As we draw closer to spring, many crave a hot shower or bath since it’s that perfect time of the year when it’s not too cold but it’s crisp with the right amount of breeze. Advocates of taking the plunge, such as Chris Hemsworth and other athletes, have discussed the many benefits of cold baths after working out. But have we considered how this affects our bodies?
Hydrotherapy studies have shown that incorporating cold showers into our daily routine can be highly beneficial for our health, boosting up our immunity to battle dangerous particles – even in the depths of winter – despite being less popular additions to our daily bathing routines.
Image Source: Medical News Today
Research studies have looked at both the benefits and drawbacks of hot and cold showers, and it is important to know what we put our bodies through in our daily wash rituals.
Cold Showers
It is no secret that cold water therapy has become increasingly popular over the last few years, with various athletes and celebrities promoting its health benefits. Aside from a cold shower helping people to wake up in the morning, some of the less well-known benefits include:
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Increased metabolism
The initial shock of getting into a cold shower can be off-putting for many of us. However, this sudden change in body temperature helps to increase your heart rate and oxygen intake, which has been proven to help increase your metabolism over time.
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Reduced muscle soreness
It is well-known that various athletes have ice baths after competitions, but this isn’t just for show. This helps to speed up recovery after physical exercise by reducing swelling, soreness and fatigue.
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Reduced stress levels
Although you might think that hot showers are more for relaxation, it has been shown that cold exposure lowers the cortisol levels in the body, which is the hormone we release when reacting to stress. This means that having a cold shower will reduce stress and anxiety over time.
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Improved immune system
Various studies have also shown how people who regularly expose themselves to cold showers had fewer sick days from work and faster rates of immunity response. Radboud University studied this theory, exposing two groups to a disease. The group with regular cold showers had fewer symptoms and an increased immune response to the pathogen, proving that cold showers affect our immunity.
However, it’s important to note that if you’re already cold, or if you are recovering from an illness, a cold shower will only make your body colder and make it harder for you to get well and retain heat.
If you decide to incorporate cold showers into your routine, you should ease yourself into it, starting with 10-20 seconds and building up your body to breathe and relax under the conditions.
Hot Showers
A firm favourite in the winter, hot showers has the great benefit of keeping our body temperatures up and helping us unwind and relax. The good news is that hot showers do have various health benefits aside from relaxation, including:
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Helping respiration
Ever been told to hold your head over steaming water when you’ve got a cold? Hot showers work in the same way by opening up your airways and loosening the phlegm that congests them. This allows us to breathe better and deeper, which is particularly beneficial when suffering from an illness.
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Cleans skin
The hot water also opens up the pores in our skin, removing the dirt under the skin. This does, however mean that our skin often becomes dry and so it is recommended that we should moisturise after enduring a lengthy hot shower.
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Improved brain health
Immersion studies have shown that hot showers and baths are beneficial to our memory and our ability to learn. By testing two groups immersed in different temperature waters for 20 minutes, they found that the group in higher temperatures retained better memories and picked up new information faster.
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Improved blood circulation
