One of the oldest forms of therapeutic medicine and hydrotherapy known to man is the exposure to cold water. Cold water benefits the nervous system, our circulation, stress response, and speeds up recovery, all of which contribute to a natural high and boost in mood and attitude. If you think that you could “never!” take a cold shower, please read on and let me convince you why you absolutely must incorporate cold hydrotherapy into your daily routine.

Cold showers stimulate your autonomic nervous system. Your autonomic nervous system consists of two branches, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic branches. The sympathetic branch of your autonomic nervous system is responsible for your “fight or flight” response, among others, while the parasympathetic nervous system regulates unconscious functions such as digestion and restoring homeostasis through rest.

 Think of the sympathetic nervous system as fire, activity, stress, and yang energy.

 The parasympathetic nervous system is rest, recovery, slow, yin energy.

The importance of cold showers, especially for the sympathetic nervous system, is that the shock from the cold water induces a stress response. Not all stress is bad stress, and the reason the shock from a cold shower is so beneficial is because in our climate controlled environments, many people’s bodies are not under enough thermal stress.

Think about it, when in our evolutionary cycle were humans sitting inside at a nice even 72 degrees all year around. Some people never go outside in the winter for more than 2 minutes at a time, and then they may even stay in air-conditioning climate-controlled structures all summer as well. This results in our regulatory system within our glands, organs, and nervous system, that does not get a proper “work-out.”

So how does the shock from cold water actually benefit our sympathetic nervous system and our overall health?

Breathing and heart rate. The first thing that happens when your entire body gets shocked from an extreme cold temperature is that blood flow must occur, and rapidly. The nervous system becomes shocked, and blood rapidly moves inwards towards the internal organs to keep them warm and protected. This results in constriction and tightening of the nervous system. To transport this blood to where it needs to get in the body the heart must instantly react, and it gets very excited. This results in the lungs having to breathe very powerfully and very deeply.

The breathing pumps the body and shakes our main arteries and veins; this pumps blood throughout the body and stimulates excellent circulation. Below is an image showing how the main artery and veins within the body are similar to a giant tree trunk, they are located right next to the heart and lungs, and they all work intimately together for circulation and regulation within the body. By shocking the body with cold water you are instantly turning on your heart, lungs, and shaking this giant trunk, which is full of blood. Shaking this giant trunk sends waves of blood and nutrients towards the extremities, and sends waste and toxins back towards the lymphatic systems and heart.

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Do you ever get cold fingertips or toes? Cold showers are an excellent remedy to enhance circulation because of the stimulation to the cardiovascular system described above. By shocking the heart and lungs and sympathetic nervous system in this way, blood flow increases to the extremities once you get out of the cold and your body adjusts to normal temperatures once again. This happens because you turned on many beneficial responses with the cold, once you go back to normal temperatures your body keeps functioning on a heightened level for a while. Prolonged and consistent exposure to cold temperatures will result in a stronger sympathetic nervous system and circulation.

The best part about cold showers is that they are completely natural, free, and are great for your health. They increase your ability to deal with stress and prevent illness and weakness in general.

Cold showers provide us with an active meditation experience, a chance to be 100% focused on our body. Improved circulation, intense breathing, and the experience of tolerating the cold shower itself, all provide an amazing therapeutic effect of ridding the body of tension and strengthening the nervous system.

Cold water immersion also allows us to become one with our body in an intense meditation. It is a great way to kick a caffeine addiction in the morning by providing the body with a natural high. When you step into a cold shower you will not be thinking about work, relationships, or the stresses of life, you will simply be reacting with your entire being to the cold. This means heavy breathing and an excitation within the nervous system and heart, there is no time to think or be anywhere else except in your body.

This is the greatest benefit of the cold shower in my opinion; it allows us an opportunity to have an intense meditation that is focused on the body. I personally recommend breathing with vigor and yelling or chanting deeply from your belly to keep warm in a cold shower. It is important to breathe all the way down to your belly, and visualize energy flowing throughout your body and all the way down to your fingertips and toes.

I find that the meditative effects of cold showers are so beneficial that I take one whenever I need to refocus on my body or need a lift.

These meditative qualities of cold showers, along with stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, will contribute to enhanced mood and better psychological function.

 This study found that cold showers could be a great potential treatment for depression, or symptoms of depression. Although more studies on this subject are required, it does not take a genius to figure out that cold showers will work to improve not only mood, but also brain function.

The study points out that the synaptic function within our brains relating to noradrenaline and endorphins was increased, which could result in a feel-good and energized effect. What the study also correctly points out is that the skin has many cold receptors on it, so when cold water hits your skin it sends a giant burst of information from your nerve endings (the peripheral nervous system), straight up to your brain.

