Evening everyone!
Today we will talk about showers. They are a part of everybody’s lives, some of us do them everyday, some a bit less, but I believe there are some questions about it in your mind that remain unresolved.
So, in this post I hope to shed some light on the questions you might have, including: What’s better cold showers or hot? How long should a shower take? What’s the recommended frequency of washing our hair? Also a few other useful facts will be shared, so, without further ado, let us begin.
Cold Showers
Benefits of Cold Showers
1. Calming itchy skin – In case you have a condition that makes itches thus, cold showers can be used to overcome the itching sensation
2. Waking you up – Increased oxygen intake, heart rate, alertness.
3. Increasing circulation – Faster rate of blood circulation to maintain body temperature, reduces inflammation and can prevent cardiovascular disease.
4. Can speed up muscle repair, recovery and reduce muscle soreness post-workout
5. Potentially boosting weight-loss – Some fat cells can generate heat by burning fat. To clarify most of those cells are located in the neck and shoulder area. So if you start losing fat in those areas, know what’s the reason :).
6. Glowing hair and skin
7. Could help ease depression
8. Helps fall asleep – Body temperature falls as we enter deep sleep. Therefor if we cool it before sleep it could cause us to get to that deep sleep stage faster
When is it not suggested to take a cold shower?
(Of course it is not a dogma, just a recommendation, you should look into it according to the situation)
1. When your body temperature is low, because it wouldn’t help it rise.
2. At times that you have a cold or are sick, because it could be too hard on the immune system.
Hot Showers
Benefits of Hot Showers
1. Providing relief from respiratory symptoms – Inhaling the steam and being in the heat of the water can help reduce cold and cough symptoms.
2. Helping with blemishes – Can open up pores, thus cleaning the trapped dirt and oil
3. Muscle relaxation – relieves body tension and can sooth muscle fatigue
4. Reduces anxiety – Hot water releases oxytocin which can reduce stress and anxiety
5. Helps your body shake off a deep chill which could harm the immune system
Drawbacks of Hot Showers
1. Can dry out skin – This could be bad for appearance and reduce your body’s protection (As skin is it´s first line of defense).
2. Dries out hair – could cause scratchy split ends
3. Can make some skin conditions worse
4. Might cause itching
5. Can increase your blood pressure
5 Useful facts about showers.
1. The optimal shower duration
Well there is no certain guideline (bummer), but the shorter they are the better.
2. Frequency of shower
There is no hard rule, nevertheless you could go for a few times a week, Balancing it out between taking them too often and harming your skin or too rarely and
being unhigienic (yes I guess I invented a word) and letting bacteria gather on your skin and cause infections.
3. Frequency of hair washing
The short general answer: It should be less than our body but depending on hair type and minimum once a week.
4. Using your towel correctly
As you shower don’t wipe your skin with the towel but tap gently on it to prevent drying it up of necessary oils completely and irritating the skin.
5. Go easy on the soap
For a quick shower, in case you haven’t been very physically active the same day, your arms and legs don’t always need soap, focus on your underarms, groin and feet.
Summary
Concluding from the info I’ve gathered throughout the research for this post, it seems that cold showers have no downsides unless they’re taken when you’re sick/cold/your body temperature is low.
As a result it is possible that it is better to take them cold always.
On the other hand there are some opinions that state that you should shower in lukewarm water or do hot and warm water cycles,
however it seems that the least amount of drawbacks is while taking them cold.
In addition there is the psychological benefit, discussed in the Ted Talk below.
Challenge: Try going for 30 days with cold showers only, and see how you feel about it, if it causes you stress, just meditate.
My previous post about meditation (Credits to Improvement Pill, the creator of the videos):
Benefits of meditation
Here’s a TED talk on the subject I just found, with which I completely agree