I’m not going to be bashing coffee in this post I promise. There are a few great things about java and like everything there’s a balance that has to occur when you eat coffee. I’ll do a series of articles on coffee later on. This post will be about the advantages of cold showers/polar plunges, and why should you commit to taking them you’ll no longer feel the NEED to drink coffee but rather decide to drink it.
Cold Water Treatment
Study after study show the advantages of cold water treatment. There’s reason you see the majority of the best athletes in the world taking ice baths after practice or games. I’ll quickly list the advantages of cold water treatment then I’ll provide you some tips which may help you give it a go. The first thing that happens when our skin touches cold water is something called the hunter’s reflex or hunting reaction.
Our autonomic nervous system attempts to keep the skin warm by sending as much blood as possible to our skin. After a moment or so our body recognizes it can not keep up and needs to conserve as much warmth as possible, our body will shunt the blood into our heart and to our organs and smooth muscles. Because of the lack of circulation, our nervous system begins to drop feeling in its own extremities, we begin to go numb.
Did you know?
Our body then reverses the process and sends out blood toward our fingers and feet. This continues until you escape the cold water or you go hypothermic (please do not go hypothermic). This reaction is essential. As a result of our indoor temperature controlled lifestyle, our inner physiology is now weak. By working these systems they become more powerful and consequently we become fitter.
Don’t get me wrong it is hard in the beginning to get up out of a warm cozy bed and get to a cold shower. It was for me, so I’ll give you a few suggestions which may help you. Make it a goal to have a cold shower tomorrow morning. Tell someone; most folks will want to know how it went (It’s OK to be somebody else’s smile in the morning). This will make you accountable to somebody other than yourself.
Keep in mind
After you take that first step, make yourself another target something like, taking 2 cold showers in a row, then 3 and then for an entire week and so forth. Set a particular time. I suggest the morning as cold water is a natural energizer (again no need for your coffee). If you take two showers per day pick one and stick with it.
Don’t say to yourself “I’ll do it next time” – you won’t. Now you are in the shower staring at the faucet trying to think of reasons why you do not have to do this. Don’t be afraid to make all the sounds, screams, screeches, and laughs you want. Turn the handle so the water is a moderate temperature. Repeat this for about 3 mins. When doing this it’s important to not forget to always start and finish with cold water. After you do this for about a week, try to shorten the time you will need the medium water. Leave a comment down below and tell me how it went. Did you have more energy for daily? Did you wake up your neighbors with you shouts?