Basically when you stimulate the skin with cold, you are connecting your entire nervous system, starting from the outside and connecting straight up to your brain. This activation of the sympathetic nervous system releases endorphins and chemicals that will make you feel better, naturally high, and create a burst of energy. Doing this every day will further adapt your body to experience these benefits on a regular basis due to increased strength and adaptability.

Cold showers are going to increase your recovery time, and have free-radical eliminating capabilities.

 This study shows that increased glutathione levels are a direct result of whole-body exposure to cold water. Glutathione is one of the most powerful anti-oxidants within the body. They describe the raised levels of Glutathione, decreased levels of uric acid, and an overall diminished impact of oxidation due to the cold exposure, as a result of the natural “hardening” process that the body exhibits from exposure to the cold. This is the thermal response that the body has from cold temperatures, and is part of the sympathetic response.   This means that hydrotherapy results in less oxidation and produces its own powerful anti-oxidants within the body, due to our natural response from thermal regulation.

Cold showers speed up recovery time for athletes by restoring the body to homeostasis quickly after workouts, and by tightening the nervous system.

 My personal experience with cold showers has been that when my nervous system is tired or shot from a workout, and I am overheated, that the cold tightens my nervous system back up, and speeds up my recovery by limiting swelling.

Swelling is caused by tissue damage after a workout, and while hot water can improve blood flow to damaged tissue and provide nutrients, excess heat can result in blood pooling around the damaged tissue and increased swelling to occur. Cold showers allow this swelling to drain and waste to by transported towards the heart and major lymphatic ducts, which are also found in the chest.

When the nervous system is revving and tissue is swollen and damaged, cold showers help to restore homeostasis and send waste back towards the heart and stimulate the lymphatic system.

A personal favorite is to take a contrast shower after a workout, the hot water stimulates blood flow to the extremities and sends nutrients and oxygenated blood to damaged tissue, while the cold water removes waste and excess swelling. Contrast showers can be a great way to recover much faster than just a hot or cold shower on its own, but never take only hot showers after an intense workout, always take cold or contrast showers.

Cold showers, hydrotherapy, and exposure to the cold in general can produce beneficial adaptations within the human body in relation to metabolism and body mass.

 Researchers discovered a few years ago that adult humans have brown fat, which is a type of metabolically active fat that can stimulate weight loss and calories burned. What they found is that this brown adipose tissue is important in the determination of body composition. The researchers found that when exposed to cold temperatures brown fat can be seen to become very metabolically active, which can stimulate calories to be burned and weight loss and regulation to occur as a result.

They also found that obese men and those who were overweight had less brown adipose tissue activation than those who were lean. They also found that most of the brown fat was located in the supraclavicular region. What all of this means is that this is a good measuring tool to indicate whether or not an individual is activating their body’s natural thermoregulatory response. If an individual is lean and has more brown adipose tissue, it most likely means that their sympathetic nervous system, heart, lungs, thyroid, etc. are being stimulated.   This could be a way to determine whether or not an individual is getting enough natural exposure to the elements in a way that would induce a beneficial thermoregulatory response from the body.

I also find it interesting that most of the brown fat activation that these researchers observed is in the supraclavicular region, right next to the heart, lungs, and thyroid. All of which play important roles in regulating our body’s temperature. In the future there will most likely be even more research showing us the importance of exposing ourselves to the cold.

Make cold showers a part of your everyday routine for faster recovery, enhanced mood and focus, and a potent stimulant for your entire body.

I roll out of bed, and instead of stumbling towards a cup of coffee; I greet the day by going inwards and embracing my body. The rush that the cold water gives me lets me know that I am alive. I yell, shake, scream, and breathe heavily in the cold. The excitation of my nervous system, the beating of my heart, the response of my skin, it all makes me stronger.

I tell myself that it is good for me, and this allows me to push through the initial shock to my body, I step out buzzing from the natural adrenaline and endorphins, this is more than enough to get me going.

The best part about cold showers is that they are completely natural, free, and are great for your health. They increase your ability to deal with stress and prevent illness and weakness in general.

Realize that human beings did not evolve to be in climate-controlled buildings their entire lives. This is just common sense. Get outside more and experience the elements, it turns out that it is actually healthy and prevents disease!

If you do not want to be sick or weak, do not think, act, or fear, like a weak person. Embrace the cold. 

Tips for taking cold showers:

•  Use cold showers as an efficient alternative to caffeine; it is the easiest way to kick a caffeine addiction.
•  Take cold showers before and after your workouts.
•  Take cold showers when you need to experience your body in its entirety and use it as an active meditation.
•  Take cold showers in the winter when the pipes are cold!
•  Like with anything else, do not overdo it if you find that your nervous system is a bit weak or overly shocked at first, begin by taking contrast showers and get in the shower with the water warm at first. Just start going cold for as long as you can tolerate it.
•  Let the cold water wash over your entire CNS, specifically target your neck, lower back, and hips.