Health Benefits of Cold Showers 1. Strengthens Immunity The most established benefit of cold showers is that overall, they simply increase your chances of fighting off disease and infection. People who take regular cold showers have been shown to have less chance of getting things like:Cancer,Colds,Flus Haemorrhoids,Varicose veins 2. Improves Blood Circulation Blood circulation is simply the flow of blood around the body. Exposing yourself to the cold means that your body does something called vasoconstriction referring to the constriction (tightening) of your arteries and veins. This tightening helps blood to flow at a higher pressure, as now there is less space for the blood to flow. This means that blood circulation will improve. Vasodilation , the opposite effect, occurs when we are exposed to heat, and makes our blood flow nearer to our skin so that we lose heat to the outside of our bodies more. This however reduces the general blood pressure that we normally have and can be seen as a negative point to taking regular hot showers. Our bodies tend to maintain a blood pressure that is dependent on how hot or cold we generally are. A shocking experience such as a cold shower will increase the efficiency of vasoconstriction and its included blood pressure- benefits like higher fertility in men! 3. Weight Loss Brown fat, as opposed to white fat is heavily involved in burning energy. Exposure to cold naturally stimulates the production of these brown fats . These cells burn glucose (the calories you eat and the white fat that you store) to try and produces as much heat energy as possible. Having a higher amount of brown fat leads to more energy being burned per second and therefore, more weight is lost. Brown fat: Protects us from aging, Fights obesity, Fights diabetes, Fights heart disease. 4. Aids Sleep Another great reason to start having cold showers is that for some reason or another, it aids sleeping. Insomniacs are advised to try this - the physical stress and shock of a cold shower before bedtime really helps you to calm down after the exhilarating feeling of being extra alive under the water. Like coffee? 5. Regulates Temperature Taking cold showers has been shown to help normalise a healthy human temperature, regulating the amount of sweat you produce in doing so. This means that if you suffer from chronically cold hands and feet, or feel that you sweat an abnormal amount, cold showers will help you. On the other end of the spectrum, the regular bursts of cold water will ready you for any time youre out in the cold - this means less sniffles and mucus running down your face when youre out with your significant other! 6. Alleviates Depression Depression is yet another thing that cold showers help and prevent. It is caused by the stimulating effect the cold has on the brains blue spot, the main source of noradrenaline for our bodies, a chemical that might be used to help alleviate depression. You will notice that after having a cold shower, you will feel very happy - sometimes referred to as euphoria. This feeling can be compared to the happiness you feel after exercise because of the endorphins released.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 11:47:09 +0000
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