Thirty four degrees Celsius (ninety-three point two Fahrenheit for you crazy foreigners). Not an outrageously unexpected temperature amidst another beautiful Australian summer, but still enough to spark interest in a new habit: cold showers.
Standing under that icy waterfall was nice enough, but that was mainly because of the heat of the air. It was the feeling afterward that has remained persistent over the past couple of weeks, a feeling of seemingly endless energy, that I’ve become addicted to and compelled me to write about my experiences.
You’re probably wondering though: what’s the point of having a cold shower? Here are some personal motivations you may want to latch on to:
- While cold showers do become comfortable with patience they don’t suck you in like hot showers do. This sounds like a negative but it’s brilliant not wasting time just standing around.
- Nothing gets you pumped up and energized more than the slap in the face a cold shower gives you. The process doesn’t have to be painful – with just a bit of a chill you’ll joyously bound out of the bathroom (hopefully with clothes or a towel of course), ready for anything that life could throw at you.
- The health benefits! So many damn health benefits. I’m no doctor so I won’t blab on about topics that confuse me though two health benefits that stood out include increased blood circulation which alleviates anxiety and an improved immune system which speaks for itself.
See? Cold showers aren’t only for overtly eco conscious or pain-seekers, it can be a purely and wonderfully selfish act to make you feel insanely awesome.
Still, plenty of habits sound good. It’s in practice where things begin to fall apart and difficulties are faced. Once you decide to have a go at this little ol’ temperature change consider these practicalities:
1. Ease the pressure. No, not the shower pressure: the mental pressure of forming a new habit, a feeling exaggerated by the over stimulation resulting from a cold shower. Don’t commit to more than just giving it a go. If you don’t like it, that’s fine.
Being preoccupied with the prospect of cold showers in the long term will take the consciousness out of the present shower and with that preoccupation you’ll find it more difficult to mentally adapt to this new approach. Part of enjoying a cold shower is having the presence of mind that allows your body to find warmth within the cold.
2. Pass the tipping point. About 10-20 seconds into a cold shower you’ll feel comfortable. It’s those first few moments that cause the most discomfort and skew our perceptions of what a cold shower is like.
To reach this tipping point hold that thought in your mind (the thought of impending satisfaction) as you step under the water, count aloud until you feel warm and if you’re still struggling make the water temperature bearable and slowly turn it cooler at the end of every minute.
3. Treat it as a game. Weird habits amuse me and finding lasting satisfaction in cold showers is definitely out of the ordinary (at least in our culture, I assume it’s normal on a worldwide scale) which is what initially drew me to researching the benefits.
Turning down the water temperature isn’t a life sentence or the denial of comfort – it’s a fun and simple way to test yourself, adapt to unfavorable situations and improve your overall health. Enjoy the challenge.
But readers following me on Twitter have pointed out that not everyone can enjoy the luxury of living Down Under where the weather rarely falters and some nights are warmer than most places around the world are during the day.
I wasn’t willing to hop on a plane to Alaska or anything to see if I could handle a cold shower in a cold environment. The best I could do was wait for the coldest parts of the day and night to have my showers. This approach wasn’t particularly scientific but even the coldness of the air didn’t detract from the shower, I just had to start with the water a little hotter (but still barely tepid) and then turn the handle slowly).
Anyways, I’ll leave you with these few words: cold showers kick butt and it’s a habit worth forming but don’t induce pain over the long-term unnecessarily. The mental stress isn’t worth it. Have fun with it.
Photo: Viditu
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And this is my blog, Adventures of a Barefoot Geek. I write about a range of topics including how to achieve peace of mind, mobility and simplicity - all mixed in with some good ol' fashioned geekery.
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its like jumping into a cold pool after getting out of a hot tub, I agree with everything you said. This is something I figured out on accident but never really had given it a second thought. Glad to hear someone else feels the same way. Your posts never cease to amaze me.
Thanks for the comment Jeremy. I was worried about posting about such a simple topic, but I felt it was worthy as a call to action more than anything.
Great post. As for being worried about blogging about something so mediocre…don’t. I think it’s the little things in life that trigger our inner thoughts and really make us think about our actions. For me, it’s mostly pictures that I’ve taken or have seen that trigger thinking processes. To each their own. :)
Thanks for the vote of confidence Brandi. Glad people are getting value out of this.
