Fight Anxiety and Stress — Take a Cold Shower!

25 January 2023

When you suffer from anxiety or stress, this triggers all kinds of reactions in your body. Your muscles tense up, you get cold hands or feet, or you get sick more often. By taking a cold shower every day, you combat all these symptoms and become healthier, more energetic, and happier! A few years ago I personally took a cold shower every day for 9 months as part of my Kundalini Yoga practice, and experienced how much energy it gave me. Read in this blog the 12 effects of cold showers and exactly how it works.

Is a cold shower actually healthy?

Absolutely! There are studies showing that regularly taking cold showers helps against chronic fatigue, heart complaints, and even some forms of cancer. So a cold shower is part of a healthy lifestyle.

What are the effects of a cold shower?

The effects of a cold shower are numerous, but in short:

The cold water quickly stimulates blood from the internal organs toward the capillaries at the surface of the skin.
You get a slower breathing rate and a lower heart rate: signs that your body is more relaxed.
It stimulates your immune system, so you’re more resistant to infections.
Cold showers correct an unbalanced menstrual cycle, prevent early menopause, improve skin problems, and leave you looking radiant.

Do you step straight under the cold shower?

The real die-hard steps straight under it. If you want to prepare yourself, you can also rub your body with a bit of almond or olive oil. The nice thing about this oil is that it absorbs directly into your skin and is taken up into your body. It has a deeply cleansing effect, so you no longer need soap.

How does a cold shower work?

Turn on the shower and stand beside it. First let the cold water flow over your left foot and lower leg and massage it. Then do your right foot and right lower leg. Then let the water flow over your left arm while you massage it. Then do your right arm. Then let the cold water flow over your face. Finally, turn around and let the cold water rinse over your back. Repeat this process until your body warms itself up. This can take a few minutes. When you’re done, dry yourself off thoroughly with a towel.

How long should you ideally take a cold shower?

You’re done showering once your body has warmed itself up while you’re still standing under the cold tap. For some people that’s 2-3 minutes, for others much longer. Ideally, you take a cold shower daily. The colder the shower and the longer you stand under it, the more energetic you’ll feel afterward.

Can you shower everything cold?

No, not everything. It’s recommended not to hold the genitals, the crown of the head, and the upper legs directly under the cold water stream. The thigh bone plays a role in calcium production in the body and is very sensitive to sudden changes in temperature.

When should you specifically not take a cold shower?

Don’t take a cold shower if you’re ill, have a fever, have rheumatism, have cardiovascular disease, or if you’re pregnant or menstruating.

Conclusion

If you want to reduce stress in your life, take a cold shower every day.

The effects of a cold shower

When you suffer from stress, this triggers all kinds of reactions in your body. Your muscles tense up, you get cold hands or feet, or you get sick more often. By taking a cold shower every day, you combat all these symptoms and become healthier, more energetic, and happier.

Below you’ll find the details of the effects of cold showers, listed out.

It helps remove waste products. A cold shower brings blood to the capillaries. Our arteries and blood vessels are hugely important for delivering nutrients and removing waste products in our body. The capillaries in particular play a big role in this; they need to stay in good condition.

Capillaries essentially function as exchange points. They’re located at the ends of the larger blood vessels and terminate in all the organs and tissues of our body. Capillaries are so thin — actually thinner than a hair — that red blood cells can only flow through them single file. Once they arrive at the organ or tissue, the capillaries release nutrients and immediately pick up waste products to remove them. For this system of supply and removal to run smoothly, it’s important that the blood vessels and capillaries stay in good condition.

It improves blood circulation. Because of the cold water, your heart pumps more blood to your organs — think of your lungs, your intestines, and your brain. You can see this as a kind of protective procedure of your body. A beneficial effect of this is that a cold shower helps against high blood pressure, varicose veins, and extra blood flow to your organs so that they function a little better. Warm water makes your blood vessels expand and warms your body. This can lower your blood pressure. The cold water then constricts the blood vessels again and your blood pressure recovers.
It reduces the pressure on the internal organs and provides a fresh supply of blood. There are certain parts of your body where the effects of high blood pressure are noticeable sooner. These are your eyes, your kidneys, your heart, and your brain.
It strengthens the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. The so-called sympathetic nervous system — the “gas pedal” of your body — allows you to respond quickly to life-threatening situations that induce fear. When you calm down, your parasympathetic nervous system kicks in.
It tenses the muscles and helps them eliminate toxins faster. Because of the cold water, your muscles contract. In response, your body wants to quickly warm your muscles back up, which pumps more blood to your muscles. That way, waste products that arose, for example, during exercise, get carried away. Because your muscles contract due to the cold shower, your lymphatic system gets going. Your lymphatic system protects you against illness.
It gives the body resilience. Resilience is the strength of body and mind to recover quickly, and is the answer to the question of why some people suffer more from setbacks than others.
It strengthens the mucous membranes. Our skin and mucous membranes have an important function for our immune system. Skin and mucous membranes are the body’s first barrier and protect us. Mucous membranes occur in places where the body is directly exposed to environmental factors such as air, food, and other outside influences. The eyes, mouth, nose and throat, the lungs, but also the vagina, bladder, and intestines are all covered with mucous membranes. These mucous membranes are nicely moist and produce mucus to carry substances away.
It keeps the skin young and radiant. Warm water causes your pores to open, and cold water does the opposite. This has a beneficial effect on your skin. A cold shower stimulates blood circulation in your skin. A cold shower can therefore help well with varicose veins, dry skin, and excessive sweating. You might also notice that your skin gets a healthier color and feels a bit firmer and more elastic.
It balances all the glands. Glands help keep our body running. Some types help deliver certain substances, such as hormones, to our body via the bloodstream or via other organs. We call these endocrine glands. The counterpart to the endocrine glands are the exocrine glands. These, in turn, help keep our body clean. They ensure that certain substances, such as waste products, can safely leave our body.
It ensures good digestion. A large part of your metabolism, digestion, is located in your intestines. You stimulate this by letting the water flow from the elbow to about 5 cm above the wrist.
It makes you less susceptible to colds. By stimulating your body through a cold shower, you train your body to work harder, and white blood cells are produced. These white blood cells are deployed by your body against viruses, making you more resistant to colds and flu.
It increases your testosterone level.

Bio

Jacqueline Evers is a relationship therapist who helps couples build a loving, fulfilling relationship instead of a bitter and costly divorce. Over the past 18 years, she has helped more than 1,450 people through individual and relationship therapy. 80% of relationships improve. With her book ‘Cheating. Moving Forward Together in 5 Steps’, she offers couples affected by infidelity a new way of loving. She works from her practice in Almere and online, and is regularly heard on NPO1 radio. The Loveworkx podcasts can be heard on Spotify, among other platforms.