My 3 Day Experiment With Cold Showers
The big talk about cold showers has been going on for a long time.
Countless individuals have talked about the plentiful benefits of taking cold showers to start their day, including influential people like Tim Ferriss and Tony Robbins.
Every morning, Tony Robbins starts his day off by plunging into a 57-degree Fahrenheit pool of water.
Tim Ferriss swears by cold showers to jumpstart his metabolism in the morning.
Some of the benefits I’ve read and heard about are as follows:
- Reduce muscle inflammation: Cold water showers (or dips in the pool, as Tony Robbins likes it) help reduce the inflammation caused due to DOMS- delayed onset muscle soreness. DOMS is essentially the soreness you feel in the morning after an intense workout. Cold water lowers the damaged tissue’s temperature and constricts the blood vessels. This helps reduce any swelling and inflammation and even numbs the nerve endings to provide immediate relief to any pain. Merely taking a quick post-workout cold shower can help reduce soreness and inflammation from whatever physical activity you completed.
- Clean up the lymphatic system: The lymphatic system is your body’s sewage network. The lymphatic vessels contract in the cold and relax once they warm up. This constant movement helps flush out the waste and toxins from the system, consequently strengthening immunity.
- Instill a sense of calm: People with a habit of swimming in freezing water or showering with cold water have been shown to have improved mood and less stress. They boost the Glutathione present in your blood and reduce your uric acid, which results in a drastic reduction of stress
- Improve cardiovascular circulation: Cold water causes your blood to move to your organs to keep them warm. Some people also report their skin looks better as a result of icy showers, probably because of improved circulation.
While there are a lot more apparent benefits to cold showers, these are the few that piqued my interest. After seeing so many people saying that cold showers work indeed, I decided to attempt it out myself.
I tried it out for three days (today is the third day) and the results are as follows.
Day 1
People said cold showers made you feel awesome. When I went into the cold water, I failed to understand how this torture was going to make me feel anything even close to alright. I admit it — the first minute was BAD. But I decided to stay put and soon (after that first minute), my body somewhat adjusted to the temperature. And hey, those people were right. It did feel awesome. Nonetheless, I was out in precisely three minutes and a half.
No matter what happens, stay put. It’s easier said than done, but c’mon, it’s not that hard. Okay, maybe it slightly is.
Lesson learned: Remember keeping yourself warm as soon as you’re out of the shower. Try not getting too carried away with the feeling of calm and awesomeness — I got carried away and I was sneezing like crazy five minutes later.
Day 2
The temperature outside was quite cold and the thought of having a nasty freezing shower wasn’t a fancy one. But then, I just had to do it. The water still didn’t feel that great, but it was a lot better than Day 1.
Day 3
Interestingly, I was somehow looking forward to my shower on Day 3. I was genuinely surprised by my eagerness to meet the cold water. The surprises for the day hadn’t ended there. The weather being slightly warmer than Day 2 could have been the reason. During my shower, I wanted the water to be colder. I was very comfortable with the temperature of the stream of water and it was a splendid experience indeed.
Conclusion
I feel like my mini-experiment with cold showers turned out the way I wanted. The cold showers gave a perfect boost to my mornings and I look forward to continuing with them.
I might write a follow-up article to this one when I complete a month or so with this experiment. Let me know in the comments if you’d like me to write one.
You should give it a try too! And do let me know your experience with this!
It’s worth the effort!