Nice post. I remember reading about cold showers before, where they said to try 20-30 seconds right before you get out of the shower (a hot shower) so it opens up your pores and gives you that kick in the ass to get moving – I tried doing it for a week and loved it, however, I fell out of the routine.
This post is definitely getting me back into it. I’m going to try taking completely cold showers too. Sounds like a challenging experience.
Good stuff Mike. There’s definitely some challenge with the change, but luckily us human folk have the amazing ability to adapt pretty quickly.
A while ago I used to do cold showers myself. I used a different approach at the time to get used to cold water though.
First I was taking a regular hot water shower. Only at the end I would turn water cold and try to stand it as long as I could. After a while I could take showers completely with cold water and I was ok. This is a bit less stressful imho because you make try cold water when you are already clean so you do not have to worry about washing yourself in cold water.
As somebody mentioned ambient temperature plays a role, also what climate you live in. I noticed that in warm areas cold water is “not as cold” as here in north.
Thanks for sharing that tip Adam, that’s probably a more logical approach. I just get some weird satisfaction for having cold showers, but I imagine the health benefits would be comparable taking that route.
Define “cold”. I think my idea of cold (Armidale in winter, water stored outside in tanks outside the house) might be slightly different from yours :-)
I guess my view of cold is, when looking at the shower handle, I move it towards the right more than the left. But I understand your point. Cold is certainly relative to the environment. Still, I imagine the majority of readers are in a similar situation to my own, so at times I have to be a tad polarizing.
Fantastic post. I first became interested in cold water submersion when I read a story about a mountaineer that took ice baths to prepare for a Himalayan expedition. You’re absolutely right–the right mentality is crucial when stepping outside of one’s comfort zone.
Keep up the good work over here.
Thanks Alan, glad you liked the article. I’ve heard a lot about ice baths in the past; not sure if I’m just ready for that though. I’d probably snap in half if I got too cold.
Another shower tip: If the shower’s too cold, always turn the cold water down, not the hot water up. And, conversely, if it’s too hot, turn the hot water down, not the cold water up. (I’m know I’m stating the bleeding obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t think this way).
The simplest advice is often the best advice. Thanks for the addition Gordon.
Hm. I might think you’re a little of a masochist on this one. :)
Regardless, my shower has it out to get me in switching from hot to cold with no handle position for “pleasantly in the middle.” I have nothing against challenges and temperature motivation (I actually started keeping my whole apartment a couple degrees below comfortably warm since I work at home and it helps keep me focused), but the razor burn in a cold shower is just brutal. So given the option, I’m leaving that one to you. Best of luck!
Ha, that’s fair enough. I may be a tad insane, but I draw the line at razor burn.
Come on now! A cold shower? You are right when you are in a hot country with no aircon it’s not a bad thing. I’m not taking one here in Missouri when it’s 15F. Love you man! Keep up the good work!
I can’t even imagine being in such a cold climate. I can only assume you have a mighty fine igloo. I salute you.
Shoulder to shoulder on this one, David. I gleaned the little goodie of the cold shower shot from the teachings of the late Paavo Airola, who also promoted dry body brushing. When we take into account how much waste is eliminated through the skin surface, it offers an interesting consideration towards bathing in general. Both of these methods serve me well (year round). It takes the shower beyond a method of simple cleansing to one of remarkable skin therapy. And it just feels terrific!
As always, I appreciate your keen insights. Keep up the good writing.
Thanks for the comment Jean. I may have to check out some of Airola’s writing, so thanks for that mention too.
I started doing cold showers last summer, but now that is winter I don’t do them anymore too cold for me :D
Yea, quite similar with me, too! I rarely take a “full bath” in the summer, but I like to remind myself in the winter once or twice a week that hotness still exists, and not just on girls, even though I am kind of a winter-lover.
Well I’m still excited to see if I can handle winter showers. Still a good 6 months off though.
Reader request: I want to know how you’re going in winter! The ‘cold’ water temperature in Australia’s summer isn’t exactly ‘cold’.
I used to live in Melbourne and noticed how particularly indestructibly warm my body felt in winter after finishing a warm shower with 30 seconds of hot. I thought this closed the pores keeping the heat inside and cold out – not opened them, but whatever.
