10 Benefits of taking cold showers every day

Hydro Therapy: 10 Surprising benefits of taking cold showers every day

Angela Goh

18 May 2016

updated the Wednesday, May 18, 2016

1/10
Tightens your pores and cuticles
One of the best ways of making our hair and skin look more attractive is to take cold showers. As hot water is capable of stripping our body of its natural oils, we end up with dried out skin and scalps. Cold water temporarily tightens your pores and cuticles, which helps to seal in moisture and prevent them from getting clogged.
2/10
Increases your mental alertness
If you’ve ever had a cold shower in the morning, you’ll know that the practice is, more often than not, shocking to the system. Some may find it entirely horrifying to subject the body to such torture, but the fact is, cold showers can increase our oxygen intake and heart rate, giving a rush of blood through our entire body and in turn, giving us a boost of energy for the day.
3/10
Improves blood circulation
Cold water gets the blood pumping and thus gets it circulating at a much better rate. By having frequent cold showers, you will get your arteries to pump blood much more efficiently and therefore boost your overall heart health.
4/10
Stimulates weight loss
By subjecting your body to colder temperatures, you end up burning more calories to maintain your body warmth and for your body to generate more heat to balance your temperature. Thus, cold showers can actually help you burn fat more than hot showers.
5/10
Speeds up muscle recovery
While athletes are known to take ice baths after intense training in order to reduce all that soreness, you can do something similar - a quick cold shower after a session at the gym will improve blood circulation and help remove some of that lactic acid build-up so you don’t wake up the next day aching everywhere.
6/10
Improves your immunity
As cold showers are wonderfully capable of speeding up your metabolic rate, helping you lose fat, this also activates your immune system and releases white blood cells that fight viruses. Yes, contrary to popular belief, cold showers can actually help you get sick less often!
7/10
Relieves depression
Some studies have shown that taking cold showers can offer relief for symptoms of depression by sending intense electrical impulses from the peripheral nerve endings to your brain, which can produce an anti-depressive effect.
8/10
Wakes you right up
We’ve mentioned that cold showers can increase your alertness, so of course, having one as soon as you get up each morning is bound to wash away all your grogginess and leave you pumped and ready to take on the day.
9/10
Eases stress levels
As mentioned previously, cold showers can help promote tolerance to stress. A study done in 1994 has found that, during and after exposing the body to cold temperatures, there was a drastic decrease in uric acid levels.
10/10
Improves emotional resilience
Studies have shown that cold showers can actually train your nervous system to end up becoming more resilient to stress. Your first few showers will feel a little intense, but after your body adapts to your routine of daily cold showers, you will get used to the effects of the cold and, of course, end up gaining an iron-clad resilience.

From a better complexion to a slimmer body, the benefits of cooler showers have been proven.

Having a cold shower may not be the most enticing of ways to cleanse yourself. Hot showers are relaxing and comforting, especially after a long day at work – you just want your senses to be engulfed in steam to help you unwind. Well, what if we told you that taking cold showers can actually provide a whole slew of benefits to your body? You heard right. Contrary to popular belief, cold showers won’t actually make you catch a cold or compromise your immune system. In fact, they can achieve the opposite, and can even help you burn unwanted calories too!

Head up to the gallery to check out 10 surprising benefits that taking cold showers can bring to your health and your appearance.

Angela Goh

Photos: Getty Images

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