A Cold Shower AND Sex – Part2
7 rediculously good reasons to give this a try
In a recent article I wrote about the pros and cons of taking a cold shower.
I was pleasantly surprised with the level of reaction I received. Maybe some of it was due to the clickbaity (but completely relevant) headline, but much was centred around the actual benefits of a cold shower.
You can read the original article here…
In keeping with the clickbait headline, my first article was more or less the foreplay.
This article is the main event…and I am confident that this will take us longer than the usual 3 minutes to complete 😉. So join me as I take a deeper dive into the benefits of a cold shower.
Blood Circulation
As mentioned in my previous article, the hot/cold cycle of the cold shower stimulates blood flow throughout the body. This stimulated blood flow generates many benefits.
One of these benefits is increased immunity. White blood cell levels are increased with cold temperatures, and these are needed to fight illnesses.
Your lymphatic system is also kicked into overdrive. The lymphatic system sounds like jargon so what does this really mean? The cycling of hot and cold pumps out the “crap” from your lymph nodes, resulting in increased immunity.
My personal experience is that I have been cold showering regularly (averaging 5–6 times per week) for over 9 months and I have not been ill in that time. Possibly coincidence? I don’t really care. All I know is that the end result is a good one so “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
Great for the Skin
The hot water open up your skin pores. The cold water does the opposite. This process helps rid you skin of impurities by stimulating the pores.
The cold water also helps tighten the skin. I can personally attest to seeing my facial skin looking tighter and feeling fresher ie: younger.
I am not following any other skin regime…no skin creams and no Botox, but my (distinguished) crows feet are looking more like sparrows feet these days. My skin looks and feels younger.
Stress Management
Believe it or not, cold showers help you reduce your stress levels.
Counterintuitively you would think your stress levels would rise with the mere thought of a cold shower but no, their effect is to reduce uric acid levels and boost glutathione.
So what does this really mean? I’m not completely sure because I’m not a qualified doctor, but this article can validate what I am saying.
The bottom line is cold showers can help those with high stress levels or those that suffer from anxiety or depression.
Mental Alertness
If you are feeling down or weary, the cold shower is the natural pick-me-up. Your mind is instantly switched on and it stays engaged for upwards of 3.5hrs.
What a great way to ensure your mornings are the productivity beast you have always been searching for.
Lose some weight
Another bold claim. But studies have shown that cold showers stimulate body energy (to combat the cold and keep you warm) and in turn this burns calories.
Tim Ferris in his iconic book the 4-Hour Body explored in detail the merits of cold showers and ice baths and the impact this has on weight loss.
My personal experience? I can neither confirm nor deny the weight loss benefit. I have so many other variables that feed into my weight management but what I can say is that my weight has remained constant despite my less-than-optimal eating habits.
Long Term Libido
In my first article I referred to a cold shower being the libido killer.
Don’t have a cold shower before sex…unless you want to get out of having sex!
Passion killer, shrinkage, you get the picture.
But, if you are playing the long game, the cold shower increases your testosterone levels (sorry ladies, not the same effect for oestrogen).
Note for men: our testosterone factories (aka – our family jewels, boys, berries, spuds, kiwi fruit etc) are not just impact sensitive, but they are temperature sensitive also. We have evolved with them outside of our bodies to keep things cool. To ensure survival of our species.
So whilst a hot shower may feel nice, warm and comfortable this is not a good environment for our factory workers.
Factory productivity is reduced.
A cold shower is similar to increasing the drum cadence and whippings on the galley slaves. It raises our factory worker productivity levels, increasing libido and fertility. Enough said.
Muscle recovery
Any professional sports team since 1990-something uses cold water recovery after game day. This is because it hastens muscle recovery after a tough day at the (athletes) office.
It is so successful than just about any semi-pro sports team will run recovery sessions at the beach the next day even though it may be the middle of winter. They will also immerse themselves in cold water / ice baths soon after the actual game.
The cold restricts capillaries and reduces swelling and inflammation. Anyone who has suffered from muscle soreness, a bruise or a sprain will know the best treatment is a bag of frozen peas on the sore spot.
In my experience, the effects of a cold shower are immediately noticeable. Sore muscles feel better after a cold shower or dip in cold water. My old-man aches and pains are far less frequent and certainly not as long lasting as they used to be before I started the cold shower regime.
So hopefully you have gleaned enough inspiration to give this a try.
You can see that there are multiple possible benefits to a cold shower, but like all things good, consistency and patience is required. This is not a “quick fix” elixir, it needs to become just another daily health and wellbeing ritual for you to follow.
A cold shower regime is just like brushing your teeth; it has an immediate “feel good” element to it, but being consistent has the long term benefits of avoiding tooth decay, fillings or dental surgery.
Your mind and body can have many potential ailments and afflictions so why not take this one small step to help defer or halt their onset.
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Final Words
I strongly encourage you to read my previous article on how to painlessly go about transitioning to the cold shower regime. It does not have to be the major mental and physical challenge you think it is.