I never tried all cold – it never entered my mind. Compare notes in winter (I’m in Brizzy)
oops correction – in Melbourne I would finish a warm shower with 30 seconds of COLD, not hot.
Well it’s definitely not all cold, as in completely icy. I just have a shower with a single handle and I move it into the “more cold than hot” position. Not sure how cold that actually is, but I’d imagine it’s somewhere between the average temperature of a non-heated pool or a bit cooler.
Great post! I did a great naturopathic nutrition course some years ago and the lecturer always talked about the benefits of a cold shower (or a hot shower but finishing on cold or hot/cold/hot/cold). The hot/cold/hot/cold method gets your lymph moving (which is good :)) and always finishing on cold is important (apparently hot shower / baths leave your body more ‘acidic’ – so always finishing on cold (however you shower) makes the body’s PH more alkaline. I don’t have a shower (only a bath) now so harder to do, but it does make you feel great, as well as the health benefits. I think a lot of it is habit, I hated it to begin with, but the positives start to outweigh the negatives (even in the chilly UK! :))
Thanks for the comment Jen and for proving it’s possible in a colder climate. That combination of hot and cold is already confusing me though, so I think I’ll just stick with the all-cold method. ;)
Great concept…although we Canadians get enough exposure to temperature variations! We all have our comfort zone. Trying something like this is a great way to practice expanding it.
That’s a good point. Instead of working with hard numbers we should think about our comfort zone and how far we can take it.
Hello,
Great post. I live in India and the temperature is usually around 30 degree Celsius, so cold showers are usually the norm. I live close to the equator so the coldest temperature would be around 20-23 degree Celsius over here. But even that doesn’t stop most people from taking cold showers.
Treating cold showers as a challenge is a great concept. Rock on!
Regards
Ajay
Good stuff Ajay; nice to hear about similar experiences. And India is one of those places I really want to travel to so at least I can fit in slightly without too much hassle. :-)
Haha, “don’t loose time just standing around” is a great argument against hot showers! :D
Here in Colombia, in many houses there just ain’t hot water, and I generally don’t miss it too much (especially while being in the Caribbean). But if you’re in Bogotá with 8 degrees Celsius or so in the morning, it can get ugly. One thing I noted that helps: Keep your mouth shut when starting. It’s weird, but if I open my mouth to breeze in deeply, it somehow gets worse. So keeping it shut really helps passing the first seconds…
I’ll definitely try that Fabian. Thanks for the tip. My only assumption is that maybe leaving your mouth open lets heat escape from your body, but I’m not sure how scientific that is.
I really think it’s a psychological issue, but I have no idea either. Tell me how it works for you! :)
Uh Oh! Sounds like you are working your way up to ice swimming!
We will be back in Norway in Easter…..leave it till next Christmas, ‘pop’ over and I’ll personally chop a hole for you!
Not so much a slap in the face but rather a kick in the………. Imagine what you would achieve then……..
Good post!
Ha, I think the second I hit water that cold my blood would freeze and then my limbs would fall off (well, that was surprisingly graphic). Amazed people have that much resilience.
When I heard you say “ninety-three point two Fahrenheit”, I was waiting for the punch line — that’s outrageously WARM water for me! Then again, I live in the Northeast United States, where it has been zero degrees Celsius for the past few days (which is actually quite warm for this time of the year). The ocean temperature around here rarely rises above 12 degrees Celsius. :D
I’ve hopped in the lake at my parents house a couple times just after the ice melted and that was quite an experience. I find the cold in general helps to clear my mind, as I tend to focus on nothing but thoughts of generating inner warmth.
Just to clarity, that temperature at the start was the air temperature, not the water temperature. ;)
Hot showers suck you in as you have to get past the tipping point of comfort when you get out.
If you want the best of both worlds, step into a hot shower, and step out of a cold shower – you’ll need to turn it down in steps.
Definitely the simplest way to go about it. There’s some satisfaction about surviving the initial jolt of cold water though with an all-cold shower. Thanks for the comment James.
This post reminded me of the cool showers I took when I was a kid, just to try something different. Now that you blogged on this, I will have to try it once again.
How cold do you like your showers? Teeth-chattering cold, or pool water cold?
I think pool water cold would be the most accurate, although depending on how I’m feeling I will make the water fairly icy at times.
But you know it makes your, little guy, hide.
