Research suggests that hot showers alleviate anxiety as a result of the heat prompting our brains to release oxytocin — a “happy hormone” — which, in turn, reduces stress. Cold showers, on the other hand, are believed to enhance blood circulation, leading to stress reduction.
Hot showers can even help reduce stress and anxiety because the heat can stimulate the brain's release of a hormone called oxytocin, which is known to be correlated to anti-stress effects, or relaxation [1].
Mental Health Benefits of Cold Showers
A chilly zap from cold water signals to your brain to release endorphins, the feel-good hormone. This may create: A decrease in depression symptoms and anxiety.
Take a hot bath or a shower.
This can sometimes be an instant fix, but you should let yourself soak in the peace of the moment. Allow the warmth to calm you, and allow yourself to feel safe. The feeling of being clean is also anxiety reducing, so the whole process can diminish any panic.
Cold water as anxiety treatment
Exposure to cold water lowers the heart rate, which makes you feel calmer and thus less anxious. Within science, there is a commonly held belief that regular exposure to cold water, such as taking a cold shower every day, boosts the immune system.
Go and jump in the shower. Make sure it's really hot- not scolding so you're not going to burn your skin but something that's really going to shock the system. Going really hot or really cold can help you manage those panic attacks to get you more grounded and back into the present moment.
Cold and hot showers each have health benefits, but a shower that's 95 °F to 99 °F is typically best. Cold showers can help reduce itchy skin and aid recovery after a workout. Hot showers help to relax muscles, improve sleep, and relieve respiratory symptoms.
Reading, listening to music, or relaxing before bed with a hot bath or deep breathing can help you get to sleep. If you don't fall asleep within 20 minutes of turning in (or if you wake up and can't fall back to sleep in 20 minutes), get out of bed and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy.
Another large study found people who drink five cups or more of water per day were at lower risk of depression and anxiety. In comparison, drinking less than two cups per day doubles the risk. This link was less noticeable for anxiety alone (although feelings of depression and anxiety often influence each other).
People with comorbidities should refrain from taking a cold shower. For instance, if you are suffering from heart disease, or even high blood pressure, taking a bath with cold water can deteriorate your health.”
Dehydration and anxiety
In short, dehydration causes stress, and when your body is stressed, you experience depression and anxiety as a result. Therefore, you want to ensure you are properly hydrated daily, especially if you are naturally anxiety-prone.
More intense manifestations of anxiety can include extreme and persistent fear in the face of everyday situations. And having that intense form of anxiety for prolonged periods of time is considered an anxiety attack, a condition which can last anywhere from several minutes to weeks on end.
Showering and bathing have numerous mental health benefits, including reducing stress and anxiety, improving sleep quality, enhancing body image and self-esteem, and promoting self-care and relaxation.
If you feel anxious or like you can't sleep, try getting up and gently moving — such as walking around or stretching — until you feel tired. It's important to avoid watching TV or using screens.
Why Is Anxiety Worse at Night? Anxiety can get worse at night as people find themselves focusing more on their worries once they are lying in bed without the distractions of the day. For example, sometimes people with insomnia may begin to develop worries about whether or not they will be able to fall asleep.
Difficult experiences in childhood, adolescence or adulthood are a common trigger for anxiety problems. Going through stress and trauma when you're very young is likely to have a particularly big impact. Experiences which can trigger anxiety problems include things like: physical or emotional abuse.
“Not only can submerging your face in a bowl of ice water work as grounding exercise to help distract you from the feelings of panic and focus on your body and surroundings, the ice can also trigger a pain-like response in your brain that forces your neurotransmitters to refocus.”
A large 2020 study in BMC Psychiatry found that people with iron deficiency anemia had a significantly higher incidence and risk of anxiety disorders, depression, sleep disorder, and psychotic disorders.
When you are overhydrated, you may experience low blood sugar as the excess water in the body dilutes the blood's sugar (glucose) content. Low blood sugar may cause you to experience tremors, pallor, anxiety, increased heart rate, sweating, and palpitations, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.