9 reasons You NEED A Cold Shower In The Morning

At least sometimes

1. Cold showers are good for your skin because it closes up your pores. Most people have heard of this already, but it's probably the least interesting on this list.

2. The cold improves your cardiovascular and lymphatic health by improving circulation. It's almost like exercise for those systems, and that's tied to your overall health. 

3. It can improve your productivity. Have you ever heard the term swallowing a frog in the morning? It means doing something challenging right away when you wake up, and the rest of your day will be easier. This is because willpower is like a muscle that can be fatigued by the end of the day. So it makes sense to use that muscle when it's strongest at the very beginning of your day.

4. Cold exposure can activate thermogenesis, which means that you'll lose body fat. Technically, you are converting bulky white fat to slimmer and healthier brown fat (brown adipose tissue). It keeps you warmer and speeds up your metabolism through increased mitochondrial density. 

5. Cold can wake you up like a cup of coffee, improve your mood, and possibly even reduce symptoms of depression. In particular, the Wim Hof Method is incredible because it takes cold showers to the next level by adding breath holds and movements like push-ups.

6. Further than mood, cold showers can improve your mindset and help you deal with stress better. Mood would be how happy or depressed you are, but mindset is more specific to your attitude about challenges.
   This helps because cold exposure is a form of "eustress." What's your eustress? Well, exercise is a perfect example of that! Although it's stressful on the body, it does lead to a positive result. Unlike regular stress, that takes a toll on the body and leads to a negative impact.
   Cold water, specifically on the face, stimulates your vagus nerve, part of your parasympathetic nervous system, and regulates your body's ability to handle stress. So, if you have a challenging day ahead of you, like a job interview, public speaking, or things of that nature, you might feel much more confident after a cold shower. 

7. Cold is also great for reducing inflammation and muscle soreness. If I've worked-out pretty hard on a particular day, I usually start my next day with a cold shower in the morning. 

8. Here's a surprising one. Some research shows that cold exposure can improve sleep and circadian health.

9. Finally, cold showers are a time and cost-efficient health tool. The activity easily fits into your schedule, considering it takes up .1% of your day. 

Next, here are a few ways to implement cold showers into your routine:

1. The best way, in my experience, is to get into a hot or comfortable shower; whatever you usually do for a shower. Once you're in there… just go for it and turn off the hot water.
   You'll feel shocked for 20-30 seconds. But if you focus and control your breath, you'll be fine. After some time, switch the hot water back on. Keep going back and forth for as long as you can. This is called contrast training.

2. Like I said before, if you've worked out hard, it can help with inflammation, soreness, and improving mobility. So use cold showers to help prep you from a workout, or cool down.

3. I can increase my confidence with a cold shower if I have a job interview or public speaking engagement. If I’m not feeling like doing a full cold shower, I'll usually just run my feet under cold water for a little bit, which increases circulation to the limbs. At the very least, it will help towards making cold easier next time as you build resilience. 

4. If I have time and just no other reasonable excuse, do a bit of cold for fun!

Always listen to your body. 

Don't take a cold shower if you're sick. It's generally advisable that you reduce most stress on the body, including eustress, if you're recovering from illness. That means no cold showers, no intense exercise (sometimes light exercise is okay if you're sick).

A few things that make it feel easier:

1. If you play music, that can help with time perception and relaxation. A metronome might help with the counting or give you a focus point to meditate on. 

2. If you have access to a sauna, you can do more intense contrast training, and the endorphins can cause euphoria. 

3. Or you can force yourself to smile when you're uncomfortable; that actually can affect your perceived rate of exertion or how difficult it feels. I know that sounds crazy, but if it helps…

A quick note: 

Cold exposure immediately after an intense workout diminishes the hormetic response. That’s a fancy way of saying that it can make you lose you exercise gains. So instead of doing it right after a workout, consider waiting a few hours. This is discussed further by Dr. Rhonda Patrick and athlete Ben Greenfield on their podcasts.