DO THIS First Thing In The Morning To NEVER GET SICK Again!
After taking a short, cold shower every day for two weeks… what would happen to your body?
The long list of health benefits will surprise and intrigue you…
You may have heard about the famous Dutchman, ‘The Ice Man’ – Wim Hoff. He’s developed what many people call superhuman abilities… partly through ice baths. As a result, he has set Guinness World Records that many say, “will never be beaten”… such as climbing mount Everest in nothing but a pair of shorts.
Wim Hoff is an extreme example of how you can use cold therapy as a ‘life hack’. But don’t worry… this article isn’t promoting ice baths (today)… rather, the immense benefits of cold showers.
Before you click to another page… I know what you’re thinking… “There is no way I’m going to start taking cold showers”.
Please hear me out… there are some incredible benefits to this therapy… and starting off with baby steps, you’ll be surprised how easy it can be.
So, let’s examine the benefits and research revolving around cryotherapy… also known as cold therapy.
Certain Types Of Stress Cause Your Body To Grow Stronger
Our bodies have evolved over eons to adapt to cold, hunger, starvation… adaptive survival mechanisms that improve our health.
These natural types of stress produce what’s called a ‘hormetic effect’… where the body adapts and becomes stronger.
Exercise produces a hormetic effect…
Fasting produces a hormetic effect…
Sitting in sauna produces a hormetic effect…
Exposing yourself to cold showers or ice baths also produces a hormetic effect.
Boost The Immune System
You would think that being exposed to cold temperatures would cause you to ‘catch a cold’… right?
Well, it turns out that short-term exposure to the cold actually enhances your immune system.
Evolution has equipped your body with a defense mechanism… by producing more monocytes and lymphocytes… which are types of white blood cells that fight off pathogens.
You also get a boost of T helper cells. Helper T cells are the most important cells in adaptive immunity, as they are required for almost all adaptive immune responses.
You also get a boost in T suppressor cells. Also called regulatory T cell, T reg, and T-regulatory cell, this type of immune cell keeps the immune system from becoming over-active.
Furthermore, a clinical trial in the Netherlands showed that people who took cold showers ‘called in work sick’ less.
Lose Weight Easily
Cold therapy causes you to lose weight. How? When you take a cold shower, you stimulate ‘brown fat’. Another name for brown fat is brown adipose tissue… exposure to cold is the number one way to stimulate brown fat.
What’s the difference between brown fat and white fat? Brown fat is increases heat, energy and metabolism. White fat is your fat storage…
More brown fat causes you to burn white fat. In fact, 100 grams of brown fat can cause you to burn 3400 calories a day… that’s at least 1200+ more calories than the average person burns in a day… that equals effortless weight loss!
More brown fat increases your insulin sensitivity. To put this in perspective… people who are insulin sensitive burn calories very efficiently. But people with insulin resistance are pre-diabetic, overweight and have a fatty liver.
Cold Showers Help Relieve Inflammation
If you have some sort of auto-immune disease…arthritis, tendonitis… any ailment that has an ‘itis’ at the end of it, then cold showers will help.
Cold showers can increase your overall antioxidant network. The more antioxidants, the less DNA damage… less risk of cancer.
Protect & Improve The Brain
Neuroprotection… cold showers activate the regrowth of neurons in your brain.
Exposure to cold showers send many electrical impulses to your brain. They jolt your system to increase alertness, clarity, and energy levels.
Longevity & Youthfulness
Cold showers stimulate autophagy. Autophagy is the body’s way of cleaning out damaged cells, to regenerate newer, healthier cells
Autophagy can also help repair injuries, make your brain function better, help with muscle growth and fat loss, and can even assist your ability to walk and breathe. Simply put, autophagy helps you feel and look younger.
Reduce Stress, Dissolve Depression
Cold showers reduce the stress hormone; cortisol…
Also, ‘feel good’ endorphins are released…
You get a spike in noradrenaline. Similar to adrenaline… people tested for depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorder… they usually have low noradrenaline.
So, by using this amazing method of exposing yourself to cold, you can spike noradrenaline, reduce cortisol and improve your overall mood with endorphins!
Speed Up Recovery For Active People
Cold therapy lowers damaged tissue’s temperature and constricts the blood vessels. This helps reduce any swelling and inflammation, and even numbs the nerve endings, bringing immediate relief to sore muscles.
How To Ease yourself Into Cold Showers
Start off with a hot shower… get comfortable… then turn it to cold for the last 30 seconds.
Next time try extending the cold for 45 seconds… and then the next time you shower go cold for 60 seconds… and so on.
Keep this up until you’re able to withstand a cold shower for 2 – 3 minutes.
Another method is to alternate between one minute each of cold and hot for three to five cycles.
If you can withstand the cold for longer than 2 minutes, keep it up… but do not let yourself get to a point where you are shivering afterward, have gone numb, or have trouble getting warm again.
Circumstances When You Shouldn’t Do Cold Therapy
The following conditions are contraindications to whole body cryotherapy:
Pregnancy, severe Hypertension (BP> 180/100), acute or recent myocardial infarction, unstable angina pectoris, arrhythmia, symptomatic cardiovascular disease, cardiac pacemaker, peripheral arterial occlusive disease, venous thrombosis, acute or recent cerebrovascular accident, uncontrolled seizures, Raynaud’s Syndrome, fever, tumor disease, symptomatic lung disorders, bleeding disorders, severe anemia, infection, cold allergy, acute kidney and urinary tract diseases.
Always consult your doctor first before trying cold therapy.