BBC Earth Science
Are Cold Showers Good For You? | Earth Science
Does the recent hype about taking ice cold showers stand up to science? Doctor Chris van Tulleken is today's guinea pig.
Footnotes:
1) Cold Water Shock: http://completeguide.rnli.org/cold-water-shock.html
Cold Water Safety: http://www.coldwatersafety.org/ColdShock.html
2) Adapted cold shower as a potential treatment for depression: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17993252
Scientific Evidence-Based Effects of Hydrotherapy on Various Systems of the Body: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4049052/
3) Adapted cold shower as a potential treatment for depression: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17993252
4) Cold water immersion in the management of delayed-onset muscle soreness: Is dose important? A randomised controlled trial, Philip D. Glasgow, Roisin Ferris, Chris M. Bleakley https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24768476
Post-exercise cold water immersion attenuates acute anabolic signalling and long-term adaptations in muscle to strength training.The Journal of Physiology, 2015; DOI: 10.1113/JP270570 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/JP270570/abstract;jsessionid=D729CDDEB44563EB58FAE78E7A0960B5.f02t02
5) Cold water immersion in the management of delayed-onset muscle soreness: Is dose important? A randomised controlled trial, Philip D. Glasgow, Roisin Ferris, Chris M. Bleakley https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24768476
6) White to Brown Fat -Irisinand FGF21 Are Cold-Induced Endocrine Activators of Brown Fat Function in Humans. Cell Metabolism, Volume 19, Issue 2, 4 February 2014, Pages 302-309 DOI: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24506871viihttp://completeguide.rnli.org/cold-water-shock.html
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Welcome to Brit Lab. Today we're asking, are cold showers good for you? I'm one of these weird people who does occasionally have a cold shower, and there's some anecdotal evidence and some interesting science behind the idea that it might be doing me some good. There is only one problem. It's not really nice. So, what's happening now? is the nerves in my skin are detecting the cold water and I'm having a massive stress response. My heart rate's gone up. I'm flooded with adrenaline and I feel very very panicky and anxious. I'm breathing very very hard. Makes you feel alive though. Sometimes this is the only way I ever feel anything. Taking a cold shower in the morning has long been seen as a healthy way to kickstart your day. Supposed health benefits include reducing depression and anxiety, improving circulation, boosting your immune system, burning fat, and increasing alertness. The first trials of using cold water immersion to treat depression have yet to be done. But the theory, the science behind it goes something like this. Repeated exposure to cold water makes you better at dealing with that stress response with all those chemical and hormonal changes that happen inside your body and make you feel so terrible. And it may be that in adapting to that cold water exposure, you also improve your body's ability to deal with the psychological stress that also accompanies anxiety and depression. Lots of athletes are advocates of ice water baths. The theory goes something like this. You plunge into ice water and it reduces the pain and speeds recovery from the small tears in your muscles that exercise gives you. I'd say the evidence about whether or not it works is at best mixed. Some studies show it improves recovery, whilst other studies show it can actually reduce muscle adaptation. But if you find it works for you, by all means, crack on and get in the bath. Some studies suggest that cold showers may boost your immune system and even contribute to pain reduction, although there's no definitive evidence at the moment. One of the most popular beliefs surrounding cold water showering, is that it can turn unhealthy white fat into healthy, metabolically active brown fat, the kind of fat we use for shivering. Unfortunately, there's very little evidence that this is true. So, what are the dangers? Well, on a domestic level, cold showers are pretty safe. Unless you're older or you have a heart condition, in which case they might cause fainting or even a heart attack. If you're unlucky enough to fall into cold water, then that cold water shock response where you gasp and inhale water is what kills a lot of people even when they're close to land. And that's why conditioning yourself with cold water swimming or cold water showers is really a useful thing to do. It reduces the gasping and it might just save your life. So research into the benefits of cold water showers or cold water swimming is still in its infancy. But personally, I've been doing it for about 6 months and I feel great.
#Cold #Showers #Good #Earth #Science
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Living in a broken down trailer and now the water heater broke down… And winter is coming slowly so the cold water is definitely cold
can you have longevity medicine pleasen
can you live to 180 please3
It is normal water shower not cold. Cold shower is when there is small pieces of ice in the water.
