Last year I experimented with cold showers. It was summer and I enjoyed the sensation of cold water on my body during hot days, but then autumn arrived and I quit.
Now it’s summer again and I started to take cold showers again, but this time I did some research to see if there’s any health benefit of taking cold showers. It turns out that there are many of them.
Cold shower benefits
Among those benefits, improved circulation, skin and energy are probably the most interesting.
- Circulation. Cold showers favor blood circulation and increase body temperature, providing a natural cure for your body and a good sensation.
- Skin and hairs. Cold water hydrates your skin and hairs better than hot water, and thus your skin will look younger. Cold water also help to release toxins from your body and has more oxygen than hot water.
- Increase energy, lower stress. After a cold shower, you’ll feel more energy. Your immune system will also benefit from it, so it’s a win win situation.
How to take cold showers
Before taking a cold shower, make sure that there’s enough heat in your bathroom. Taking a cold shower in a cold environment is never a good idea, and it’s often a source for troubles.
In my experience it’s better to enter in a hot shower and lower the temperature gradually rather than jumping directly in a cold shower. How much cold it’s up to you, but you should feel comfortable after a few seconds.
Note that I recommend against taking a cold shower during illness. Also women should not take cold showers during menstruation, and take a warm shower instead.
are these proven scientifically?? sure we feel these after cold shower.. only point is, u should be ready to bear first 10 second cold shock :) then, u r ready.
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I could find a lot of articles about cold showers in general, with a lot of explanations and links to researches in some cases. You can do a search for “cold showers” if you want to find out more.
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It is proven to aid in recovery and muscle growth after strenuous muscle use. That’s good enough for me.
Additionally, my itchy scalp has totally gone away in cold water
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Hey Oscar,
I’m experimenting with psychological cold showers lately, and they seems to have a similar effect :)
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Hey Eduard, what are psychological cold showers?
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Hey Oscar
I experienced cold shower in winter while I sick(cold)!
Do you know after taking shower what happen? … I get healed!
I start tomorrow my 40 days plan … say about it later
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Oh that’s nice to know. I’ll try it myself next time!
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Hey Oscar!
Yeah there is a huge benefit to cold showers. Why do you think that people in europe used to roll around naked in the snow after taking a sauna.
I usually enjoy a hot shower but the last 30 seconds or so I made the water as cold as I can handle. It’s very refreshing :)
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I’ve never heard about that! It’s probably true in Austria of german. Interesting tough!
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Running out of the sauna naked and rolling in the snow is typical of Scandinavian and Baltic countries.
I experienced myself going out from the sauna to -18°C (I did not roll myself in the snow, though) in Swedish Lapland, and those seconds in which your skin cools down feel really good! :)
OTOH, be sure to have a towel and warm clothes at hand to avoid freezing! ;)
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Kudos to you! I want to try that one day.
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I’ve been showering in cold (well, coldish. I’m not completely up to freezing cold yet) showers for a few weeks now. My skin and scalp feel much better, and it helps wake me up. Additionally, it keeps me from staying in the shower too long in the morning
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I do ‘coldish’ too. I don’t like to provide shocks to my body, so I enter in a hot shower and lower the temperature gradually.
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Hey, Oscar!
You pointed very well the idea in the last paragraph, regarding women at menstruation :))
I like too, cold showers from time to time (especially during summer) They refresh the mind AND the body :D
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I figured that I could get a lot of women angry with me without that disclaimer :D
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Did you ask me to have a cold shower this time? (I’m from Australia and freezing in winter here) ;) :D
Well, you’re quite right about taking cold shower in summer. I wash my face everyday; at least 3-4 times with cold water, in winter too. You really will feel amazing! :)
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Hey Sonia, yeah I know seasons are inverted, but I thought it was always kind of hot in Australia? Anyway good tip about washing your face, that’s a virtually no-cost refreshing action!
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Day 1 end successfully!
wake up 8 AM and did almost all jobs that I want to do …
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Congrats Mehdi, make it happen!
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I really, really, really doubt that cold water somehow has “more oxygen” than hot water.
All that’s changed is that hot water’s hot and cold water’s cold. That’s it. The molecular composition of water is still H2O – if it were any different, it wouldn’t be water. The oxygen always is in a 1:2 ratio with the hydrogen. Period.
I’m open to the benefits of cold showers, but there is NO WAY cold water has “more oxygen”, and I felt it my duty to point that out.
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i agree with you on that one brett but maybe he is right. Technically, the h2o molecules are closer together since they are colder if you think about it which means that more h2o molecules are hitting your body therefore maybe more oxygen helps the skin. but ya im pretty sure the molecules would be closer in cold water.
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A very quick answer, and a starting point: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_does_cold_water_hold_more_oxygen
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i think now its time to take a cold shower :D
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Mee too!
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You forgot to mention another obvious benefit of cold showers: lower electricity/gas bill. :o)
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You’re right!
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I love cold water showers! especially in spring and summer, the impact and benefits are both physical and psychological, but believe me once your started you won’t go back to hot water :D
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Yeah, except in winter (for me), but I hope to get past that too.
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Whatever happened to me taking cold showers? I must start again! I used to take them all the time, I’d take a very hot one and it would open all my skin pores, I’d wash my hair and body and then right before getting out, I’d go to freezing cold water and pant and scream and just bear it for at least a minute or two and then run out! It was great…….I am gonna take one tomorrow Oscar!
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That’s the spirit Farnoosh!
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Hey Oscar,
I started taking cold showers last year during the winter. I love the process of overriding your mind telling you that the water is too cold. Forcing yourself to walk right under that falling water is an act of courage. I still take a cold showers about 2x a week just to keep that same feeling going. I love it!
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They’re awesome, but congrats for getting started in the winter!
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I’ve been taking cold showers for over 10 years now, even going right through winter. A holistic doctor (formerly a genuine medical doctor) once advised me to start doing it, combined with yoga, as a body cleansing system. (Hot shower first, finish with cold shower at least 1 min, then quickly into warm clothes)
But now I’m 45 and this winter I find myself adding layers in the office when everyone else is complaining about excessive heating – hence my web search to find out if I’m doing it right. A friend told me her doctor told her to start with the feet, work upwards and avoid having the shower stream directly at the chest.
As for benefits, I guess I have coughs and colds at the same rate as anyone else, but people always say I look 35 instead of 45!
Itchy scalp: I tried giving up shampoo altogether for over a year – didn’t work. The key is to use conditioner INSTEAD of shampoo. Try a few to find which conditioner works for you. I use pH neutral or baby shampoo about once every 10 days, the rest of the time I just use an anti-dandruff conditioner (Not Head & Shoulders – too industrial). Haven’t had itchy scalp for 15 yrs now.
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Hey Phil, thanks for posting your exhaustive experience. I’ve never researched into shampoo and its effects though.
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