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The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work (2016)

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Re: The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work (2016)

#51

Post by imglorp »

joncrane wrote: post #13
lbj wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't sound healthy at all. If the only difference is that they went to work sick, then I see little benefit. Except to the disease of course, it get spread around more effectively.

The takeaway I get is that it increases perseverance. So basically, "doing something physically unpleasant every day increases ability to push through/withstand other physically unpleasant events" is my big takeaway. Seems pretty straightforward. Not necessarily novel, especially when you add in the exercise portion. I think there's some value to pushing yourself harder than the minimum to be comfortable and survive.…

Navy SEAL training involves extended cold water exercise specifically designed to build perseverance. The ones that succeed are experts at not quitting anything

Re: The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work (2016)

#52

Post by gambiting »

jokoon wrote: post #19

During winter I never heat my home above 18C, so I never use any heating. My computer and I are the only sources of heat and it's enough (not to mention the fridge, etc). If it goes below 16 I do some pushups and dress accordingly. If the bed is really cold, I just use a hot-water bag. I like the cold. To be honest, I'm also wondering if getting used to the cold might result in some form of slight weight loss, since…

That's fine, except that the humidity in your house must be insane. I see it a lot in some British houses, where people either don't have heating on or run it very rarely - everything has this damp, musky smell of mildew. It's gross frankly. And the only way to fix it is to either run a powerful dehumidifier almost non-stop(not cheap, but at least you can keep the house cold if you want to), or....put the heating on. Opening the windows does nothing if the humidity outside is also pretty high.

Re: The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work (2016)

#53

Post by xur17 »

Moru wrote: post #46
michalu wrote: post #17

I've been taking cold showers exclusively for 11 years now. It doesn't get much easier but you'll get addicted to the great feeling after. It's similar to running or exercise, it sucks to do but you do it anyway because the benefits far outweigh the temporary discomfort. The trick for me was to never use warm shower again and never compromise ... only coldest water available counts. First thing in the morning. It mak…

How cold is cold for you normally? Our water is about four degrees celcius never mind what season it is. It just hurts, never really managed to stay more than a few seconds. Some people around here are hacking a hole in the ice and swimming for a while... Edit: Seems the test assumed 10-12 degrees average temperature in Netherlands.

That's a good point. I've lived in places where my "cold" water was likely ~20 degrees Celsius in the summer. Warm enough that I honestly wished it were a bit cooler at times after exercising. Other places it's been pretty close to freezing.

Re: The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work (2016)

#54

Post by dkersten »

SuoDuanDao wrote: post #49
lbj wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't sound healthy at all. If the only difference is that they went to work sick, then I see little benefit. Except to the disease of course, it get spread around more effectively.

I'd imagine the symptoms were also reduced. Cold showers reduce inflammation, so I'd imagine people who practice them would feel less miserable once the 'fight it off' portion of the infection is over.

My doctor also recommended cold showers (or at least ending with a minute of cold) as a means of stress management. Apparently it stimulates some nerves and reduces the stress damage somewhat. Possibly related to lower inflammation too. Anecdotally I do feel better when I do it and miss it when I don’t.

Re: The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work (2016)

#55

Post by smcl »

michalu wrote: post #17

I've been taking cold showers exclusively for 11 years now. It doesn't get much easier but you'll get addicted to the great feeling after. It's similar to running or exercise, it sucks to do but you do it anyway because the benefits far outweigh the temporary discomfort. The trick for me was to never use warm shower again and never compromise ... only coldest water available counts. First thing in the morning. It mak…

What sort of climate do you live in? Here we have very hot summers and I enjoy my cold showers then. However Winter is long and cold, we don’t like to run the heating too much (bit wasteful if you can just stick on a jumper and thick socks) and warm showers are invaluable to recharge before work after a cold morning walk with the dogs

Re: The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work (2016)

#56

Post by bootloop »

jokoon wrote: post #19

During winter I never heat my home above 18C, so I never use any heating. My computer and I are the only sources of heat and it's enough (not to mention the fridge, etc). If it goes below 16 I do some pushups and dress accordingly. If the bed is really cold, I just use a hot-water bag. I like the cold. To be honest, I'm also wondering if getting used to the cold might result in some form of slight weight loss, since…

Depending on where you live this can ruin your apt/house and accelerate growth of mold because the humidity will be so high. At least you have to vent regulary (which might be challenging as you can't heat up fast if you don't do any extra heating).

Just saying, I have seen it happening as a tenant wanted to save on heating costs...

Re: The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work (2016)

#57

Post by test1235 »

s5ma6n wrote: post #25

For me, one of the important elements in the results is the reduction in influenza with 60 and 90 sec. cold shower group. On the other hand seeing this adverse effect also made me nervous: "One participant in the 90 seconds intervention group died unexpectedly of occult chronic pulmonary embolism at 56 days follow-up." I know it is not because of the trial but it is unfortunate.

>occult chronic pulmonary embolism

like ... magic?

Re: The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work (2016)

#58

Post by ses1984 »

jokoon wrote: post #19

During winter I never heat my home above 18C, so I never use any heating. My computer and I are the only sources of heat and it's enough (not to mention the fridge, etc). If it goes below 16 I do some pushups and dress accordingly. If the bed is really cold, I just use a hot-water bag. I like the cold. To be honest, I'm also wondering if getting used to the cold might result in some form of slight weight loss, since…

I wish people who told stories like this gave a little more context. Like where do you live? How chold does it get? Would you say your home is well insulated? Do you live in an apartment?

Top post in this thread is someone claiming they used only the coldest water to shower for 11 years. Where I live, in the winter, the water is barely above freezing, it hurts. I've read that 70f showers are cold enough for health benefits. 70f does not hurt.

Re: The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work (2016)

#59

Post by discobean »

AstralStorm wrote: post #43

The study explicitly says no reduced days of illness, just fewer days off. Means people were going in sick or worked harder? So there are no actual results on health in the short time they studied.

They probably just didn't feel like calling in sick after a cold shower

Re: The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work (2016)

#60

Post by n1000 »

michalu wrote: post #17

I've been taking cold showers exclusively for 11 years now. It doesn't get much easier but you'll get addicted to the great feeling after. It's similar to running or exercise, it sucks to do but you do it anyway because the benefits far outweigh the temporary discomfort. The trick for me was to never use warm shower again and never compromise ... only coldest water available counts. First thing in the morning. It mak…

I did the same for 3 years, but mostly for environmental reasons. It is a very effective strategy to shave off a fair amount of your personal carbon footprint (next to not flying).

As you say the rush after the shower is amazing! I stopped, because in winter (central European) there were days where I was cold all day and felt like I would never quite warm up again before going to bed. In summer, however, I still do it regularly and it really helped during the recent heat waves.

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