Chilly showers and ice baths are an alternative therapy that’s a big health hype at the moment. Although chilly showers are not exactly comfortable, they force you to be comfortable with discomfort. We think that it’s a mental test just as much as it is a physical one. The point is that unless you come from Nordic ancestry you are probably not in a hurry to go looking for chilly showers or ice baths. But you need to learn to start embracing them for their potential anti-aging benefits.
You might think of ice-cold showers as a form of stressful torture. Ironically, plunging into ice-cold water, whether it’s in the form of ice-cold showers, baths, or even swim sessions in chilly outdoor pools, can actually help reduce stress, inflammation, and fatigue. Embracing such invigorating experiences regularly not only has physical benefits but also gives you the feeling that you are truly alive. It’s a powerful reminder that stepping out of our comfort zones and immersing ourselves in refreshing ice bath tubs or other icy water activities can be incredibly rejuvenating
The skin – being the largest organ in the body – is also the most exposed to threats. The moment you step outside, your skin is exposed to dust, dirt, and pollution that impact your skin health. Keeping skin fortified against these harms is the reason taking a shower or bath is essential not only in cleansing but in maintaining healthy, beautiful skin.
Chilly Showers Give You A New Life
To get the greatest benefits out of showering, however, it is important that you get the temperature of the water just right. If you’re used to taking long, hot showers, it may be beneficial to switch to cooler showers for a better complexion!
But this is what we’re going to chat about today. If you’re going to start taking freezing, chilly showers or baths, you need to know how to get the best out of them.
Chilly Showers And Ageless Beauty
Apparently, washing in hot water every day strips away the natural oils from your skin which can give you a very dry and dull complexion. A lot of people don’t realize that super hot baths or showers are damaging to your skin. A study also confirms that washing hands with boiling hot water might irritate the skin. It’s not exactly conducive to longevity and youthful life.
More importantly, there is evidence that chilly showers and therapies like this improve mitochondrial health. This is because of a process known as ‘mitochondrial biogenesis.‘ This just means that you will naturally start producing more mitochondria.
Why do we need lots of mitochondria? Well, because mitochondria are the main energy suppliers that coordinate AT production, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and calcium signaling. These are fundamental processes for sustaining body activity during exercise. Therefore, exercise and mitochondria have a very close relationship and heavily influence one another.
Why do you think you often see professional athletes climbing calmly into chilly showers and ice baths? This is not a fad.
Known anti-aging benefits of cold showers
Higher levels of alertness. Cold showers wake your body up, inducing a higher state of alertness. The cold also stimulates you to take deeper breaths, decreasing the level of CO2 throughout the body, helping you concentrate. Cold showers thus keep you ready and focused throughout the day.
A more robust immune response. Scientific studies have found that taking a cold shower increases the number of white blood cells in your body. These blood cells protect your body against diseases. Researchers believe that this process is related to an increased metabolic rate, which stimulates the immune response.
Increased willpower. It takes a strong mind to endure the cold for extended periods of time. By incorporating cold showers into your daily routine, you are strengthening your willpower, which benefits many aspects of your daily life.
Weight loss. Research has shown that cold showers (and exposure to cold in general), in addition to increasing metabolic rate directly, stimulate the generation of brown fat. Brown fat is a specific type of fat tissue that in turn generates energy by burning calories. Cold showers, then, are an effective tool for people who are looking to lose a few pounds.
Make You Feel Happier
This might sound counterintuitive. However, after a few chilly showers you’ll notice how much lighter and livelier you feel. Taking chilly showers or baths naturally brings you back down to earth. According to naturopathic doctors, hydrotherapy helps reduce the effects of depression significantly.
This is because the shock of the body invigorates the mind which naturally improves your mood. Obviously, chilly showers won’t cure your depression, but they’re certainly going to help you for absolutely no price at all. Dr. Nikolai Shevchuk says that the thermal stress of cold water also activates beta-endorphin and noradrenaline in the body. These are both used in antidepressant drugs to improve the health of your brain.
