Cold Shower Benefits: Ancient Rituals and Modern Health Boosts

My Husband and I take cold showers for the exception on my menstrual days. Yes, it does wonders and we can handle life unexpected surprises or shocks because of our minds are vitalized and fully alerted, also relaxes us after a hot day in the E.P.Texas heat ahhh, try it and you sure will enjoy as well...

I used to catch a cold 2 or 3 times a year. But ever since started taking a cold shower every day 11 years ago, I have had a cold only once or twice, and simply feel great in general.

I used to sell books door to door, and it is required that everyone of the 100,000+ students in the sales force wake up at 6 am and take a cold shower. This is done religiously and even though we all worked 80+ hours a week, this activity is actually considered one of the hardest to do. Everyone takes a cold shower in the morning, and it is interesting to note that people who stop performing this activity usually quit the job.

First of all, thanks to all folk's feedback. After I read all articles, I have started taking cold shower for almost six months. My health is getting much better each day. It really works. My allergies & headaches are gone. The temp that I take in the winter is 8 C & 12 C in the summer. Normally, I shower cold water to front & back for two minutes, before I get out of the bath room. I hope my experience can help.

Best wishes to all of you.

I believe by taking cold showers, you will live longer. This is because warm to hot water will age your cells, and by taking a cold shower it will improve your cells and make you look and feel great. I am 18/Male and everyone says that I look great, I don't think it's because of taking cold showers. But taking cold showers does play a role in looking good. The best way to look great is to workout and don't worry about over training. I was a gymnast for 6 years and I worked out for 3 hours everyday. Now that's over training to some people, but to me that's not over training because there is no such thing as over training. Your body needs as much exercise as it can get. I have studied about Bruce Lee and he worked out constantly everyday. He was strong, good looking and healthy, until he took too many supplements and it killed him. That 3 hours of working out everyday helped me to burn a lot of calories, that would of turned in to fat if I didn't workout.

Cold showers ARE good for mental health! And many other issues! Brain, heart, oxygen uptake, skin - you name it. Back when we were wild and barefoot, cold water wasn't a choice. Natural running water sources are cold, living, life-giving and contain silver. And if you're not SUPER whiny, they also make you go, "WOOHOO! " - but you can take care of the whininess first, if you want. Just exaggerate it to ridiculous lengths and levels until you have to laugh at yourself. THEN step in a cold shower - WOOHOO!!

Thank you for the useful article given for woman's not to take cold shower during menstruation. Good message! Why do getting sneezing, nose destroy after taking bath in cold water for few minutes? Did taking cold water bath immediately after an exercise is good for health? Taking cold water bath will keep the body physical and mentally active?

It is Autumn here now but we keep the swimming pool running for a while longer so that we can have a swim during our sauna sessions (we have a little infra-red sauna in our garden). It is a bit of an effort at first but after a few minutes you don't feel the cold anymore. The second time around is even easier maybe because by then the circulation is flowing like mad. After we close the pool because of frost we will still leave the garden shower going for a while. Too bad when everything is gone but then we come inside to have our cold showers. Funny enough my allergies make me sneeze a lot with differences of temperature but never with this.

two things i forgot in my last post. first im not a fat person just a few pounds overweight from time to time. I find when i take the cold showers i lose about a pound every 5-6 days this works every time and the weight stays off as long as i keep up the cold showers 2 -3 times per week. also many of you have talked about cold baths and i wanted to try them but i thought it would be too shocking. i have an old claw foot tub in the basement i put a hard rubber plug in it and filled it with water and let it sit over night. it got down to 54deg F as i said i find cold treatments better right out of bed when my body is warm all over, i was able to do 42 pushups and got in. This old tub has high sides so i was able to fill it with 16 in of water enough to cover my whole body. This is very different from a shower as the cold water hits every part of your body at the same time. also there is no way to adjust from cool to cold its just ice cold right from the start. I lay down with the water right up to my neck. I thought i would die but i forced myself to stay in and after about 15 seconds i able to stand it i found if i did not move too much it was not so bad. i stayed in for 2 minutes and i did feel wonderful after.

Two more things I forgot to mention. I find it is very help full if you can watch a clock with a sweep second hand. i try to set times like i will try to stay in for 5 minuets and watch the clock to make sure i stay that long at that point i will tell myself try to stay in for another 30 seconds and then another 30 sometimes i do minuets the clock really helps a lot try it.

Also, I find that my private parts get very cold and painful very fast so I got a tight rubber thong. i wear it now for every shower and it works great and i can stay in much longer. ed.

WORKED TEMPORARILY

I take cold showers everday but I noticed that I dont get the same feeling like I use to. Its almost winter here so the water is definitely cold. I don't get the warm tingly feeling anymore. Am I doing something wrong?

If your body is giving in to being cold rather than warming up, then you should try taking a hot shower first, or splashing yourself first, and/or make some deliberate effort to resist the cold ie. tightening your muscles.

I am taking cold baths now. I feel there is a better difference between the bath and the shower. For me the cold bath helps me to better recover from the night's sleep. My routine of starting my day is easier when I take baths than showers. While the bathwater's running, I can irrigate my nasal passages, wash my face, and play my music. I still get all the benefits of cold showers, but in a different way. I have more energy than taking the shower, and the energy lasts all day. 12 inches of water in my tub is not all possible but I do fill up. I am so happy about cold baths because they work.

