The Mental Health Benefits of Cold Showers

A cold shower is a type of shower having running water that’s below 60 degrees F for not more than two or three minutes at a time. Cold showers also fall in the category of cold water therapy. There are numerous health benefits of the cold shower including stress reduction, improved circulation and immune system, post-workout recovery, increased alertness and mental clarity, improved sleep quality etc. For people dealing with depression, anxiety or other mental ailments, cold showers can do wonders for as cold showers directly trigger the pathway of electrical signals that are continuously received by our brain.

How Cold Shower Works

The cold shower works on the principle of fight or flight response same as it goes with the release of adrenaline hormones. This fight or flight response increases the blood circulation to organs that need recovery and at the same time blood circulation decreases from the surface areas of other parts of the body. A well-known fact is that high blood circulation is necessary for muscle or tissue recovery because blood delivers various vital nutrients to the areas that need healing.

Along with the circulation part cold showers also stimulate the nervous system while releasing adrenaline and cortisol hormones and at the same time sending electrical signals to the brain from cold receptors present on the skin. Releasing of these hormones and electrical activity in the brain affects the human body in many positive ways including stress reduction, improved alertness, better sleep, speeding up muscle soreness etc.

Benefits Of Cold Showers On Mental Health

Treatment For Depression

Various research suggests that cold showers actually activate the sympathetic nervous system which in turn along with the release of various hormones directly stimulate our brain response mechanism for various triggers. Due to the high volume of cold receptors present on human skin, as soon as the human skin is exposed to cold it starts sending huge amounts of electrical impulses to the brain via different nerves which cause an anti-depression effect.

Relieving Anxiety

Exposure to cold water directly affects our blood circulation rate and chemical changes in our body. While we are anxious our body increases the blood pressure which in turn elevates the body temperature. Taking cold showers lowers the body temperature along with a reduction in blood pressure which in turn reduces the anxiety to a certain extent. Additionally, cold water exposure also releases a hormone called endorphin which is also known as “feel good hormone”, which directly affects our mood and helps in relieving the nerves that cause anxiety.

Improving Mood

For centuries, it’s been evident that an improved state of mind is directly linked to our happiness and overall energy levels. Being tired or fatigued never allows our mind to be in a happy state of mind nor does it promote any increment in one’s productivity. Having cold showers helps release various feel-good hormones such as endorphins and norepinephrine which directly signal our brain and improve our mood immediately.

Improved Alertness

Cold showers increase the body’s metabolic rate because of the elevated heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure. When our body is suddenly exposed to a cold shower our body feels a sudden change in the temperature and to maintain this temperature equilibrium it tends to increase the body’s metabolism to attain a stable temperature which in turn increases the mind’s alertness and makes our body more awake.

Increased Confidence

While it requires guts to get into cold water, it can transform the mood and confidence afterwards. Cold showers can build confidence as one is overcoming his fear towards unpleasant things or things which is totally out of his comfort zone in turn making him more confident towards stressful and challenging tasks.

Mindfulness Practice

Cold showers can provide our mind a sense of peace which is crucial in order to do mindfulness practices such as meditation, mindful breathing etc. Having a Cold shower before any mindfulness practice makes our body fully awake and relaxes the body which helps us to increase focus or to grasp new things.

Cold showers have various benefits on mental health such as relieving stress, anxiety, depression, and laziness, improving mood and focus, promoting good sleep, mental clarity, peace of mind etc. Keep in mind that cold showers offer many benefits, but you should also be cautious about the risks, including sudden spikes in heart rate and blood pressure, pain in the extremities, constricted blood vessels, and hypothermia from extended exposure to cold water.

If done in moderation, under a controlled environment and as a part of a healthy active lifestyle cold showers can benefit our health and overall well-being, especially for people who are facing some mental health issues. However, it depends on individual individuals how one is feeling, if they have any underlying disease, their comfort level and what type of experiences they are having regarding cold showers.