For many people, a hot shower is a safe moment of relaxation, warming your body and comforting yourself. The last thing you want to do is turn that pleasure into a freezing and deadly cold shower. But, did you know that there is some interesting science behind the idea that cold showers might be beneficial for your health? My name is Robin Wollast, I am a Doctor in Psychology, and in this video, we will discuss the benefits that cold showers have on your physical and mental health. Civilizations across the world and across time have practiced the art of cold bathing.
Cold baths were used by the Romans, ancient Greeks, and ancient Egyptians for health and longevity purposes.
Hippocrates, the father of medicine, prescribed cold baths in the treatment of various illnesses. In the Spartan culture, hot water was associated with weakness as Spartans believed that warm showers emasculated a man and made him weak. In ancient and modern times, Japanese practitioners of Shinto stand under icy waterfall as part of a ritual called misogi which is believed to cleanse the spirit. In India, believers swim in cold rivers as they believe the waters will wash away sins and facilitate liberation from the cycle of suffering.
Today the practice of plunging into icy lakes is common in places like Russia or the Scandinavian countries. So, are cold showers really good for us? Let’s dive in! Recently, science has demonstrated the positive consequences of taking cold showers on physical health. Some studies suggest that cold showers may boost your immune system improve your blood circulation, relieve some of your muscle soreness keep your skin and hair healthy, and gives you many other benefits Interestingly, it has been reported that cold showering also improves your emotional resilience by reducing stress, depression and anxiety.
When you take a cold shower, your body experiences a massive stress response led by biological changes in your body which gives you this agonizing feeling.
Repeating exposure to cold showers will improve your capacity to manage these stress responses. In other words, adapting to cold water exposure may increase your body ability to deal with the psychological stress such as anxiety and depression. Taking cold showers is a powerful way to improve your mental health. When you take a cold shower, you deliberately expose yourself to an extreme discomfort and you accept it.
Accepting that your mind is stronger than the unpleasant sensation builds willpower, self-control, confidence and trust in yourself. It forces you to break out of your comfort zone and challenges who you truly are. Consequently, taking cold showers everyday increases your motivation, alertness and discipline, but most importantly, it makes you feel fully alive. In sum, cold showering is not a magical panacea that will supposedly cure all of your problems, and it is not advisable to take cold showers when you are sick or if you have heart disease. However, today, we can safely assume that it is beneficial for both your body and your mind but additional scientific research is needed to better understand their effects on our health.
Thank you for watching. Let me know in the comments if you have already taken a cold shower and how this experience made you feel. Also, if you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel because I will publish more content like this soon. Stay safe and healthy! Bye.
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