Living a happy life will help you live longer and better.
A Sleeping Potion
Jokes aside, chilly showers and baths really do improve the quality of your sleep. Yes, they are freezing cold and will wake you up pretty quickly. However, studies explain that chilly showers can send you into a deep and peaceful sleep at nighttime. Experts state that your core temperature influences the quality of your sleep significantly.
Therefore, chilly showers will allow your core temperature to drop, which means much better sleep. We all know how important it is to get enough sleep to maintain a youthful, long and healthy life.
Mental Resilience
A mental challenge has never harmed anybody. Sometimes, we get very comfortable with our daily routines and it’s healthy to shock the system sometimes. Often, we think something is way worse than it really is. Mind over matter really.
Nobody feels like having chilly showers or ice baths unless it’s extremely hot outside or you’ve done an exhausting workout. However, it’s beneficial to slowly start easing yourself away from boiling hot showers. You will notice how amazing you feel afterward,
Health experts promise that you’ll feel so much stronger mentally because you’ve taken a step back from your impulses. Getting through life requires us to constantly build mental strength, and chilly showers and baths are a great place to start.
Notwithstanding the discomfort of chilly showers or baths will increase your emotional resilience too. You will feel more focused, disciplined, and in control of your life. Remember that self-control is what helps us set boundaries, goals, and aspirations.
Healthy Body
Chilly showers and baths are no fad. They truly do work. In fact, studies suggest that the iciness helps activate your brown fat cells, which allow you to generate heat and burn calories. Better yet, when you have exposed to cold showers the stimulation of your brown cells causes you to lose weight. This is also what happens when you train strength.
We want to avoid a build-up of white fat cells in the body because these ones store energy which ends up covering the body.
Youthful Skin
Skin is the largest organ in the human body. It plays a massive role in the aging process. Hot water is not your friend as it only damages the skin barrier. Studies state that chilly showers and baths tighten the cuticle layer, which will decrease an oily scalp and increase its shin.
Better yet, chilly showers help your skin because they constrict the blood vessels in your face which decreases redness, puffiness & tightened pores. Your entire lymphatic system will wake up to a kickstart boosting your circulation which will give you a radiant glow.
Chilly Showers Promote Longevity
This is the truth. Apparently, Edward Rondthaler who is a 104-year-old man believes that chilly showers are a primary reason for his long life. He explains that he began taking cold showers and baths and this is how he managed to get through every day.
We don’t think he is the only one either. In fact, chilly showers or baths go back to ancient times. This technique might just be ‘the best kept anti-aging secret’.
Healthy Sperm Count
The main reason why male testicles are situated outside of the body is to keep the temperature cool. Therefore, when the temperature gets hotter, your sperm count decreases.
Not only are you helping your own body live healthier and longer. You are also improving the health of your potential children. Moreover, researchers state that there was a significant increase of 491% in sperm count when the men in the study cut back on hot baths.
Cleaning the Lymphatic System
Taking chilly showers or baths will literally clear out toxins from your body. This is because the transition from hot to cold will make your lymphatic system contract and relax. Your lymph vessels transport clear fluid (antibodies) that help fight infections. This makes your body more resilient and strong.
Chilly showers will help cleanse your lymphatic system, which is very important. Your lymphatic system is different from your cardiovascular system because it does not have a constant pump so it needs an extra push.
Faster Muscle Restoration
Chilly showers and baths guarantee faster muscle recovery. This is why athletes have been doing this for years.
Icy baths and chilly showers increase circulation, which will help flush out all the toxins that build up during exercise more quickly.
The point is that chilly showers and cold water therapies are not new to humans. We’ve been taking them regularly for centuries to help invigorate and enhance our overall well-being. There’s a science to prove the many anti-aging benefits and effects of chilly showers and ice baths on mental and physical health. Don’t go freezing yourself, but even small, quick spouts of cold water can be worth incorporating into a regular shower routine.
The best way to start doing this is to slowly start introducing cold water into your normal washing routine and remember to breathe. Think of it as a state of meditation.
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