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.