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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)

#91

Post by andygcook »

jeffwass wrote: post #71
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’m curious, do you stand under the cold water the entire time? Or kind of get wet quickly and step out of the stream, lather, rinse quickly, etc.

I regularly take cold showers. The trick for me is to stay under the cold water as much as possible. Swapping in and out means you have to experience the cold rush multiple times, which is the most unpleasant part. Deep, meditative breaths at the beginning help a lot too.

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

#92

Post by kaolti »

Isn't it obvious that cold showers will make you more resilient to cold? Even if we assume there aren't any health benefits - which would be foolish IMO, being resilient to cold is a benefit in itself.

If you're waiting for science to put a number on everything before you consider it you'll be disappointed in the long run.

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

#93

Post by hourislate »

Duke-Nukem-64 wrote: post #89

I only shower at night before bed. Are there any benefits for cold showers at night? Seems like many of you shower in the morning.

From what I understand (Matthew Walker - Why we Sleep), you will have a better nights sleep if you take a cold shower before bed. According to the information I read, you want to bring your body temperature down for a more restful sleep.

As a bonus, cold showers likely bring on Hormesis, which in turn can also be beneficial for ones health.

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

#94

Post by michalu »

OnACoffeeBreak wrote: post #77
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…

Obviously you don't feel that using cold water negatively impacts how effectively you can clean yourself otherwise you wouldn't do this, but I was interested to know because I assumed hot water is better. So, I did some searching, and results appear inconclusive [1]: > The impact of handwashing techniques on infectious diseases among the general public in community settings has not been extensively studied.Hot water…

Yes, good to know as it's quite a usual counter-point I get. The differences are trivial in my opinion.

I take about two showers a day, mainly because I do sports, so I think I make up with the volume ... even training in sometimes dodgy gyms around the world or doing jiu-jitsu for a long time basically rolling on the ground with sweaty dudes, I was able to keep myself clean of any infections, fungal or viral ... I'm just taking regular shower clean myself properly, the the body should fend off easily.

It's anecdotal but I think doing hygiene properly and regularly makes bigger impact than temperature of a water.

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

#95

Post by michalu »

jeffwass wrote: post #71
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’m curious, do you stand under the cold water the entire time? Or kind of get wet quickly and step out of the stream, lather, rinse quickly, etc.

I get under water gradually then stay there until I stop feeling discomfort. The part of the habit is not just the hygiene but the cold shower itself.

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

#96

Post by michalu »

amelius wrote: post #30
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 do you deal with summers when the water temperature goes up? Do you notice that the benefits are less then?

Not really, it just more pleasant to take a shower with less of an impact after. Summer is easy, it's the cold winter that counts :)

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

#97

Post by bregma »

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…

If you lived where I live and did this you would be dead.

In winter the temperature of my water at the well-head is about 4 C, but if it's sitting in the pipes over night it can hit 0 C (which means no shower until it thaws, of course). The ambient air temperature in my bathroom is often below 10 C in the morning before I rouse the fire when it's -20 C or below outside, and that happens for weeks at a time. A 4 C shower followed by standing wet in 10 C air means a fairly quick excursion into hypothermialand.

I guess if you live in, say, an apartment in Saudi Arabia or Florida a "cold shower" might have a completely different meaning than if you live in a cabin in the Canadian back woods.

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

#99

Post by TheSoftwareGuy »

>Outcomes >All outcomes were self-reported using web-based surveys.

>Conclusion >A routine (hot-to-) cold shower resulted in a statistical reduction of self-reported sickness absence but not illness days in adults without severe comorbidity.

I'm always a tad skeptical of self-reported data. In this case, seeing as the more objective measure shows a much smaller effect, I am inclined to think this is more a placebo effect than anything else.

Still, a placebo effect that makes you feel better seems like a good thing, so I might just start taking some cold showers now

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