The Health Benefits of Taking Cold Showers
OVER-ORGANIZATION DESIGNED FOR EXCESS COMFORT
In his novel "Brave New World,” Aldous Huxley envisions a dystopic future in which ten "World-Controllers" maintain order and control by implementing a utilitarian style of authority. In the story, society is structured to eliminate misfortune, despair, and sadness, because a world devoid of adversity is the easiest to rule, for there can be no failure, worry, or conflict. Instead of being born naturally, babies are "hatched" from standardized test-tubes that are genetically regulated for conformity and obedience. Resultingly, an artificial caste system can always be kept in place. Children are first accustomed to their surroundings through repeated exposure to brainwashing sleep-thought messages, before being further induced into submission as adults by suggestions in popular culture and propaganda-filled forms of entertainment. (such as Obstacle Golf and Feelies—movies that could deliver the sensations of the characters directly to an audience member's ears, nose, and lips).
Still, main characters Bernard Marx and John the Savage begin to wonder why their world lacks anything resembling family, love, art, or history. The World-Controllers have outlawed these concepts, as well as anything else that is old and consists of despair, in order to discourage attachment and promote predictability. Eventually, Marx and the Savage even stop taking Soma, a euphoric drug rationed by the government that further stifles independence and nullifies any personal initiative. Huxley narrates Marx and the Savage's intrinsic adventures throughout their rebellion in a world that is killed by comfortability.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF COLD SHOWERS
Unlike soma and the futuristic amenities of “Brave New World”, cold showers condition the endurance of difficult and uncomfortable situations. Exposure to cold water can break the metaphorical chains of living in a world that is constantly being more and more designed to diminish displeasure. Being surrounded by algorithms, technology, AI, and automation, makes it quite easy to forget that we are still living in primal bodies. Our biology has been engrained and hardwired into us from a time long before the inventions of the internet, electricity, and water heaters. According to biologist Nikolai Shevchunk, “(The) rapid disappearance of thermal stress from the lifestyle of humans in the last several thousand years compared to its presence in primates for millions of years before that could have some negative effects on human health because the thermoregulatory system (and the brain) does not get enough exercise.”
The health benefits listed below have not been linked to cold showers by means considered to be settled science. Most research merely provides testimonial evidence, with about as much merit as this post. The data-driven research that is available primarily examines the effects of cryotherapy, a recovery method that involves prolonged exposure to extreme cold air or water (such as entering a cold air chamber or swimming in icy water). Making a link between the results of these studies and the potential benefits of 3–5-minute cold shower may be premature, as no methodology has consistently yielded significant results from a controlled setting. Still, the shock of cold water from a shower is likely to activate your sympathetic nervous system, and the physiological reaction that follows is comparable to having a mini panic-attack or fight-or-flight response. Taking a cold shower is essentially a placebo for undergoing a minor traumatic experience; the benefits result from your mind and body overcoming the sacrifice to excruciating stimuli.
(1) MOOD STABILITY
The only thing that can prevent someone from taking a cold shower is an excuse. Each day, when we turn on the shower, we make a choice: order or disorder, comfort or discomfort, hot or cold. We hardly realize that this is a choice, but it is. You can take a cold shower if you choose to. It will not be fun. It will make you uncomfortable, but within 30 seconds of shutting the water off, you will be fine. It is well-known that being disciplined, overcoming excuses, and feeling uncomfortable all spur growth.
Research has indicated that the physiological response to a cold shower boosts alertness, focus, and mood by triggering neurotransmitters, like epinephrine (adrenaline) and dopamine, and releasing different hormones. Experiments measuring brain and nerve activity produce widely varied results in terms of prolonged increases in endorphin levels. The only significant findings come from nonhuman subject samples or specific groups of people (those with a prior illness, a low baseline level, or having had some outside significant event effect their results).
