There is a little known secret that many of us avoid which in fact can bring about a calm mental state, cleaner skin and keep energy levels up for the whole day. I am in fact talking about having a cold shower. The cold shower as opposed to a warm or hot shower has many benefits. Other than the reduction of energy usage to heat up water, the following are significant benefits that can be had during/after a cold shower:
Increased testosterone as the body works harder to keep your body warm, a spike in testosterone leaves you feeling more energised. This in turn increases our energy usage and burns fat.
Being in the cold forces your body to become more efficient in its blood circulation. This means more nutrients and vitamins are being pumped to all parts of your body including organs and your skin leaving your insides cleaner.
Cold water helps close pores leaving the skin smooth and healthy as opposed to warm showers which dry skin out. Cold water also keeps your hair shiny and your skin soft rather than itchy and dried out.
Examples in sports such as ice baths. There are many sports including AFL, Tennis and Cricket in which athletes jump into an ice bath after a hot shower. This helps regulate blood pressure and calms the body down allowing a quick return to a relaxed and calm state. This is because they constrict veins throughout your body keeping inflammation at a minimum and thus reducing toxins from your blood.
Stress tolerance – Cold exposure gives your body a higher tolerance to stress. This leads to the strengthening of your body’s immunity system which can lead to a decrease in chronic pain, body aches and help fight fatigue and improve quality of sleep.