Cold Shower Guide 🥶 · H4LA Beta Tester Group

Cold Shower Guide 🥶

Courtesy of The Holistic American Health Academy!

Running out of hot water during your shower might actually be a good thing. A cold shower — even just for a few minutes — can work as cold therapy to help you heal, recover and generally feel good, especially after exercise

What is cold therapy?

Cold therapy, also called cryotherapy, uses exposure to cold temperatures to cool the body’s tissues for therapeutic reasons.

There are several ways to apply cold therapy, including:

Cold showers, which involve lowering the water temperature below 60 degrees for two to three minutes at a time

Cold spray, used to numb a small area

Cold water immersion or ice baths, or submerging everything but your head and neck in cold water

Localized ice application to treat injuries or specific muscle groups

Whole-body cryotherapy, which exposes the body to very cold vapors

Taking cold showers may:

1. Bolster your immunity to common colds

Going from a hot to cold shower — even for a couple of minutes — might protect you from circulating viruses. The shock of cold water can stimulate the blood cells that fight off infection (leukocytes). One study in the Netherlands found that people who switched to cold showers for 30, 60, or 90 seconds for 90 days called out sick from work 29% less than people who didn’t switch to cold showers.

2. Combat symptoms of depression

Limited research is available about the effects of cold water therapy on depression. But the research that exists shows some positive results. In one clinical study, participants who took daily cold showers for several months reported decreased depression symptoms. Additional research suggests that cold water may boost your mood and decrease anxiety.

3. Improve circulation

Cold water strains your body — it goes into “survival mode,” working hard to maintain its core temperature. This stimulates your body to increase blood flow circulation.

“Increasing circulation redistributes blood and delivers freshly oxygenated blood to areas of the body that need to recover,” Dr. Hame says. “It decreases the time it takes your muscles to recover after exercise.” Over time, your circulatory system may become more efficient and move blood through the body more quickly — helpful for anyone with high blood pressure or diabetes.

4. Increase metabolism

Your body expends energy trying to stay warm in a cold shower. The result may be a small amount of calorie burn and increased metabolism. But don’t plan to throw your healthy eating and exercise plan out just yet — research on this benefit is limited.

5. Reduce inflammation and prevent muscle soreness

Cold temps make your blood vessels tighten up (vasoconstrict). When that happens, blood moves to your body’s core and vital organs. The blood naturally becomes oxygen- and nutrient-rich during the process.

As your body heats up again, the blood vessels expand (vasodilate), bringing that oxygenated blood back to your tissues. As it flows back, it helps to flush out inflammation — a cause of delayed-onset muscle soreness, which can occur a couple of days after exercise.

6. Relieve localized pain

Cold therapy alleviates pain by reducing inflammation. But it also interferes with your brain’s perception of the pain. “If you’ve ever been given cold spray before an injection,” Dr. Hame says, “it works by decreasing how quickly the pain sensation travels through your nerves.” It dulls the nerve transmission sent to your brain

I see people starting to take cold showers and failing as it’s too hard- that’s because there’s a way to go about it!

The secret is all in the breathing.

Otherwise as soon as you step in the water, you’ll be gasping for breath! (I’m right, aren’t I?) and uncomfortable.

COLD SHOWER GUIDE 🥶:

1. Turn the shower to cold.

2. Step out while the water is turning cold.

3. Take 10 deep, slow breaths and prepare

yourself mentally for the water. Think of how great and proud you will feel afterwards.

4. On your last exhale, step slowly into the water.

5. Try to maintain the slow, controlled rhythm of your breathing before.

6. Focus solely on your breathing and controlling the rhythm.

7. Whilst you're doing this, cycle between having the water on your face, on top of your head, over your shoulders, chest, back etc. Basically don’t just stand still and let it hit the same area. Spread it around.

8. After a couple of minutes, you should find you can just breathe normally and relax into it.

9. Finish off with a 20 second blast on your face.

10. YOU’RE DONE! Feel the endorphins start to rush around your body. You’ve just started your day by overcoming a mental barrier- be proud of yourself and carry this energy into your day! You’re going to have a great day now.

BONUS TIP: Aim for at least 2 minutes in the cold shower. I know what you’re thinking… “I could NEVER do that! 30 seconds is enough!”

Controversial opinion, but 30 seconds is actually HARDER.

When you only do 30 seconds, it’s such a quick blast that your body is still in the adjustment phase and you don’t even get a chance to adjust to the water- this so why you feel so desperate to get out!

Once you get over the minute mark, you’ll start to feel more comfortable in the water and at the 2 minute mark you’ll actually feel relaxed in there.

This point is where you feel the FULL benefits of the shower as you have actually conquered the water and not just hopped in and hopped out.

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