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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)

#161

Post by zhynn »

ses1984 wrote: post #80
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…

Did you ever measure the water temp? How cold is cold?

My water is 4-10C at its coldest. For me if it gets above 15C it doesn't have the same effect.

As cold as possible is best.

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

#162

Post by zhynn »

eequah9L wrote: post #26
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 was doing this for several months. I remember the biggest drawback was that cold water does not dissolve soap and shampoo as well as warm does, so it takes more effort to wash yourself well. I stopped because I got sick, and never got the habit back.

I do hot-cold-hot, so: stage 1: hot, get clean (soaps) stage 2: cold (focus, empty mind, ~1m) stage3: hot (reset, new day feeling, sometimes I save hair conditioner for this step, ~2m) My showers take ~10m.

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

#163

Post by zackmorris »

Tons of strong(wo)man competitors take ice baths after their workouts to reduce inflammation and speed recovery:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=world%27s+stron...

IMHO it's not so much about the numbing or pain reduction, but the increased blood flow afterwards. I ice almost all injuries for about 3 days after they happen. I also tend to find heat to be a waste of time or that it actually exacerbates injuries. But, alternating hot and cold MIGHT be effective (I haven't done it enough to know). In general though, I'd worry that icing after every workout would train the body to require it as a crutch, which means that missing an ice bath could lead to injury, so I won't do it.

Also, I'd hate to miss out on the comfort of warm showers. I'm just not that stoic!

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

#164

Post by mrmuagi »

blowski wrote: post #14
jph wrote: post #3

https://hbr.org/2018/03/cold-showers-lead-to-fewer-sick-days The link is an interview with the study author, and excerpts are below. This is the first high-level evidence showing that cold showers can benefit your health. People who took them for at least 30 seconds for one month called in sick 29% less than our control group — and 54% less if they also engaged in regular physical exercise. Participants who took the…

Sounds spurious to me. I imagine people that take regular cold showers are also more likely to push themselves at work. To make this really interesting, you'd need to have a blind control group of people who are paid to have cold showers, and see whether their absence rates go down when they start.

I agree to the spurious claim. To shower in the cold is willingly doing something unpleasant. That in itself feels like it is going to affect their attitude towards coming into work -- when doing so is unpleasant.

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

#165

Post by Pete_D »

exdsq wrote: post #22
bsaul wrote: post #5

i wonder if there are studies about hot bath. Onsen are extremely popular in japan, and i'm absolutely certain the relaxation you get from hot water is beneficial to health as well

I recently read that a Finnish sauna practically counts as exercise for the cardiovascular system, I assume onsen have a similar benefit. I'm sure I read somewhere that cold showers can be dangerous for people with per-existing heart conditions too. I can't cite either right now but they should be easy to find with a Google search.

> cold showers can be dangerous for people with per-existing heart conditions

I think cold showers trigger the diving reflex[0] ("most noticeable effects are on the cardiovascular system, which displays ... in humans, heart rhythm irregularities"). I don't have a real source for that, but I tried cold showers a few times and found it impossible to breathe when I had cold water spraying on my face, like I could feel my airway closing involuntarily. Warm/hot water doesn't do that.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving_reflex

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

#166

Post by QuarterReptile »

wensheng wrote: post #149

It says old showering reduced self-reported sick leaves but not illness days. So it's not conclusive it has real benefits. I guess lots of HNers shower cold, they like hearing it having potential benefit so they can feel good about themselves. Lots of confirmation bias here. The top voted comment doesn't discuss TFA, but just how great cold showering is. In the study, a 90-seconds subject died, most likely not becaus…

Just feels like sampling bias. As someone who likes to take cold showers (typically with 60-64F water), the thing that usually stops me is feeling sick.

I think it's likely that a significant portion of attrition (19% after 90 days) was due to people feeling too sick to suffer a cold shower, which should pretty closely track with people feeling too sick to go to work.

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

#167

Post by jfengel »

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…

I wouldn't expect hot water to have a significant effect. In cooking, you need to hit 140F to kill bacteria, which would be extremely unpleasant. It's literally scalding; you can get second and even third degree burns in seconds. Pleasantly-hot shower temperature is in the "danger zone" for food handling, where bacteria grow faster.

Using soap will kill bacteria, and as long as the water is warm enough for the soap to foam up, that's going to do all of the work. Adding more heat will just make things easier on bacteria.

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

#168

Post by samatman »

zhynn wrote: post #157
samatman wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had to look up the James Bond shower: it's when you take a warm shower, and finish with cold water. I've been doing that since I was a young lad, it's how my father taught me. I grant that it might make it more difficult to establish the habit, but I wouldn't know. To my taste it's the best of both worlds.

This is what I have been doing for about a decade. It doesn't work as well if the water can't get below 15C. Typically I count slowly to 60 while under the cold water, and try to focus on the count. It is easy to get lost at around 40s. Then I put the warm back on, and finish with ~20s hot/warm. I have come to think of it as a "cold water reboot" for my brain.

Strike me as a good approach!

Something I learned from a Twitter thread, which would be impossible to find (sadly), is the following:

With the water cold, close your eyes, point your face at the water stream, and hold your breath as long as you can.

This apparently triggers some kind of mammalian response involving dive reflexes, that's good for cortisol levels. All I know is that I feel great afterwards.

I don't do this consistently, but I should.

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

#169

Post by lbj »

quattrofan wrote: post #15
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.

Lots of science to back this up, look up Wim Hof

He's an impressive beast.

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

#170

Post by genS3 »

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…

isn't hot temperature more likely to kill bacterias?
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