From Health magazine
Gwendolyn Witherspoon, 54, of Baltimore, came across her stay-healthy secret—an icy shower—during a power outage. “I felt great afterward,” she says. A year later, she says her chilly regimen keeps her cold-free, her skin glowing, and her energy level higher than ever.
The scientific jury’s still out on cold showers, but Mary Ann Bauman, MD, author of Fight Fatigue: Six Simple Steps to Maximize Your Energy, says there’s no harm in trying. Devotees claim cold showers help with low energy, migraines, circulation, and pain reduction, in addition to enabling women to age gracefully. (Some even argue that they’re the French woman’s secret to firm breasts.)
Make cold showers work for you: Try small doses. Witherspoon limits her 10-minute cold showers to summertime; in the winter, she opts for a 1-minute blast at the end of a warm shower. Consult your doctor if you have cardiovascular problems, because the sudden chill can cause a spike in blood pressure.
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Comments (3)
I do the cold shower thing all the time too, usually after a warm bath. I don’t know if it makes you more healthy but it really is a stress reliever for me. Just 5-10 minutes will make you feel great for a good hour. It is relaxing afterwards so by my book relaxing is healthy. Furthermore, I tend to flex my whole body when I’m in a cold shower (mainly to try to keep warm) which is excercise in itself.
Works for me. Peace.
It sounds like cold showers can provide a few benefits, but I can’t see how they would be as effective at killing bacteria as a nice, hot shower.
Alexis, the shock of cold water raises your bodies immune system over time. That is not to say its a good idea to hop in an icy cold shower when you have a fever. But admitting yourself to continuous cold showers in short increments is a good investment, even though it is unpleasant as hell.