For most of us, cold showers feel like an icy hell.
At the end of the day, you don’t think about jumping into a cold shower unless you have been working in the fields and building a sweat for the last several hours.
But cold showers are actually good for you in over a dozen ways.
With the ability to change everything from your mindset to even your health, here are 15 scientific reasons why you may want to opt for a cold shower the next time you step in for a wash.
1) They Increase Immunity
In one study, researchers found that people who regularly subject themselves to cold showers have more white blood cells than their hot shower peers.
White blood cells are responsible for fighting diseases, and they believe that this is because cold showers activate your immune system by speeding up your metabolism, thus creating more white blood cells.
2) Faster Blood Circulation
Looking to get your blood pumping? Nothing is better than a cold shower if you want to send that blood rushing all over your body.
Stimulating your entire circulatory system isn’t a bad way to start your day.
3) Raises Fertility
For both men and women, cold showers can actually make it likelier for you to have kids.
One study found that men who are forced to stop taking hot showers experience a boost of nearly 500% in their sperm count just six months later.
This is because your testes need cool environments, not warm hot baths.
Testosterone is important for so many men, boosting everything from your muscle growth to your confidence.
Instead of getting a shot of testosterone, just have a nice cold shower: researchers have found that the heat from warm showers can change our DNA, manipulating it into producing less testosterone.
5) Lose Weight
Cold showers are great if you want to lose weight. This is because cold showers force your body to activate the brown fat inside of you, which is used to insulate your body and keep your heat inside.
When the body feels cold, the brown fat goes into overdrive, burning 15 times faster than it would otherwise.
6) Better Hair and Skin
If you love beauty (and who doesn’t), then cold showers are for you: not only do they make your skin clearer, they also help out your hair.
The freezing water cleans you while keeping the natural oils in your hair and skin, which warm water usually washes off.
7) Makes You More Alert
Getting up in the morning and starting your day can be the hardest part of the day, especially if you’re not a morning person.
A cold shower can do wonders for you, if that’s the case: the sudden rush of cold water speeds up your heart and forces your body to take in more oxygen, waking up your brain at a faster rate.
8) They Relax You
Even if it’s just a quick cold shower, cold showers have the ability to relax your stressful moments.
They boost the Glutathione present in your blood and reduce your uric acid: these two things combined makes you a more relaxed person.
Cold showers are an amazing way to develop your focus, meditation, and overall Zen calmness.
This is because they activate the oxygen in your body—to relax in a cold shower means your body can relax in any environment, making you more in touch with your rational self.
10) Increase Will Power
What better way to build your willpower than by forcing yourself into doing something you don’t want to do every single morning for the rest of your life?
Cold showers are a great way to exercise your discipline and willpower, and like every muscle in your body, the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes.
11) Learn How To Breathe Better
One thing that many of us neglect is the quality of our breathing. Cold showers force you to take in deep breaths, and the energy you get by breathing properly—deeply and thoroughly—is enough to help you get through the rest of the day, even without your morning coffee.
12) Your Alarm Clock
Nothing is more effective at pushing away the sleep and getting you into that killer instinct than a cold shower.
The cold shower immediately knocks out your sleepiness and gets your body into overdrive.
13) Great Way To Sleep
While cold showers can wake you up in the morning, they are also great at helping you get to sleep at night.
Cold showers are also known as cold therapy, and are one of the most effective ways of knocking yourself out when it’s past your bedtime.
14) They Kill Depression
Researchers have proven that cold showers can stimulate your “blue spot”, or the area in your brain that produces noradrenaline, the key chemical in resisting depression.
There is also the electroshock that the sudden cold shower does to your brain, sending impulses all over your brain that can help you beat depression.
15) Increase Muscle Recovery
If you’ve been working out at the gym, the most important thing you need is muscle recovery: the faster your muscles recover, the faster you can increase your weights and reps.
Cold showers are key towards speeding up your muscle recovery, which is why Olympians almost always take ice baths.
