A cold shower each day to keep the doctor away?
Written by Matteo Bevilacqua, Hunimed student
Let’s say you’re sauntering in a frigid winter day. The temperature is creeping towards 0° and you feel chills all over your body. The first thing that comes to your mind is indulging in a boiling hot shower to warm up.
What if a cold one was a even better idea?
It fights back against stress
It is extensively known that the human body can adapt to oxidative stress. Indeed this is what happens when you keep bathing in ice-cold water every day for a constant amount of time. A recent study performed on winter swimmers proved their increased adaptation to oxidative stress rather than non-winter ones. In a few words, you should start getting your teeth into that so dreaded bone-chilling shower, if you want to boost your adaptation to stressful situations. Better late than never!
Circulation… level up!
If you want to increase your blood circulation avoiding hypertension and inefficient arterial blood pumping, cold showers are the compromise. Few minutes of shivers might be the drawback but if you’re itching to feel a refreshing and invigorating breeze that’s the deal. Looking for a way to improve your immune system too? Ditto.
Long-lasting recovery from muscle soreness? Forget about it!
Cryotherapy is a time-honored technique that exposes the body at subzero temperatures reducing soreness at the rate of knots. You don’t have to take it that far but taking a cold shower is the best way to recover fast after intense workout. As mentioned above, the circulation increases and the lactic acid will become just a hazy memory.
Beauty is in the air
Looking for a shiny skin? Cold temperature eases to tighten up pores all over your face avoiding dirt to get into and it’s not the end of the story. Your skin will also benefit from a reduction in the loss of natural oils. It’s not just a hearsay and your hair will thank you too!
So this is it, the silver lining clearly outweighs the chill. What are you waiting for, then?
Cold showers are all the rage this season!