I Take Cold Showers Every Day, And So Should You.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been a fairly healthy guy. As an 8th grader I was involved in physical activities ranging from football to kickboxing. That choice in lifestyle prompted me to become obsessed with fitness, and has helped me remain healthy.

Unfortunately, I became so obsessed that I began going to the gym six days a week and rarely took a break. On top of that, I was ingesting high amounts of caffeine before my workouts to power through them. One fateful morning, I experienced what felt like a heart attack from all the stress I was putting on my body. Luckily, I survived but was left plagued with frequent panic attacks; they were so bad that I couldn’t even leave my home for months.

One day while scrolling on YouTube, I came across a man named Wim Hof. He ran on the philosophy of putting your body under stress to bring yourself into a state of equilibrium. I also read testimonials from people mentioning how it helped cure their chronic anxiety attacks.

After nearly two weeks of taking cold showers daily, I can proudly say that my panic attacks have decreased tremendously. I’ve also been keeping track of other physiological benefits I experienced through cold showers, which I’m excited to share with you today.

It’s Just Like Drinking Coffee

Going from a relatively resting state to dowsing yourself in cold water will be a 100% result in your body going into overdrive to compensate for the stress it’s currently experiencing. This phenomenon reveals itself through the increase of heart rate and shallow breathing. It’s up to you now to bring your body into a balanced state by slowing down your breathing, resulting in a decreased heart rate.

My personal experience is that I always feel completely and highly in tune with my body. You could almost mistake me for SpiderMan by how quick my reflexes have become.

I even feel less tired these days, which has tremendously increased my productivity levels. So if you find yourself constantly tired no matter how much sleep you get, I suggest trying out cold showers.

Your Immune System Will Be Unbreakable

There’s nothing I detest more in this world than feeling under the weather. Luckily I’ve experienced firsthand how cold showers can improve one’s immune system strength. A week ago, I began feeling flu-like symptoms, but my body temperature leveled out after taking a cold shower, and I immediately felt better. According to PloS One, people who take cold showers are 29% less likely to call in sick for work or school.

Don’t get me wrong. I still have yet to become comfortable with taking cold showers but seeing the incredible benefits it comes with, I will be a life-long believer.

You Will Respond Better To Stress

Taking cold showers is amongst some of the most challenging things you can ever do in this life. It takes dedication and an overall sense of self-discipline to do it regularly. During a cold shower, you will feel light-headed, your heart will beat extremely fast, and you may even feel like passing out. For me, it’s necessary to feel these symptoms because they closely resemble those of panic attacks.

It’s the same analogy scientists use to create antidotes for diseases. You have to use the properties of an illness to create a cure for it. Being able to calm myself down under a state of extreme stress has allowed me to feel in complete control when I feel an anxiety attack creeping up on me.

The ability to overcome such a strenuous task at the start of your day will prepare you mentally for the remainder of it. If you struggle with stress or anxiety, I couldn’t recommend cold showers more.

You Won’t Be As Sore After Your workouts

If you’ve ever been involved in any physically taxing activity or sport, I’m sure you’ve heard of Icy Hot. It functions as a muscle warmer and doubles as a coolant to decrease muscle inflammation. No matter what injury you experience, there will always be inflammation to indicate that something is wrong. As long as you can expose the site of the injury to something cold, you will be able to manage the severity. That is exactly why I enjoy taking cold showers.

I’ve once again gained the courage to go to the gym. Since I started implementing cold showers into my daily routine, I’ve noticed a significant decrease in my recovery time. It’s because the cold water decreases blood flow to affected areas, which significantly reduces inflammation, pain, and swelling.

Why do you think athletes take ice baths after rigorous workouts? As mentioned in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, it’s because of its excellent healing properties. This is an amazing physical benefit that anyone experiencing muscle soreness can benefit from.

In Conclusion

If you were to tell me three months ago that I could overcome my anxiety attacks, I would have broken into uncontrollable laughter. It had gotten so bad that I would dread partaking in activities that I found easy before. It’s only through practicing Wim Hof’s mantra on cold showers that I’m able to go back to an anxiety-free life.

In this gimmick-filled world, it’s easy to be doubtful about which techniques or products to use. Well, let me be the first to tell you that it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because it helped me become more in tune and present in my own body.

Don’t get me wrong though, it’s not for the faint-hearted, but as long as you power through it, you’ll be on your way to a much more improved version of yourself. It takes 21 days to create a habit; remember that.