Yo Red Pill! Cold Showers have improved my life so here are some reasons you should start taking them every single day.

Video Version If You Prefer

I get it, you’re probably reading this and thinking this sounds crazy. If you’re a curious individual like me and you want to understand how incredible cold showers can be for you, I urge you to read on.

Hot showers are relaxing and give us a sense of comfort, right?

Maybe you’ve experienced hot water running out in the shower and the thought of intentionally turning the nozzle all the way to the blue side sounds insane.

Believe it or not, cold showers have an array of benefits that can improve your life.

Here in this article, I’m going to outline 11 thought-provoking and convincing reasons to start taking cold showers on a regular basis.

• Cold Showers Reduce Stress

A cropped shot of a handsome businessman under strain as colleagues request various things from him

As paradoxical as this sounds cold showers have a positive effect on your stress. Cold water on the skin, especially in the winter time is a shock to the system.

In other words freezing cold water is a stressful situation. Your ability to adapt to stressful situations actually hardwires changes to your brain.

Your glutathione levels increase as cold water hits your skin. Your uric acid levels are lowered. Both these chemical changes help reduce levels of depression.

• Cold Showers Strengthen Your Will Power

Think about it like this, as you know success and opportunity comes from doing the uncomfortable.

To do the uncomfortable every morning by taking a cold shower may subconsciously prove to yourself on a daily basis that you hold some level of will power and discipline.

What this means is that you are more likely to bring will power to larger situations.

At first taking, cold showers will be uncomfortable. Accept this and understand that for the first month it will take discipline. However also understand that you will reap the benefits when that discipline transcends into the habit.

However also understand that you will reap the benefits when that discipline transcends into a habit.

• Increased Alertness

I think this one is slightly more self-explanatory, but it is still worth a mention.

It’s hard to breath when you’re in the stressful situation of having ice cold water hit your skin.

There is an enormous pump of oxygenated blood into your system. Your heart rate increases and your metabolism spikes.

• Improved Circulation

Think of the difference between cold and warm showers like this.

Warm showers equal warm on the outside, cold on the inside. Cold showers equal cold on the outside and warm on the inside.

Better circulation means that more blood is able to make it to your organs to keep them warm and at appropriate temperatures, cold showers increase your circulation.

When the circulatory system is activated and stimulated by increased blood flow this means overall cardiovascular health improvement. All of which is coming just from changing your water temperature.

So if you aren’t inspired so much by the other benefits, it’s just plain good for your health.

• Cold Showers Aid Depression

This one is awesome. Cold showers can decrease depressive symptoms.

Incredible right? It’s not a cure, but for those of you out there feeling blue, here’s a helpful way to feel better.

Cold showers effect what scientists refer to as the ‘blue spot’.

The ‘blue spot’ is the human brain’s source of noradrenaline. This chemical plays a crucial role in alleviating the symptoms which cause depression.

• Fat Loss

Fat loss is another benefit you have to look forward to after taking cold showers. Now let me be clear, it’s not going to replace your workout regime.

However, any change you can make that will help your fat loss is a step in the right direction, right?

If you accumulate lots of small variables that help you achieve a certain goal, then, in theory, the principle of ‘the slight edge’ get to work. increments of change into a big one over time.

Small increments of change result become visible change over time.

• A Strong Immune System

Since I have regularly started taking cold showers, I have not been sick once! I’m serious. For 1 year I have not been sick, not even once. I used to get sick all of the time.

Coincidence? I don’t think so. Studies around the world actually confirm this phenomenon I’ve experienced. The reason hypothesized as to why cold showers strengthen your immune system is because your body has an automatic reaction to cold temperatures. When cold water hits your skin your body quickly regulates your temperature.

This makes sense as you don’t want to freeze to death.

This automatic response increases your metabolism and the extent your immune system is activated.

Because of this rapid activation of your immunity, white blood cells in the body are released at an exponential rate, strengthening the integrity of your immunity to disease.

• Cold Showers Speed Up Muscle Recovery

For all my fellow athletes reading. Whether you’re an Olympic weightlifter, powerlifter, basketball player, recovery is one of the keys to being able to train more and perfect your sport.

Taking a cold shower or two a day is a small but easy decision you can make. These easy decisions which may seem insignificant on the grand scale are actually cumulative and over time it will add up.

Although it won’t be as effective as a fully submersed ice bath, it will improve circulation, and help remove some lactic acid. Try alternating between very hot and very cold to let the blood come and go to the surface. Your muscles will thank you.

• Cold Showers Drain Your Lymphatic System

Remarkably your lymphatic system is drained when cold water hits your skin.

For those of you who do not know what the lymphatic system is, it is your bodies way of removing waste from your cells.

What this entails are fewer bacteria and fewer unwelcomed visitors. I already mentioned an increase in immunity, but the difference with your lymphatic system is that it clears every cell around the body, rather than just getting your body used to it.

• Increased Testosterone Levels

This one surprised me, but it’s true. Taking cold showers increases your testosterone. Russian weightlifters actually used to take cold showers on the regular to increase their performance. Cold showers will aid your recovery via reduced inflammation and of course testosterone helps with this too.

Heat is bad for your testicles, this is why you get told not to have your laptop sat on top of your nuts. Heat can have a physical effect on protein synthesis and your DNA function in your testicles. This is exactly the same for hot showers.

It’s important to take cold showers to prevent damage to your goods and regulate appropriate temperatures for the little guys.

• Cold Showers Wake You Up

Lastly, I’m going to discuss how great cold showers are at waking you up. It’s like a big slap in the face.

This is what a lot of people really need in the morning hours.

Firstly, understand the importance of starting your morning off right. The way you start your morning is general going to carry over to the rest of your day.

There are so many benefits to cold showers, so to include this and all the benefits attached to cold showers into your early morning regime is going to provide you with a kickstart attitude from the get go.

Take Away Message

At the end of the day, cold showers are just a different temperature on your skin for 10 minutes of your day.

I am just trying to make a point. That point being is that cold showers can actually provide some type of benefit to your life and it is not as ridiculous as it sounds.

Thank you for reading the article, I hope you learned something new and are willing to give this a try. I wouldn’t be writing this if I didn’t see any point in doing this myself.

Anyway, have fun with it and see if you have the balls to try it out in the middle of winter.