Why Should You Embrace Cold Showers?

Who likes taking a cold shower?  That’s what I thought.  it’s rare to meet someone who purposefully enjoys hopping into a stream of freezing water.  The people that do that, though, might not actually be as crazy as they sound.  Studies have shown that we can derive health benefits from cold showers.

So, what can be gained from not touching the hot water knob in the shower?

Weight Loss

Our bodies have two different kinds of fats: white fat and brown fat.  White fat is what we typically think of when we think of fat.  Brown fat is fat in our body that is used to heat us up when we are cold, and it burns calories while it does so. According to Paleo Leap, “Until recently, brown fat was thought to almost completely disappear in adults. But recent studies have shown that it’s only absent in some adults…In fact, brown fat is strongly associated with leanness at every stage in life, to the point where children with more brown fat grow up to be leaner adults.”  We can activate this brown fat by being in cold water.

Alertness

Cold showers increase deep breathing according to Medical Daily, which can make you more alert for the day.  Sara Faye Green of Women’s Health tried incorporating cold showers into her daily routine for the week, and she described that during that time she enjoyed, “…that comforting warmth when getting out of bed, and the increased alertness, awakeness, lack of stress, and de-puffing that I’d become accustomed to during my week of all cold showers.”

Who wouldn’t feel a jolt of alertness from a spray of cold water?

Good for your skin

Unlike hot water, cold water does not out your skin very much.  Furthermore, the Art of Manliness points out that the cold water “improves circulation” which can help to keep you “healthier and younger looking.”  Perhaps the legendary Fountain of Youth was actually cold?

….Other benefits

Aside from just health benefits, cold showers end up saving you time and money as well.  Often cold showers tend to be quicker showers, leaving you more time for other daily tasks.  A shorter, colder shower means less money spent on water and gas for heating the water.

Healthy for you and saving money?  A cold shower seems like a win all the way around.  Let us know if you decide to take the plunge and try it!

If your shower is cold but you don’t want it to be, contact FLAME or check out this post for tips.