Temperatures are starting to shoot off the roof, and there’s nothing more tantalizing than taking a nice, cold shower during a hot, sticky day. But aside from getting you to cool down, did you know that scrubbing under nippy water can actually be good for your body? Here are a few reasons why you should forgo turning on your heater.
Alertness
A splash of cold water does not only jolt you awake, but also gets your body up and running by causing your heart to pump more blood into your system and improving your circulation.
Better skin
While warm showers tend to pull moisture out of your skin, cold showers do the opposite by tightening your pores to keep moisture in. For proper cleansing, you can opt for a warm shower first to scrub all the grime away, before finishing off with cold water to keep your pores locked from dirt.
Improved mood
Cold showers are known to make you feel happier. According to a study featured on NCBI.com, cold showers can “send an overwhelming amount of electrical impulses from peripheral nerve endings to the brain, which could result in an anti-depressive effect.”
Boosted muscle recovery
A cold shower soon after a long and hard workout can help your body recover faster. Some even go as far as taking ice baths. However, Sports Performance Manager Andy Schmitz on Active.com noted that ice baths should be done with outmost care, and they shouldn’t be done too cold or too long.
Weight loss
There are two types of fat in the body: white fat, which includes the bad, hard-to-get-rid-off bulges that appear around your waist, and brown fat, which feeds on energy (read: calories) to keep the body warm. Cold showers can stimulate brown fat, causing it to eat up excess calories and give your weight loss efforts an added push!
PHOTO: Pixabay
