3 reasons why you should try a cold shower

When it feels freezing cold outside, there’s nothing less appealing than the idea of having anything but a hot shower. But bear with us here as there are numerous benefits to that chilly start to the day…

HELP TO WAKE YOU UP & FEEL GOOD

The alarm’s going off and all you want to do is snooze. We hear ya. But when you’ve got a big day, there really is nothing like a cold shower to get you going. Did you know that the shock of the cold water hitting your skin will make you feel more alert, increase your heart rate (in a good way), helps with your overall oxygen intake and can even trigger a flood of mood-boosting neurotransmitters which help to give you that ‘feel-good’ feeling? We’re sold. Even if it does take us a few attempts to actually step into a cold shower... 

HELP BOOST CIRCULATION & YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

Did you know that your lymphatic system is a network of vessels throughout the body that help to shift waste, bacteria and microbes from your cells, helping to ‘clean’ your body and keep your immune system strong? And that when these vessels struggle (maybe through lack of exercise), you can be more prone to colds, joint pain and even disease? Nope, us neither.

So whether you’re sat at a desk all day or just feeling a little sluggish, a cold shower can work wonders. Helping to boost your immune system, it can also help to boost circulation by contracting these lymph vessels which in turn helps to pump fluids through your body. While this is happening, the lower temperature kickstarts your body’s response to send more blood to your vital organs such as the heart - which effectively begins to pump more efficiently and sends more oxygen and nutrients to every point in the body. Done on a regular basis, this is certainly one way to keep your body feeling tip-top from the inside out.

HELP SOOTHE SORE MUSCLES

If your gym is now the local park and your equipment is a different sort of bench, you might have noticed that a hard workout can leave muscles feeling sore and tight. Well, did you know that a cold shower can help to reduce that feeling? Helping to reduce swelling and inflammation by triggering the circulatory system, constricting the blood vessels and essentially numbing the nerve endings to temporarily reduce pain, a cold shower might be just the ticket to recovery.

Do you regularly enjoy cold showers? Are you tempted to try lowering the temperature now after reading all this? Especially with one of your favourite shower gels? Let us know over on Instagram now >>