The Impact of Cold Showers
I started taking cold showers a month ago, and they changed my life.
I’d like to preface this article by saying that while this goes off my personal experience, there is tons of research to support the health benefits of cold showers which I will cite throughout.
I really don’t know what inspired me to try a cold shower, maybe it was that I was really sore from the day’s activities or because I had read something about them, it quite possible could have been that I needed to go to sleep and I had to hurry. Whatever the cause, I am grateful that I did.
Taking a cold shower is hard, my first couple of times I started out with a hot shower and then slowly turned the water colder and colder every few seconds.
But due to the chilling nature of cold showers, you will probably end up spending a lot less time in the shower, thus saving water, helps the environment and saves you time!
Even though you are spending less time in the shower, it is actually having a positive impact on your mental health, according to this study, raising your dopamine levels by 250%!
We live in a world where dopamine is often seen as a villain. But in reality dopamine is our body’s reaction to either pleasure or pain, when we use social media, eat tasty foods or binge watch TV, we get a temporary spike in dopamine, which makes us feel good for the moment, but then when we stop our dopamine levels drop so low that its almost painful for our brain.
But when we do a painful activity such as taking a cold shower our body releases this dopamine naturally, and its not a sudden burst of it, meaning our dopamine levels won’t crash immediately after the shower, instead they will continue to rise and then stabilize after THREE WHOLE HOURS!!!
Dopamine is also one of the key neurotransmitter responsible for motivation, so 5 minutes of pain can motivate you to get tasks done for 3 hours, that sounds a lot better than a 30 minute doom scroll that will just leave you feeling empty afterwards.
Cold Showers, Mental Health, and Recovery, and The Cons???
Dopamine is not the only neurotransmitter that your brain releases after a cold shower, it also releases serotonin and endorphins, which increase your happiness in both the short and long term!
Cold showers can boost your mood and reduce anxiety
Immersing yourself in cold water can also be great for a post workout recovery, by increasing the blood circulation after the shower, it can bring oxygen rich blood to your muscles, which is essential to recovery. Cold water can also reduce swelling and tissue breakdown.
But I have said a lot of things about cold showers, so what are some of the cons?
Well for starters, its not a good idea to take a cold shower if you’re already cold, or are in a cold environment and won’t be able to warm up quickly afterwards
And if you’re sick… It might not be a good idea as it will be harder to warm back up, also if you start too cold it could potentially be too hard on your immune system
You Don’t Need To Take Cold Showers
Its important to know that you don’t need to take cold showers, they aren’t for everyone, some people get a lot of joy from their showers, and to take that away doesn’t make sense, you don’t have to take a completely cold shower, you can opt to take a hot shower and than for the last couple of minutes challenge yourself with the cold
Or you could opt to not take cold showers at all, and that is completely fine, because at the end of the day, while cold showers might have certain health benefits for some, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Personal comfort, enjoyment, and individual health needs should guide your choices. Ultimately, the goal is to find practices that enhance your overall quality of life and well-being.
Cold showers have a lot of benefits, but some people don’t want to give up their hot showers, and that is completely fine! At the end of the day, cold showers are just one way that you can increase your recovery and discipline, but I recommend giving it a try before you completely dismiss the idea.
Hey there! If you made it to the end than I would really appreciate it if you clapped for this article, and if you have any questions feel free to leave any comments!
If you like these kind of articles then check out The Athlete, where I write all about applying mindsets and processes used by the top athletes into every day life
