00:00Hey there! Do you love taking showers just as much as I do? There’s sometimes nothing more satisfying than stepping under a warm shower head. Have you ever found yourself standing in there for an unhealthy amount of time? Yeah me neither. Let’s talk about cold showers for a moment. I know you’re thinking, “That went from comfortable to painful pretty quickly.” But to be honest, did you know there are actual benefits to taking cold showers? Let’s talk 8 Ways Cold Showers Benefit Your Health. Do they lower stress? Can a cold shower help you lose weight? Hang on, they can actually improve your fertility? This is bound to peak your interests, unless you’re secretly one of those “bath people”... Either way, let’s discuss. They do lower stress. It has been proven that certain temperatures of water can have a profound effect on our mood. Along with meditation and exercise, a cold shower is an amazing way to cool down…
01:00No pun intended. Seriously though, the stress of daily life can get to everyone, and we all need a way to relax. Have you ever heard of uric acid? Out of all the different kinds of acid out there, uric acid sounds like one of the more unpleasant kinds, doesn’t it? Uric acid is a bodily compound that can create kidney stones and diabetes if increased to a high enough concentration. Studies have shown that a cold shower can decrease the level of uric acid in your body. It is also shown to increase your level of -- say it with me -- glutathione, which helps keeps all your antioxidants working. This keeps your brain at ease and helps you relax. 2. Cold showers can help your depression. Forget things like uric acid for a second. Have you ever heard of “the blue spot”? No we’re not talking about some mysterious rash you’ve found on your body. That’s for another video.
02:00Known scientifically as the locus coeruleus, ‘the blue spot’ is an unusual blue-colored area that connects the brain to the spinal cord. Once the water touches you, the cold receptors in your skin send electrical impulses into your brain, eventually reaching your blue spot and soothing your body as a whole. This can act as an antidepressant. So if you’re feeling down, be sure to hop into a cold shower for a few minutes. It may be uncomfortable at first, but it will definitely help your mood. 3. They stimulate weight loss This is one that’s bound to make you excited. At least if you’re a fitness or health junkie. Over the past couple of minutes, we’ve been throwing a lot of fancy terms at you. So many, that we may come off kind of pretentious. SO HERE’S ANOTHER ONE! Have you ever heard of brown fat? Yes, it’s called brown fat. Yes, your fat comes in colours. Two colours to be exact.
03:00While white fat accumulates after eating crappy foods and overdoing calories, brown fat keeps our bodies warm. But in order for brown fat to work efficiently, your body needs to burn calories, helping you take off excess fat and assisting in weight loss. 4. The cold can do wonders for the skin. By now you’ve probably realized that cold showers work magic. Well not exactly, but they help with a lot of things, including your skin. When hot water comes in contact with the body, it tends to leave your skin looking old and dry. While hot showers have several benefits themselves, the warmth doesn’t help when it comes to caring for your pores. Are you looking to take better care of your skin? Crank that temperature down a couple notches, or at least until its lukewarm. The cold tightens your pores and helps prevent them from getting clogged up. It also prevents the skin from missing out on those natural oils it loves.
04:005. It Can Increase Alertness All of you hardcore coffee drinkers take note. There is another method to keep you on your toes. Newsflash: it doesn’t involve a caffeine high. Remember how we talked about hot water coming in contact with the body? Well cold water also evokes a reaction from inside. The quick change in temperature will bring a shock to your body, giving your brain a sudden urge to make you feel warm again. This rush sends a message to your heart to work harder at pumping blood throughout your body. Needless to say, this process gives you one heck of an energy boost. It can also wake you up pretty quickly. Your heart can do incredible things, but it can also work against you. Check out our video for ‘8 Signs Your Body Gives You a Month Before a Heart Attack’. 6. Cold showers can help your hair Do you remember how we talked about cold showers helping your skin? Well, in the same way they help
05:00your skin, they can also help your hair. We could have probably mentioned this while we discussed skin a minute ago, but to be honest, we want to stretch this video out as long as it can go. Let’s talk about it. The cold water can seal the pores on your scalp. This temporarily prevents any dirt or bacteria from entering and causing you to lose hair follicles. If you’ve been losing more hair than usual lately, cold showers might just give your scalp some much needed strengthening. Don’t start wearing a hair piece just yet. 7. Your muscles recover quicker Here’s another one for the fitness junkies. Or maybe just the people who slept uncomfortably last night. Did you know it’s been proven that a 24-minute ice bath can heal sore muscles within four days? Okay I think I may need to backpedal a bit. Have you ever seen an ice bath? They were prevalent in many ancient Native American cultures. People would jump into icy cold water for the sake of spiritual and physical cleansing. The freezing cold temperatures would shock the body, decreasing your level of lactic acid and helping your body heal faster.
06:00Sounds intense doesn’t it? That’s because it is, but man does it work. Keep in mind, not everybody has instant access to an ice bath. And freezing ice in the refrigerator, only to pour it into your tub can be a long wait. If you’re among the 99.9% of folks who don’t have instant access to an ice bath, you may just want to use your shower, turning down the temperature as low as you can handle. If your discouraged from all the discomfort you may feel, just remember that all of your favourite athletes have taken a dip in the ice bath at one point or another. 8. Cold showers improve circulation This is probably a benefit you didn’t think of. In all honesty, neither did I. This list has a ton of callbacks… AND HERE’S ANOTHER ONE! Remember how we talked about cold water getting the heart pumping and helping your blood flow faster throughout your body? Yeah, all that interesting stuff? Well your blood pressure actually decreases during this process,
07:00as it spreads through the body, surrounding your internal organs. If your blood circulation has been poor, it normally improves after a few minutes under a cold shower head. Keep in mind however that this is only temporary. Try your best to consult a physician. 9. It can increase your sperm count. We just had to catch your attention in the best way possible. This is for all you men out there who are interested in fatherhood. Taking an ice cold shower can be an excellent way to help your sperm count. And I mean help in a big way… Did you know that a cold shower has the potential to increase your level of sperm by up by 491%? I didn’t even know there were percentages that high. Then again I skipped math class in school. Actually I cut class in general. Come to think of it, I dropped out in the 9th grade. All the more reason I shouldn’t be a father. Do you take cold showers? Are you considering taking them after seeing this video? Sound off in the comment section. and
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