Cold shower: A complete health package

Girl taking shower (Photo Source: Getty Images)


Nowadays virus and bacteria are becoming more resistant with newer species coming up. Cleanliness is utmost important for human health. Taking bath every day can keep many health problems at bay.

The weather in the summer season compels us more to have bath daily. But there are few rules to be kept in mind. Shower once a day unless there is some extreme condition. More showering can strip your skin. According to Marie Jhin, M.D., a San Francisco dermatologist, the ideal span of having a shower is five to 10 minutes, not more than that. More exposure to water leads to more loss of natural oils from the skin. Keep your shower duration short. Take cold water shower at least in summer. Hot water removes moisture from your skin leaving it dry and dull.

There are bountiful benefits of having a cold shower. By bathing with chilled water, you’ll breathe quicker, think faster and likely to dance around a bit to stay warm. It’ll set you up for a power-packed successful day by increasing your energy levels, well-being, and alertness. Cold shower gives you a shock of energy like nothing else. Researchers found that the exposure of the body to cold water can lessen stress by decreasing uric acid levels. It relieves depression by producing an antidepressive effect and boosting moods due to its intense impact on cold receptors in the skin. This shower sends an overwhelming amount of electrical impulses from peripheral nerve endings to the brain resulting in an anti-depressive effect.

 

Daily exposure of the body to cold water will cause the body to adapt, resulting in higher level of antibodies that lead to a stronger immune system. Cold showers can add on to the beauty of your hair and skin. It can make your hair appear shinier, stronger and healthier by flattening hair follicles and strengthening the roots. Cold water tightens the pores in your skin by compressing blood vessels and decreasing redness and puffiness. That’s why after a workout cold shower is recommended. It decreases not only inflammation but also helps remove toxins like lactic acid. Athletes also prefer to take an ice bath to reduce their muscle soreness.

Bathing with cold water encourages blood circulation. When you have bath with cold water, your heart has to get pumping to warm you up. It helps increase cardiovascular health. If you take a cold shower one hour before your bedtime, you will have a quicker and deeper sleep.

 

Cold showers stimulate weight-loss as well. The human body contains two types of fat tissue, white fat, and brown fat. White fat is accumulated when we consume more calories than our body requires. Brown fat is good fat which generates heat to keep your body warm. This brown fat is activated when exposed to cold water. Thus cold shower can promote brown fat activity. Also when your body is cold, it has to process more energy to keep you warm. It, in turn, burns more fat than normal. Cold shower is also a natural way to increase testosterone levels and thus improve your sex life.

It is never a problem to take a cold shower in summer, so why not to try today?