I’d heard about cranking the cold tap on at the end of my shower years ago. And tried it on and off.
Like so many things I try guess it just didn’t do it enough for me to stick. Or maybe winter struck.
Now I realise, I didn’t stick with it enough.
That blast of cold water for a minute or so is now an intensity I look forward to.
I miss it if I don’t do it. It makes a massive difference to my day.
I even sometimes just jump into a cold shower if I need to break things up a bit.
The Return of the Cold Shower
I got back onto cold showers after reading Tim Ferris’s 4 Hour Body Book. The book has some great stuff in it, but also many things I’ve not taken on board.
One of his techniques to boost testosterone is to take a cold bath (like with ice in it) twice a day. I don’t have a problem with my testosterone levels, but something about this really piqued my curiosity again.
I felt like a could do with a little extra masculine zoom, so why not give it a go?
The information I’d previously read had focussed on the benefits of closing my pores at the end of the shower, to keep Qi in (increasing vitality) and to seal the body from picking up malicious pathogens through the skin.
Commitment
‘OK’, I thought, ‘it’s time to give it a go again’. So I committed to doing it every day for a month.
At first it was a shock, I stayed under for as little time as I could to get my body wet and jump out.
After a week or so I relaxed. It felt good.
So I upped it. To stay under for 30 seconds. Then a minute.
A few months later, I take my time with it. I really enjoy the feeling. It kicks my day into a whole different level of vitality and feeling strong. Alive.
Changing State and Depression
And then I discovered an even more awesome use for it. I live near a river, and I started to notice how much jumping into the cold river shifted my mood and how I was feeling.
So I tried jumping into a cold shower if I was feeling stuck, down or overwhelmed. And it works wonders.
I’ve now recommended it to quite a few of my one-on-one clients who suffer from depression or are feeling stuck in their lives. It’s made a massive difference to them too.
The Science of Cold Showers
There’s a science to what happens in your body when you have a cold shower. There are a few reasons to try it:
- The shock of the water makes you breathe more deeply, so you oxygenate
- Hot water dries out your skin, cold water seals your skin and keeps you looking younger
- Cold water increases and improves blood circulation
- Cold water promotes weight loss by stimulating your body to create good fat (that’s the insulating kind)
- Lengthy exposure improves muscle recovery (you need to stay in a lot longer than a minute or two)
- Cold Water eases stress by stimulating anti-oxidant production and lower uric acid levels
- Relieves depression and resets the emotions by overwhelming the impulses in the brain and causing it to ‘shift state’.
Right now, try it. Experiment. See for yourself. Do a month.
I bet if you stick with it it’ll make a noticeable difference to your mind and vitality.
It’s simple. Have your shower. Turn the hot off. Stay in the cold for a while. Start off simple, just get all of you wet. Then work your way up from there.
How does it feel?