Dr. Hame explains that cold showers are safe and pose no health threat for most healthy people. But consult your primary care physician (PCP) if you have concerns or have been diagnosed with: Cold urticaria (hives), a skin reaction to cold exposure. Heart disease, since a shock of cold may put added stress on the heart.
Cold Showers Aren't for Everyone
Because of the sudden shock of cold water, people with heart disease, at risk for heart attacks or have cardiovascular conditions should not take cold showers. Everyone should consult their physician or primary care provider before starting a cold shower routine.
Your body's reaction to cold water puts added stress on your heart and could lead to an irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia. “It's going to tax your heart in a way that could be dangerous,” says Carter.
How Long Should You Cold Shower For? Dr Andrew Huberman, founder of the Huberman Lab Podcast recommends you should cold shower for anywhere between 1 and 3 minutes each day. Huberman suggests that just 11 minutes of cold-water exposure each week are enough to continuously reap the benefits.
He says: “We go to the gym to work our muscles, but inside our bodies we have millions of tiny muscles in the cardiovascular system – and we can train them by simply taking a cold shower.” When you have a cold shower, your heart rate and blood pressure increase.
Do not overdo it: Cold water therapy can be beneficial, but it is important not to overdo it. Like anything new, you need to build your tolerance and ensure your safety. Start with cold showers and work up your duration until you're ready for something colder.
A person can start by taking a warm shower and then switching the water to cold for a brief time. This could be anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Some people prefer to take just a brief cold shower of around 5–10 minutes.
More than a quarter of 18 to 24-year-olds (26 per cent) claim they regularly take a cold shower; three times the amount of Gen X ( seven per cent) and five times more than Baby Boomers (five per cent).
The drop in body temperature after a cold shower can induce relaxation and aid in falling asleep faster. Cooling effect: Cold showers can lower body temperature, which can be refreshing during warm nights or in hot climates. It can create a more comfortable sleeping environment.
Try to remain in the cold shower for at least one minute the first day; work your way up to 5 minutes. You can take your time getting to 5. You might try just one minute for several days in a row before you step up to 2 and such. Keep working until you get to 5.
Cold Showers... Build Resilience
You're training your body and mind to go out of your comfort zone, which makes you stronger and more resilient. Things that once felt really tough can suddenly feel a lot less tough as you can tolerate more physical and mental discomfort.
Getting into a cold shower is never a pleasant experience, but there are a few health benefits you may gain from braving the experience. Cold showers can help reduce inflammation, relieve pain, improve circulation, lower stress levels, and reduce muscle soreness and fatigue.
Cold showers are purported to have many health benefits. While research shows cold showers can improve circulation, immunity, and mental health, research on their effect on weight loss and skin and hair health is still ongoing. The main disadvantage of cold showers is that many people consider them uncomfortable.
They were compared to a control group that took hot showers or regular showers. The researchers conducting this study speculated that the cold water may have stimulated the production of testosterone by activating the sympathetic nervous system of the body, also known as the fight-or-flight response.
Is a cold shower as good as an ice bath? An icy cold shower can feel really refreshing. As a method of cryotherapy, however, for most people it might not quite add up. This is because immersing yourself in a pool of icy cold water can potentially more effectively lower your core body temperature faster.
One study showed significant and prolonged increases in dopamine when people were in cool (60°F) water for about an hour up to their neck, with their head above water. Other studies describe significant increases in epinephrine from just 20 seconds in very cold water (~40°F).
“The body responds to cold water by up-regulating feel-good molecules like dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine, as a way to compensate.”
02/6Cold shower's impact on heart
Cold water can shock the body, causing blood vessels in the skin to contract. This can slow the blood flow in your body. To compensate for this, your heart will start beating faster to be able to pump blood around the body. This can also increase the pressure on your blood vessels.
It might feel invigorating, but the cold shock response can be deadly. It's called the cold shock response. When the cold receptors in your skin are all suddenly stimulated they cause an involuntary gasp and, for about a minute after that, hyperventilation.
Contact with cold water not only increases the heart rate; it also makes the lungs work more powerfully. You will feel your respiratory tracts opening, bringing even more oxygen to your body and giving you more energy.