Cold showers can help reduce inflammation, relieve pain, improve circulation, lower stress levels, and reduce muscle soreness and fatigue. Hot showers, meanwhile, can improve cardiovascular health, soothe stiff joints, and improve sleep.
Since cold showers make the blood flow faster through your body to maintain the ideal body temperature, they are beneficial in reducing inflammation and can potentially prevent cardiovascular disease.
Cold water can help close pores, preventing dirt and bacteria from getting into the skin. Cold water can also help to reduce inflammation and redness in the skin. Cold showers can increase circulation, which gives your skin a healthy glow.
After 30 days of cold showers, most individuals report feeling more alert, having more energy, having healthier skin and hair, improved mental health and resilience, improved circulation, and more.
Going from a hot to cold shower — even for a couple of minutes — might protect you from circulating viruses. The shock of cold water can stimulate the blood cells that fight off infection (leukocytes).
Getting into a cold shower is never a pleasant experience, but there are a few health benefits you may gain from braving the experience. Cold showers can help reduce inflammation, relieve pain, improve circulation, lower stress levels, and reduce muscle soreness and fatigue.
Poor skin blood flow results in dry, dull, and aged complexion. Given that cold water improves blood flow, you're essentially helping your skin prevent premature skin aging every time you shower using cold water.
Cold water not only helps the scalp retain its moisture—it also seals down the hair cuticles and helps lock moisture into the strands themselves. "The cool water temperature closes and strengthens the hair cuticle, which can result in stronger, healthier hair over time," notes celebrity hairstylist Andrew Fitzsimons.
“Humans tend to perspire at night,” Dr. Goldenberg said. “When you wake up in the morning, there's all this sweat and bacteria from the sheets that's just kind of sitting there on your skin.” So take a quick shower in the morning, he said, “to wash all of that gunk and sweat off that you've been sleeping in all night.”
The best time to take a cold shower is in the morning, as it kick-starts your system ready for the rest of the day. If you struggle to take the plunge, start with your feet and hands and submerge one limb at a time.
Heart and Lung Conditions
Cold showers are typically not recommended for those with heart or lung issues, and anyone with these conditions should consult a healthcare provider before trying cold showers.
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.”
Beneficial for your hair
Finishing a shower with a cold blast can help lock moisture in your hair, while also tightening your hair follicles, meaning reduced hair loss. Additionally, cold water helps to close hair cuticles, which enables the hair to reflect light resulting in a high shine.
It's also possible to overdo the cold. "If the water temperature is too cold, below 10°C, and you take a long shower, you can get hypothermia. I recommend cold showers between 10°C/50°F and 16°C/60°F," Green says.
Lukewarm water is advisable to wash your face with, but cold water has its benefits, too. Cold water tightens the appearance of your skin, so it may make you look renewed and refreshed. It also helps boost your circulation, which can help give your skin a healthier appearance, albeit temporarily.
Cold blood from your limbs and skin returns to your core where it mixes with warmer blood thereby causing your deep body temperature to drop, even if you're warmly dressed and move into a warm environment. This is why you often only start shivering 10 to 15 minutes after leaving the water.
- Cold water works great as an anti-wrinkle cream! It tones the skin making it look fresh and younger. Use cold water regularly to wash your face as it will slow down the aging process and helps to fill out the wrinkles on your face.
It can help with collagen production, repair elastin fibres and by stimulating the skin's function could also slow down the ageing process.”
Just like rubbing an ice cube on your face is a skincare must for many, so is washing the face with cold water. Both of these techniques can make your skin look younger. Simply splashing your face with cold water can reduce the fine lines and wrinkles on your face considerably.
It's simple. Start your shower off as you typically would in hot water, staying at this temperature as you wash yourself. Then, quickly turn the water ice cold for the last 30-45 seconds to finish strong.
The easiest route is to ease into the cold
Start by slowly cooling the temperature at the end of your regular shower, then lengthen that time and go colder the next time you shower. After a few days or a week, you may even be able to try a cold start – or at least a cold-ish entry.