(2) METABOLISM AND WEIGHT LOSS
Base metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of energy our bodies require to carry out their basic vital functions. Things like blinking, breathing, cell reproduction, and other maintenance processes use up 75% of our calories. BMR is different for everybody; it depends on your genes, your activity, and what you eat. The process is also related to thermogenesis, how the body maintains its internal temperature. Under cold conditions, our bodies are forced to regulate our internal systems in a way similar to when Spongebob forgot his name. Our hormones scramble, adrenaline gets released, our heart rate increases, and hyperventilation shortens our breath. The external stimulus of cold exposure arouses a myriad of our internal dynamical systems, effectively causing more thermogenesis, heat production, and an increase in BMR. In rats, 4 weeks of cold-water submersion led to significant weight loss in spite of increased appetites (compared to a control group).
(3) IMPROVED IMMUNITY
Taking a cold shower boosts immunity by making our nervous systems more adept at handling stressors. Like fasting and exercise, cold showers stimulate autophagy, the body’s way of using old, recycled, damaged cells and proteins. Increased autophagy has been shown to eliminate cancer and disease-causing cells before they can multiply. Cold showers also trigger the vagus nerve, which is what causes hyperventilation. To stop breathing heavily, our bodies relax. Conditioning this stress response, to jump from a state of tense hyperarousal to parasympathetic relaxation, strengthens immunity. In 2015, the Dutch Science Report published a study that found a 29% reduction in sick days among over 3,000 participants who took 30-90 second cold showers for 3 months. The study is limited due to the fact the participants knew what they were being tested for, they were only instructed to use cold showers as they preferred, and the researchers only collected data using testimonial survey responses.
(4) SMOOTHER SKIN AND HEALTHIER HAIR
Cold water restricts blood flow by tightening up our veins (physics). Our skin is affected similarly. As a result, cold water exposure has an anti-aging component; it reduces wrinkles. Not only that, cold showers keep our skin healthier. Hot water washes the natural oils on our skin much more easily than cold water. Showering with cold water can result in more nourished skin. It is further theorized that cold water reduces pore size and strengthens hair follicles, which has been found to reduce symptoms of skin informalities such as acne, eczema, and psoriasis. However, pores do not have muscular attachments (like skin and blood vessels), and any scientific studies claiming to have found a method for reducing pore size are typically met with criticism.
Food For Thought
Sources:
autophagy
Autography: What you need to know
https://www.healthline.com/health/autophagy
Autophagy and autophagy-related proteins in cancer
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12943-020-1138-4
neurotransmitter responses
Change in sympathetic activity, cardiovascular functions and plasma hormone concentrations due to cold water immersion in men
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00376507
Cold-induced changes in plasma norepinephrine, epinephrine and dopamine concentrations in patients with Raynaud’s phenomenon
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2049479/
Enhanced sympathetic-adrenal medullary response to cold exposure in spontaneously hypertensive rats
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3998461/#:~:text=During%20cold%20exposure%2C%20urinary%20concentrations%20of%20each%20catecholamine,dopamine%20responses%20were%20significantly%20enhanced%20in%20SHRSR%20rats.
Adapted cold shower as a potential treatment for depression
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2007.04.052
cardiovascular, bmr, and thermogenesis:
Cardiovascular responses to ice cold showers
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/jappl.1964.19.6.1145
What is the biochemical and physiological rationale for using cold water-immersion in sports recovery? A systematic review
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19945970/
Lower metabolic rates of post-obese versus lean women: thermogenesis, basal metabolic rate, and genetics
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3181107/
Effect of cold exposure on various sites of core temperature measurements
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/jappl.1983.54.4.1025
5 Fat Burning Cold Thermogenesis Benefits
https://www.maximalbeing.com/blog/5-fat-burning-cold-thermogenesis-benefits
Brown Fat Activation Mediates Cold-Induced Thermogenesis in Adult Humans in Response to a Mild Decrease in Ambient Temperature
https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/98/7/E1218/2536785?login=false
Physiological responses to acute cold exposure in young lean men
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0196543
The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0161749&fbclid=IwAR3n7Tg3B2cqvjHstG8Ch3gkTrPPKdMAtZbRYpqTbmEF5DXyr0bIjm5vo-k
other posts like this
The Science & Use of Cold Shower Exposure For Health and Performance
https://hubermanlab.com/the-science-and-use-of-cold-exposure-for-health-and-performance/
The Potential health benefits of cold showers
https://fullscript.com/blog/cold-shower-benefits