Oh, come on man, maintain some maturity. ;-)
I’m am right there with you. Cold showers ROCK! I’m glad to find another person who touts the benefits. I think the next logical progression would be to do like those crazy polar bear club people and swim amongst the ice bergs.
Thanks for the comment Steve and it’s good to see someone agrees with me. And I think those ice bergs might be waiting a while if they expect me to be in the water with them. ;)
I had an experience today which I would like to share. This will probably lead to some more interesting discussion on this topic.
I had to do something during the school founder’s day and so I woke up at 6:00 AM. I needed to take a shower. I ended up taking a hot one because I didn’t have the guts to bathe myself in cold water at 6 in the morning.
Though the water temperature is probably much lower here as compared to countries over in the north, it was still too cold for me. Has anyone taken a cold shower this early in the morning? If yes, how did you feel?
What would be the average temperature in the country where you live? In India, it is around 34 degree Celsius. It is considered hot over here, but what is the opinion of people living in other countries? I ask because I feel that answering this question would lead to some more clarification on this issue.
Good idea Ajay. In Australia the average temperature is a tad lower throughout the year, although this past week has been up around the 30-40 degree Celsius mark. And to honest, I often chicken out of early morning showers, preferring to wait until a bit later in the day if possible.
I only like cold showers in summer :) It’s definitely better for your pores though.
Well I’m hoping I can handle the showers in Winter myself. I’m still confident I can.
When I lived/traveled in Hawaii, I was on a permaculture property with an exotic outdoor shower and a stunning ocean view….and no hot water. So out of necessity, I learned to enjoy cold showers. (Since I’m always cold to begin with, I never spent much time under the water – and instead used it solely for it’s washing/rinsing purposes and turning it off to soap up etc). And yes – I always felt quite invigorated afterwards!
And the habit lived on….even when we moved on, I continued with cold showers through the rest of Hawaii and Asia. It was actually in Australia that my happy habit was sadly broken….too many cold winter days with no heat in the rural countryside has turned me into a softie again! Although I do try to keep the temperature down in summer, it’s only on days above 40 degrees that I am brave enough to attempt 100% cold water. Australia’s chill (or at least Victoria’s chill) gets under my skin! :-)
Thanks for the comment Nora. To be honest, I’m a bit worried it may get a bit too chilly down here. While Sydney has great weather most of the time I’m sure I get a bit nostalgic when I think about past winters; probably skewing my perception of the heat (or lack thereof). Time will tell I guess.
You dont truly appreciate the benefits of a HOT shower until your boiler has broken down in the middle of a UK winter and you’ve had to have a cold one :)
Interesting blog. Having just started in internet marketing and, although I have some experience of html through blogging for two years, ‘experts’ seem to be unable to explain website matters in non-Geek or at least using wording that non-Geeks can understand :)
Ha, I’m glad I’ve never had to be in that situation – but there’s still plenty of time for me to become loathing of this habit. Thanks for the comment Joanna.
This is interesting… I’ve actually hard that showering with too hott of water can damage your body or something. I’m not a big fan of being cold at all but after taking a warm bath or something, just to relax, this doesn’t sound half bad. Unless just getting in and taking the cold shower without being warm first is what makes this so great.
What do you think?
Thanks for the comment Eric. I don’t think it matters if you make the shower warm at first, that’s more something I just like to do to test myself. And I just tried having a warm-ish shower then to try and relax and after sticking with this cold shower habit for a few weeks now it actually made me feel sort of ill (or perhaps “weak” would be a better descriptor). Not sure if that’s a sign of hot water being damaging, but when I turned it back to cold I definitely recovered my energy. :-)
Here is an additional tip fore those who have already accustomed to cold showers: Do a hot-cold-treatment for several key muscle groups (as Tim Ferriss suggests in his Yabusame video documentary – vimeo.com/8611471) or even your entire body. Personally, I use hot and cold water from the shower itself, although Tim Ferriss suggests ice and hot water. The cold water constricts the blood vessels and the immediate application of heat hyper-dilates them. It’s sort of a training for your veins. Give it a try.
Best
-David
To be honest there have been a couple of times already where I wonder what a hot shower would be like, but I’m still sticking to cold-only showers as to remove attachment to the temperature completely. I’d love to be able to be comfortable in as big as temperature range as possible.