How would you feel if somebody asks you to wake up and jump directly into ice-cold, freezing water?

Crazy?

What’s even crazier is that a lot of people are practicing it on daily basis.

Sounds weird, but it’s more like these people are having some really impressive health benefits.

In this article you are going to find out all about the cold water showers and all the health benefits they have.

What is Cold Water Therapy?

Cold water therapy, also known as Cold hydrotherapy, has been used for centuries in many different races and cultures. This therapy is basically about spending time in cold water. This is not some adventure or fun thing but this immersion in cold water has a lot of health benefits related to the digestive, lymphatic and immune systems. These benefits might be the reason for a lot of people to take a plunge!

Benefits of Cold Water Therapy:

As mentioned earlier, cold water has a lot of health benefits. Some of these benefits are:

• A cold water shower enhances blood production and circulation as blood is rushed towards every organ of the body.
• It decreases every sort of pain and inflammation in any part of the body.
• Improves mood and focus and enhances alertness of mind.
• Improves immune and lymphatic systems as cold water immersion increases metabolic rate and produces more white blood cells.
• It facilitates weight loss because of increased metabolic functions.
• Increases male fertility because the testes get cold and the sperm production increases.

How to Incorporate Cold Water Therapy:

Now that you know almost all the major health benefits of cold water therapy, the question is how to incorporate it into your routine or schedule. This is nothing to worry about as this is the next thing you’re going to know about.

The main thing is to know that inducing cold water into your routine will not be a very pleasant experience in the beginning. So it would be wise for you to start slowly, take baby steps towards it. We have compiled a list of things for you to begin with:

Create a Playlist:

One of the easiest ways to deal with the sudden shock and sting of the cold water is to distract yourself. Music is one of the best distractions as we all know. Create a playlist of your choice, sing, and dance to it. It will not only make you forget the pain but will also enhance your mood and energy. Tell yourself you are going to make it to one song, and trust me it will be much better than standing in silence.

Pay Attention to Your Breaths:

You might not know it but your breath is the controller for your nervous system. You may manage your physical and mental state by altering or controlling your breathing. You can use it during cold showers as well.

First, focus on your breathing and how it changes when you step into the cold shower. Then find different ways to overcome the moment and forget about the pain.

As a result, if you control your breath, you will be amazed to know how much power you get during the given moment.

Relieve:

Remember, nobody asked you to step into an ice-cold shower and stop there. For many people, it’s easier to first step into lukewarm water and slowly ease in and work your way towards turning the temperature down. This will be much helpful and more convenient for you to settle.

Just like the frogs, if you put them into boiling water they will jump out immediately, but keeping them into lukewarm water and gradually turning the temperature up will serve your purpose.

Contradict Showers:

Another good strategy is altering the temperature of your showers. This is called “Contrast showers”.

What happens in this is you keep switching the temperature of your shower from cold to lukewarm and vice versa.

For instance, you may take a cold shower for 70 seconds and then turn the water a little hot for 30 seconds. The ratio can be of your choice and what you can follow. What you need to remember is to not turn the water completely hot because it is going to spoil everything.

When doing contrast showers, keep in mind to always end your shower with cold water to increase the results and benefits.

Now Try!

Now that you know all you needed, the next and final step is to try it!

Set a time for this week, preferably morning or night, and give cold shower a try. Use all the techniques mentioned above and see the results. Most people get the outcomes even with the first session. Happy cold showering!