 10) provide quick but long-lasting energy boost.
The next obvious question would be, “Well, has any of that applied to your 30 Days?”
Short answer: Yes to most if not all. The only things that I’m not quite sure of are #1 because my circulation has always been really good, I’m constantly hot so I can’t tell if that’s has improved; #7 as I’ve been fighting a hellacious summer cold this entire 30 Days; and #5 because there’s already a bun in our oven.
As to the other 6 alleged benefits, I can confirm that I’ve experienced those benefits to varying levels.
Cold showers have also made me get up and get moving faster in the mornings. Instead of luxuriously soaking in the heat and slowly twirling underneath the warmth of the water, I dive in, gasp, lather up, rinse, and get out. This means that I’m done within 2–3 minutes. Is it enjoyable while you’re in the cold water? While it was still the heat of early to mid August, yes. In the last 3–4 days: not as much. BUT, once you get out and the blood quickly starts rushing back into your skin away from your organs, it’s an incredible feeling. You feel your heart start pumping away and the warmth returning to your body. In a lot of ways it’s like the lead-up to any big athletic competition: your heart starts beating and your motor starts warming up.
Try it out — once you get out and dry off it’ll all be worth it.
If the reasons above haven’t convinced you as to why cold showers can potentially be a good things, the creator of 30 Days of Discipline has his own reason that is pretty compelling:
Because it’s unpleasant at first and requires discipline to form a habit. If you can train yourself to take cold showers, and even start to enjoy them, you can train yourself to do anything.
Good enough for me.
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Quote of the Day
If the world is cold, make it your business to build fires.
~Horace Traubel
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Links to Past Episodes/Resources:
Introduction Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10
Day 11 Day 12 Day 13 Day 14 Day 15 Day 16 Day 17 Day 18 Day 19 Day 20
Manfield’s Book of Manly Men: An Utterly Invigorating Guide to Being Your Most Masculine Self
If you have any feedback, please send me a message or leave it on my Facebook page: Thirty Days. This is a new project and I’d love to hear your thoughts. It is a tremendous encouragement to know that someone is reading this. Encouragement, comments AND criticism are welcome.
