Every morning, Tony Robbins woke up and plunged into a 57 degree ice bath. He, along with many other celebrities, professional athletes, and health and wellness experts have caught up. countless benefits Cryotherapy can affect your physical and mental health. Although cryotherapy has existed for centuries (Hippocrates are often credited as the first to recognize the benefits of hydrotherapy in medical practice and Traditional Chinese Medicine has long supported the practice’s preventive and health-promoting properties) cold water continues to make waves in today’s wellness culture.
While I had heard of taking cold showers for an energy boost or soaking in an ice bath to soothe sore muscles, I personally never purchased these benefits until I came across it. Wim Hof and his cold therapy while watching Goop’s Netflix series, “Goop Labs.” After the episode, I knew I had to work for myself. So I dug into my research and was blown away by what I learned. The list of benefits is extensive, including top contenders like increase your metabolic rate and reduce inflammation—And they seem to keep going.
Experts say that when practiced regularly, cold water immersion can bring about lasting changes to the body’s immune, lymphatic, circulatory and digestive systems to enhance the overall quality of one’s life. Friend.
With a few minutes of cold therapy (and lots of it), you can activate your body’s natural healing abilities and promote a greater sense of well-being. Let’s see five reasons why we will change the time persistent down into our showers for the rest of the winter and beyond.
Featured image of Claire Huntsberger.
Activate your lymphatic system
The lymphatic system is a network of vessels that run throughout your body, removing waste, bacteria, and germs from your cells. The lymphatic system essentially helps your body clean itself.
Unlike your blood, which is continuously pumped by your heart throughout your body, your lymphatic fluid has no central pump. Instead, your lymphatic system relies on muscle contractions to pump lymph fluid through the vessels. So, if you don’t exercise or your lymphatic system becomes sluggish or less efficient, fluids get stagnant and toxins build up, manifesting in colds, joint pain, infections. and even disease.
Cold water immersion causes your lymph vessels to constrict, forcing your lymphatic system to pump lymph fluid throughout your body and discharge waste from the area.
One of the benefits of cold showers is that they activate the white blood cells of the immune system, causing them to attack and destroy any unwanted substances in the fluid. It’s a kind of domino effect — cold water affects the lymphatic system, so affect the immune systemThis ultimately helps you feel happy and healthy.
Improves circulation and heart health
Good circulation is one of the most important components of overall health and well-being. When you have poor circulation, not only is your blood flow compromised, but your heart also becomes stressed. This can eventually lead to fatigue, headaches, high blood pressure, muscle spasms, even heart attacks and strokes.
With improved circulation, we can promote heart health, improve mental performance, support the immune system and metabolism, and simply provide ourselves with more. strength and energy to live to the fullest.
Exercise and a healthy diet are two well-known ways to improve circulation. But Cold water immersion can also stimulate blood flow. When you immerse your body in cold water, blood rushes to surround your vital organs. Your heart is then forced to pump more efficiently, pushing blood through all your vessels and supplying every part of your body with the oxygen and nutrients it needs. Do this regularly and you can help promote healthy blood circulation, and ultimately a healthy body, heart and mind.
Reduce inflammation
Soak in cold water, along with a alkaline-based dietwas scientifically proven to help fight side effects of inflammation and muscle soreness after a strenuous workout. One of the top benefits of cold showers is that it lowers the temperature of damaged muscle tissue and constricts blood vessels. This helps reduce swelling and inflammation, and even numbs nerve endings, providing immediate pain relief. This is why professional athletes soak in an ice bath after a hard workout.
But you don’t have to be a serious athlete to reap the benefits of a cold soak. By simply taking a quick cold shower after time at the gym or doing some heavy lifting around the house, you can help reduce soreness and inflammation. And by incorporating a cold soak into your daily routine and taking advantage of the benefits of a cold shower, you may find that you don’t need to reach for Ibuprofen to help ease your pain, because because you have found a more natural way to speed up your recovery.
Boost your mood
Feeling winter bluesor have difficulty stress management? Cryotherapy may be helpful. It may seem like a superficial solution, but the benefits of cold showers are actually deeper than you might think when it comes to improving your mood.
ONE Research 2007 found that cold showers can help treat depressive symptoms and, if used regularly, may be more beneficial than prescription medications in mood lifter. This is due to the stimulation of dopaminergic transmission in the mesocorticolimbic and nigrostriatal pathways. In plain English, cold water activates large amounts of mood-enhancing neurotransmitters, helping you to feel good. ONE separate study Analysis of the impact of regular winter swimming on the mood of swimmers showed that after four months of regular cold water swimming, subjects felt more energetic and active than those who did not. who do not soak daily.
So the next time you’re feeling down, consider the benefits cold water can have in keeping your body and mind happy — be it a dip in the ocean, lake, or lake. Simple cold shower at home.
Strengthens hair, skin and nails
If you struggle with dry skin and hair, you know what the challenge can be to achieving the dewy glow you can expect. The answer you may not have thought of until now? A cold shower.
Based on experts, cold water helps to reduce pore size and tighten your skin. Since cold water doesn’t encourage pores to open and secrete oil like warm water, you won’t have excess oil that leads to greasy hair or breakouts. You’ll retain those oils to moisturize your hair and skin, leaving it soft and healthy. Cold water also stimulates the hair follicles, helping to increase the thickness and length of the hair naturally. Double win.
How to do it
The good news is that you don’t have to jump into a 50-degree lake to reap these benefits. You can dip your toes first! This is the way experts says you should start your cold therapy journey:
- Start by slowly reducing the amount of hot water you use in the shower and immerse yourself in a cooler shower. Of course, you can jump right into it by not using hot water at all, but this can cause a bit of a shock to the system.
- Once you’ve got the temperature right for you, step into the bathroom slowly and take a few deep breaths.
- Then, start to slowly wet your hands, then your feet, then the rest of your body.
- Go through your normal bathing and cleansing routine, getting out as soon as you feel too cold.
- Over time and you get used to cold showers, you’ll be able to spend more time in the shower and lower the water’s temperature even more.
Of course, always remember to breathe with it. Slow and steady breathing to win. You’ve got this!
Have you tried cold water therapy? Share your experience with the community!
