Several years ago on this blog, I posted a little bit about cold showers. It was one of many health experiments that caught my attention. My interest was building resiliency, strengthening the immune system, and possibly fat loss. Over the years, I came to believe the fat loss angle probably trivial at best. Strengthening the immune system was there but seemed unmeasurable. However, the resiliency was real.
Because I get interested in so many things health-related, I confess that I got out of the habit of doing the cold water rinse at the end of my showers. Then COVID arrived and I was looking for any tool I could to improve my immune system. With advocates such as Wim Hof stating that cold showers could reduce inflammation and strengthen the immune system, I was back on board. Daily cold showers.
Since spring, I have been taking cold showers. Only, I am not doing them as I did back in 2011-2014. Instead of doing a simple 30-second blast between my shoulder-blades and leg rinse, I’ve upped it to the entire body starting with the face.
No Decision To Make
I used to have to both remember to finish my shower with cold water and decide if I wanted to take a cold shower that morning. Often I’d be finished with the shower only to remember that I had meant to do a cold water finish. I needed a reminder.
For that, I put this little toy in my shower. It is Sterling Archer from the animated show. The only thing Archer means to me is a cold shower. When I see it, I am reminded to take a cold shower.
The second obstacle was removed because I have already decided that EVERY SINGLE DAY my shower will end with cold water. No choice. Just like I have no choice to not do a Duolingo lesson every morning (my streak is now 1851 days).
Resiliency Achieved
A month ago, my home lost hot water for a week. The outside temperature was near freezing, so the water coming into the house was very cold. Not “summer cold” but damn cold.
For one week, I no longer had the luxury of starting the shower hot and finishing cold. It was all cold. And I was fine.
Tips
If you are starting from zero, I still recommend at the end of the hot shower to gradually reduce the temperature and aim the cold water between your shoulder blades for 30 seconds. Then add the arms and legs. Once you get more comfortable add the face and chest.
Don’t hold your breath when bracing for cold impact. In fact, do the opposite. Do a few deep breathes prior to flipping the water to cold and continue to breathe deeply during the cold shower.
Wim Hof likes his followers to work up to a 2-minute cold shower finish. That is where I am at.
The more you do cold showers, the easier they get. Soon you’ll be on autopilot. You will build resiliency and you might strengthen your immune system. And it doesn’t cost anything.
Glenn Whitney
Jan 6, 2021 — 11:52 am
Is there any solid, recent research supporting this practice?
MAS
Jan 6, 2021 — 1:25 pm
@Glenn – Good question. Wim Hof just published his book. I plan to read it as he is the one making the loudest claims. Maybe the support for his claims are referenced there?
Glenn Whitney
Jan 6, 2021 — 5:49 pm
I look forward to reading more from you on this and other topics. If I find any research I’ll send it your way.
Jim
Jan 9, 2021 — 8:27 am
I’m sticking with hot showers. Enjoy!
Hs
Jan 14, 2021 — 7:43 pm
For what it’s worth I recently heard a druid say that cold water cleanses the etheric body which is beneficial.
ant
Feb 2, 2021 — 4:10 pm
I used to do cold showers to wake me up at the start of the day. Now that I’ve shifted to exercising in the mornings instead of evenings, I fear that cold therapy after my workout will hinder the positive stress response and interfere with hypertrophy/strength gains (there’s research showing this, but on submersion via ice baths, whether or not it applies also to cold showers as well is debatable, but I’m erring on the side of caution). For that reason, and not wanting to take one before morning workouts (the antithesis of a pre-workout warm-up!), I’m planning on doing freezing shower or ice baths in the evenings from now on. I’ve never done it later in the day, some people report a beneficial affect that aids in falling asleep more quickly, so I’m hoping I see that. I still try, when available, to use dry saunas or IR saunas after my morning workouts to get heat therapy as well and post-workout has a positive affect on hypertrophy/muscle repair.