Hydrotherapy has been used as a healing method for thousands of years. And using water at different temperatures has different types of benefits for multiple organ systems in the body.
But in this post, I want to take a few minutes and focus on cold exposure!
Ice baths and cold showers put the body into a type of stress called hormesis, which forces an adaptive response from all the cells in the body. This stress response is beneficial in many ways, and ultimately creates gene pathways involved in regeneration.
Here are 7 reasons to start considering taking cold showers (even if it’s just occasionally).
Cold showers can have a positive impact on your mental health.
Cold water therapy has been shown to increase synaptic release of norepinephrine and increase blood levels of beta-endorphins and norepinephrine. Endorphins are our happy little hormones associated with a sense of well-being. That means they reduce the perception of pain. They also act as sedatives. They are produced in the brain, spinal cord, and other parts of the body, and are released in response to brain chemicals called neurotransmitters.
They can reduce inflammatory pain.
If you suffer from joint or muscle pain, cold water therapy should be at the top of your list for pain relief.
The skin has an exceptionally high density of cold receptors, which when stimulated, fire electrical impulses from peripheral nerve endings in our brains that cause an analgesic, or pain-relieving, effect.
In one Finnish study, subjects with inflammatory arthritis took cold mist showers twice a day for 2 minutes for 5 days. At the end of the trial period, the subjects reported a significant reduction in inflammatory arthritis pain. Cold water therapy has also been shown to relieve musculoskeletal pain, including knee and lower back pain, as well as relieve painful symptoms associated with fibromyalgia.
They can help you burn fat… with fat!
Humans have brown adipose tissue (brown fat) and white adipose tissue (white fat). Brown adipose tissue is thermogenic, meaning it produces heat. And the more you have, the more heat you can produce. Brown fat cells have a lot of mitochondria which are the powerhouses of our body’s energy production. Exposure to cold temperatures increases the uptake of serum triglycerides by our brown fat tissue to be used as energy, meaning you’re literally burning fat! When stimulated by the sympathetic nervous system, such as with cold water therapy, brown fat tissue distributes the energy produced as heat throughout your body.
Studies have shown that cold acclimation can significantly increase brown fat tissue. Brown fat not only fights obesity, it slows down the aging process, reduces the risk of degenerative diseases, and has an increased capacity for glucose uptake when stimulated by cold water.
They can increase blood circulation.
Cold showers improve blood flow. Naturally, when we are exposed to cooler temperatures, our body’s blood vessels constrict. This increases blood pressure and blood flow. Warmer temperatures allow blood vessels to dilate, and dilating our blood vessels leads to a drop in blood pressure. Alternating hot and cold temperatures allows the body to pump oxygen-rich blood to areas that may not have enough blood when we are constantly “in a state of comfort.” This method of improving blood flow may have a refreshing effect on the walls of blood vessels, strengthening them over time.
They can improve memory function.
Studies show that cold water therapy can also improve memory. This is due in part to the strong increase in the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which plays a key role in executive function that regulates cognition, motivation, and intellect. The battery of positive effects doesn’t end there: exposure to cold water can cause a significant decrease in stress and fatigue, and you are already aware of its potential to boost mood. The ability of cold water to reduce stress may be a key mechanism by which it can improve memory.
They can shorten your workout recovery time. They can shorten your workout recovery time.
Delayed muscle soreness is something many of us experience days after a workout. For me, leg workouts are the worst, with the simple act of sitting down causing me to cramp 24-48 hours later. When we work our muscles, we create microscopic tears that repair and then allow muscle growth. This process can cause inflammation that contributes to muscle soreness and painful recovery. Because of the anti-inflammatory effect of cold water therapy, in part due to blood vessel constriction, cold showers have been shown to speed up this healing process. So the next time you start to feel the pain, jump in a cold shower so you can do it again sooner!
They can stimulate and strengthen your immune system. They can stimulate and strengthen your immune system.
Exposure to cold can boost your immune system. Not only will cold showers increase endogenous antioxidant production, but they have also been shown to increase the number and activity of immune cells.
In one study involving hundreds of participants, cold shower treatments significantly reduced sick days over a 90-day period by 29%!
So what does all this mean? We don’t have to avoid the cold to avoid catching a cold.
Tips for Getting Started
Many studies show benefits attributed to cold showers with less than two minutes of exposure. Tips for Getting Started