Editor deserves an award 😂😂😂
what did xaqnd do before christ was born
Energy +: take a cold shower on a hot day, before making love to your girl. It is different.
I 1st had a cold shower during a heatwave last year ever since i dont have warm showers that much i just prefer cold showers
One side benefit is that an electric shower uses a lot of electricity (8000W), so by keeping the heat off you will save energy!
As someone that's 16 and had cold showers for well over 7 months now (not everyday), I can say that the best way to start if your new to this greatly energizing practice is to take some deep breaths (around 5-10 before you hop in) and as your about to enter the shower, take an deep exhale. Once your skin touches the water, you'll automatically exhale deeply and after that exhale, continuously take as many deep inhales and exhales until you've climatized. Works every time.
I can say personally on a mental level that when I turn my shower temp to cold towards the end I come out feeling better with my anxiety.
If nothing else, it could help save water by giving an incentive to hurry up in there
damn i hope i don’t faint, cant wait to try tho!!
With cold showers does it kill germs, as I felt my skin is much netter when having cold showers?
Don't hit your head with the cold water in the beginning!!!! Start with your chest or neck. Going straight on your head will cause shock usually followed by a horrible thumping headache.
I liked the video purely for the editing
It's best to apply the water in the lower body first and then move up gradually. If you directly expose your head to the cold water you might faint 😬
So I’ve been taking cold showers for about 2 weeks but I get a cold or a nasal congestion because of it
I take them at 5:00 am
Does anyone know what’s the problem?
Schoolboys who had cold showers every day went on to carve out the British Empire so they must be condemned as imperialist. Decolonise showers!
Yeah. A theory isn't science. It is academia. Science is the process of showing that the academics are correct…or more usually…wrong. So, in short there is no science regarding cold showers.
That said I have been doing exclusively cold showers (and cold baths) for many months. This is with no warm phase. Jump straight into the cold. Eventually…it becomes really enjoyable and becomes like coffee…the only way to start the day. I have noticed three fringe benefits 1) weight loss 2) increased aerobic fitness 3) much improved eczema.
My water heater broke, I’m on Day 3 of cold water showers and feel great!
My theory is along with working out in the morning, your body has gone through the toughest part of the day and everything else will seem easy. Therefore, less stress and more energy 💪
Cold showers are just life changing 🥰🥰🥰
I'm a recovering addict..and let me tell you , it clearly does something
Just had a cold shower! Something werid or amazing happend. I'm normally anxious and shy but after I got out and talked to my mother I surprisingly could hold eye contact and feel calm???! Definitely trying again 😊
Do you shower fully with cold water or towards the end
The begining is the hardest. After some time you won't feel the coldness anymore.
Can I take cold showers in December? I am already taking it since 3 months
The weird part about this is that during the most depressing point of my life I all of the sudden felt the urge to take a cold shower without any external recommendation. It just felt like a natural instinct.
I think the tremendous physical discomfort from the cold shifts your focus off of what’s in your mind. It really makes you feel alive, and I genuinely believe it helped me to gain the motivation I needed to continue pursuing goals again.
We always view people hurting themselves as a cry for help but maybe in many cases it’s just our brain’s way of reminding us we are living.
GOD Loved you enough to send His Son JESUS for you and if you will believe in Him and at baptized in THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON and THE HOLY SPIRIT and turn from your sins you will be ( if you haven’t already)
Hahaha@ The cuts to him in the cold shower!
What I notice is that cold showers immediately bring me back into my body from overthinking. It also increases my sense of joy.
Why not start with a warm shower and slowly adjust to cold?
found out about cold showers through an episode of a joe rogan podcast
My feet killing me at work, arrive home tried this…..I feel better have a nice sleep.
I switch between warm and cold water settings during shower. I can't live without it anymore. I look forward to it everyday. He should have mentioned study that said people doing swimming in cold water had higher levels of glutathione which is tied to youthfulness. Search with words "glutathione levels during short-term whole body cold exposure".
I miss operation ouch
All those screams “wooh!” and “aah!” remind me of the vow scene in the best man
Fast forward to 2022, and we need cold showers because gas is so expensive.
I’m only here because our water heater has been broken for a week 😅 trying to find the bright side of this??