As our body fights to warm itself up, it will increase our heart rate which will pump blood all over our body. This enhanced blood flow will increase immunity. Also the increased heart rate will aid in fat loss.
Cold exposure has also been shown to increase the release of the hormone adiponectin which aids in fat loss. Cold showers can aid weight loss in an unexpected way. The human body contains two types of fat tissue, white fat and brown fat. White fat is accumulated when we consume more calories than our body needs to function, and we don’t burn these calories for energy. This body fat piles up at our waist, lower back, neck, and thighs, and is the one we all struggle to eliminate. Brown fat is the good fat, which generates heat to keep our bodies warm, and is activated when exposed to extreme cold, according to the Joslin Diabetes Center, a Harvard Medical School affiliate. Thus, cold showers can promote brown fat activity. A 2009 study found that exposure to extreme cold temperatures activated brown fat in 23 and 24 participants by a 15-fold increase, meaning someone could lose up to nine pounds in a year if they kept this practice up.
Cold water will seal cuticles and pores which will prevent them from getting clogged which is very good for the skin. A 1994 study found a drastic decrease in uric acid levels during and following exposure to a cold stimulus. There was also an increase in gluthathione, an antioxidant that keeps all other antioxidants performing at their optimal levels.
HOF is a dutch world record holder who has climbed the “death zone” altitude on Mount Everest, over 7,500 meters wearing nothing but shorts and shoes, completed a full marathon above the Arctic Circle in Finland once again only in shorts despite temperatures closer to -4 degrees Fahrenheit, and ran a full marathon in the Namib Desert without water. He says: “All the problems I have in the daily world subside when I do cold exposure. Exposing myself to the worthy cold… it is a great cleaning purifying force.
Vincent Van Goh was prescribed cold baths twice daily in a psychiatric ward after severing his own ear. Cold showers have been shown to relieve symptoms of depression due to the intense impact of cold receptors in the skin which send an abundance of electrical impulses from the peripheral nerve endings to the brain, providing an anti-depressive effect and mood boosting effect.
Bonus Idea: Take a mental note of how you feel before, and how you feel 5 minutes after you get out. If you feel better (which trust me, you will), your inclination will be to do this again. Just by being aware of this, you will create a positive habit loop. (#HowYADoin?)
Bonus Idea: Upon Making physical contact with the cold water, have a mantra ready to go. Because I’m a man of extremes and my life is filled with hyperbole, my mantra is “I’M A F*****G WARRIOR!! WOOO!!!* (On Some days its I’M A F******G SAVAGE!!! WOOO!!!*
Note: You may feel hesitant to actually step into the shower. This is ok: it is natural. Because cold shower therapy is a metaphor for life, this resistance to stepping into a painful situation is symbolic of the resistance you will face when you are forced to commit to a painful but beneficial task that your intuition knows you should dive into.First, force yourself to commit to the cold shower. After 1 consecutive week of cold showering, commit to 1 week of not hesitating and stepping right into the ice cold shower.
Step out. Get ready to face the world. Wide awake, leaner, meaner, and happier. You won’t regret it.