Morning cold showers don't sound like a great way to start the day. On the other hand, many have been tempted to take up the cold habit because of the immense health benefits for mental and physical health that have been purported for generations. But what's real, and what is fiction? Here's what science has to say about the benefits of cold showers.
History of Cold Shower Treatments
First administered in the 19th century for health reasons, cold showers, according to a study, were designed by doctors for use on prison inmates and asylums to cool hot and inflamed brains and at the same time instill fear to tame the impetuous behaviors.
By the mid-19th century, Victorians realized that cold showers had many other uses, such as washing people and that the low temperature was way better than warm showers. Hence, the showers went from being tools used to inflict unpleasantness for an hour and a half to a very pleasant treatment that lasted roughly five minutes.
Despite this, the practice of cold morning showers for their health benefits has persisted throughout the years and has seen a resurgence in recent years, especially with successful Silicon Valley types, according to the Independent.
Studying the Benefits of Cold Showers vs. Warm Showers
A large-scale study from the Netherlands published in the journal PLOS One, titled "The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work: A Randomized Controlled Trial," found that people that take cold showers are significantly less likely to take time off work due to illnesses compared to those that take warmer showers.
A group of more than 3,000 people were split into four categories and were asked to have warm showers every day. One of the groups was then asked to end their showers with cold water for 30 seconds, while the other group was questioned for 60 seconds, and another with 90 second cold showers.
Participants of the large study were asked to follow the protocol for a month. After a three-month follow-up period, researchers found that the group that ended their showers with cold water had a 29% reduction of reported illnesses to leave work. Interestingly enough, the duration of the cold water didn't affect the sickness absence, says BigThink.
The reason behind the benefits of cold showers, according to researchers, may have something to do with the body's immune system. Experts from the Vzech Republic show that when young athletic men were immersed in cold water three times a week for a period of six weeks, it gave the young athletes a slight boost to their immune system. However, larger studies are needed to confirm the recent findings.
Likewise, cold water showers also appear to activate the sympathetic nervous system, a part of the body's nervous system that deals with a person's fight-or-flight response. When activated during cold showers, the body increases noradrenaline hormone. This may be the reason behind the increased heart rate and blood pressure observed in people immersed in cold water and is linked to many health improvements.
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