Hi there, I have just come across this site whilst looking up the health benefits of cold showers/baths. The only reason I thought to do this is because there is a New Years Day swim in the sea in freezing temperatures and seeing as a woman of 80 does this every year and is as fit as a fiddle I thought I would see if there was any health benefits. I am amazed at everyone's comments and now can't wait to start having my own cold shower experience. I have noticed a few people have mentioned nasal irrigation and washing their nasal passage etc and was wondering if someone could explain how to do this and what the benefits are?

Many thanks

I can only recommend nasal irrigation (haven't tried cold showers). I first tried it when my ears & nose became blocked after a cold and it worked. My guess is that it clears out excess gunk in your tubes, and maybe also reduces inflammation to help you breathe more easily.

Some folk use a neti pot (which is designed specifically for this purpose), but I just used a small water bottle which had a nozzle that would fit up your nose. Dissolve a small amount (quarter to half a teaspoon) of good sea salt in warm water. Then top this up with cold so that you have a decent amount for the flush (say a third of a 500ml bottle) and that the water is just slightly warm.

With your head over a sink and tilted to one side you pour the solution up one nostril and the aim is to get the liquid to pour out of the other nostril. When you first do this it might take a little getting used to, it's a strange sensation. If it goes down your throat a little don't worry, it's only salt water, but bend over the sink more and tilt your head further until it comes out of your nostril instead.

Hello Everybody,

I have been fascinated by the experiences shared on this forum concerning cold showers. I am a design student developing a project to encourage people to have cold showers in order to consume less water (and energy) resources.

I would like to pose this forum some questions in order to help me design the best environment to take cold showers:

1. What type of materials do you feel is the most suitable for the environment in which to take a cold shower?(wood, glass, metal etc) and colours?

2. Is there a preference for a fixed or moveable showering head?

3.What is the average length of shower? (in minutes)

4. What do you like to do directly after taking a cold shower?

5. Is using soap and shampoo an issue when taking cold showers?

6. Taking a cold shower is a vigourous affair...I sometime knock my elbows on the side of the shower. What dimensions would ideally suit 'cold showering'

7. Is it disirable to have special 'non-skid' surfaces, special taps?

Any thoughts you would wish to share regarding these questions would be wildly appreciated.
Cordialement, Alice

Cold showers are great for waking up in the morning and actually lifting one's mood. Takes a bit to get used to (heavy breath intakes and shivering) but after you step out you feel alive and then, as you warm up ... awesome! I have been doing them for 4 days now - do it slightly "cool", to get used to it, then cool it down even more. I make it about a 3-4 minute affair. Seems to have cured morning "head fog". If you're new to it - get ready for a rush.

Cold Showers: I've tried them a number of times the last few weeks and I keep getting headaches, stomach aches and back aches. It doesn't look like it works for me.

I agree. The shower does cause me stomach pains, headaches, especially around the sinus area, and lower back pains. When I took the cold bath, the pains seem to go away. May I suggest the cold bath? It works for me, maybe it'll work for you.

Great visual! I never thought to sing opera in the shower. I'll have to try that. ha.

I sang along to music in my cold shower this morning, I think it helped distract me from the cold lol, and it's fun trying to sing while you're body is trying to make you breath in and out so fast!

I tried the cold-shower thing a couple of times and I made noise, too, but I wouldn't call it singing...more like howling, or shrieking ;)

Taking cold showers in the morning is a good feeling. also at night with the cool fall air, open your windows and get the full benefit of your cold showers.

WARNING!

Please tell website users that they have to be very careful if they have low body weight and use the "cold shower" method to alleviate depression. I have low blood circulation and several health problems because I am suffering and losing to an eating disorder. Cold showers can be dangerous!

For people who are "underweight" it may be a good idea by slowly decreasing the temp. each time you take a shower, followed by taking your temperature afterward.

Core Temp. Side Effect
95 Shivering
90 Confusion
85 Lethargic
80 Coma
78 Death

Measuring the length of the shower is important, as the longer you expose your self to cold water, the lower your body temperature will drop.

I hope this helps, and as always; if you think you may have an eating disorder, you may have one, or develop one!

I weigh 162 lbs., medium build, and have never had hyperthermia from a cold shower. Maybe it's because when I shower I wet my head and i feel this warmth when i get out. You should try that. It makes take a cold shower easier.

To answer Araeshkigal from Hurst, TX regarding cold baths. I took one several years ago because I heard it would help the immune system. Well, I got the flu and missed work for a week. I haven't tried the cold showers yet. I'm afraid I'll get sick again.

You can't get the flu from being cold, whether the coldness was induced by bath or shower; hence the influenza "virus."

I have never had the flu from taking cold baths. It is almost impossible. With nasal irrigation along with cold baths, you are less likely to get a cold, much less the flu.

I think that the shock to the system can weaken an already weakened immune system. This is what happened to me one day when I went to a Korean spa in K-town. Except I went from dunking for 5 minutes in the mugwort tea pool (amazing but about 105 Farenheit) to the cold pool and plunged in. I almost fainted from the dizziness. It was not a smart thing to do. Any rate, the next day I had a terrible flu. Drastic temperature fluctuations are not healthy to the body I reckon.

I think that is because you were in a foreign country maybe its ironic because everyone else that posted has been fine. Also it's possible that you already had the flu. It can take days before the symptoms of the flu start to show. And please explain to me EXACTLY how a cold bath can weaken the immune system.

I've been living with depression for two years, I wanted to find a natural way to help ease the stress of life, cold showers every day have helped me feel better and have elevated my mood substantially, I feel less stress, I especially love taking a cold shower after a workout or jog, I am so happy to hear that cold showers have helped do many people, we have to get the word out!by the way, my hair is a lot shinier too!