In this post, I will cover some benefits of taking cold showers, how people take them and how they can change your life.
Overview
What are the cold showers? It's probably self-explanatory; you take a shower with cold water. Ok, now we know what it is, we need to understand why people what to take cold showers in the first place. Many studies show many benefits of taking cold showers; let's look at some of them.
Health benefits
It might sound crazy, but there are many benefits to taking cold showers.
It's reducing your stress level - taking a cold shower gives your body mini-stress and leads to cold hardening. The more you do, the more benefits it will bring; you will be used to fighting stress, which will help you in other aspects of your life.
Increasing your alertness - taking a cold shower first thing in the morning will wake you up, your heart rate will increase, your breathing will increase, and it will lead to more oxygen going to your body and pumping through your blood to your brain and will keep you more alert during the day.
Increasing your willpower is not easy to take the first step and start taking cold showers, but the more you do it, the more benefits it will bring in other aspects of your life. It's a challenging task, but you will feel better completing it first thing in the morning.
Increasing your confidence is my favourite; if you wish to increase your confidence, taking cold showers is one way to achieve it. You will feel 100% better by completing it; the longer you do it, the more confident you will become.
You can lose weight by taking cold showers - stepping in the freezing rain will increase your metabolic rate and burn some fat, so if you are thinking of losing a few extra pounds, consider implementing a cold shower in your daily routine.
Refines your hair and skin - hot water tends to dry your skin; that's why cold water might be an option to step forward to improve your skin and hair.
If you have some health conditions and believe it is not ok to participate in such activities. If you are not sure, please ask your practitioner for advice.
Ways to do it
How can we take it?
I recommend starting it slowly and not going straight to ice-cold water if you have never done it before.
Start with a shower as you would typically do with a comfortable temperature, and gradually make it colder. I would recommend finishing the procedure with cold water. You might start with cold straight away at a time, but this is for more extreme lovers.
Some people take it to a different level and go outdoor swimming/dip any time of the year. I think it's excellent, and nothing wrong with it; be careful at the beginning and try not to do it alone if you want to try it. You can search for groups in your local area via social media and join them, and sure they will guide you in the right direction and give you some tips on what to do at the beginning.
Mindset
People start to take cold showers and participate in outdoor water activities for different reasons. I mentioned above that it could be a very healthy habit to have. Talking about traditions, what is it? It can be described as a routine repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.
To take cold showers as a habit, you must take them regularly, ideally every morning. That is how I started to do it; initially, It wasn't that bad because I was doing as I described above, starting with warm water and finishing cold, but I wasn't going all in. After reading the book("Can't Hurt Me" by David Goggins), I decided to go and do it without warm water.
As expected, my mood was at the best I had in a while; I became more confident, and my energy was more significant than I had for a long time. I completed this simple task in the morning, and I did it and was looking forward to the day. I felt like I was a super machine which could do anything. It was a boost for me; since then, I have been taking cold showers every morning.
It got to the point that I wasn't happy if the temperature in the showers wasn't cold enough. While I am travelling, the temperature is set higher at some hotels. Never mind, I get over it.
There is a saying - "Life begins on the other side of a comfort zone". Doing something challenging daily can lead to significant long-term success, whether in your personal or professional life. And to practice it slowly, you can begin by taking cold showers.
Conclusion
Hopefully, it wasn't too bad; I tried to keep it brief and straightforward. We covered the basics of the benefits of taking cold showers, and it is beneficial for my general well-being to continue participating in this activity.
The health benefits we covered above are enough for me, but most importantly, it's perfect for my confidence levels; it's increased massively. I mentioned steps you can take to start taking cold showers; you can begin slowly(recommended) or jump straight to the freezing water (expert level) without warming up first (advanced level). Also, you can find some local groups in your area if you wish to experience outdoor cold water activities.
If you have any questions, please get in touch with me or comment below. You are welcome if you wish to learn more about it or follow my personal story.
P.S. - I will be participating in the Christmas sea swim (In the U.K.) for the first time. It's going to be epic, and I will post about it.
