Cold Showers

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Replies

  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    edited September 2019
    J72FIT wrote: »
    Read up a bunch on the benefits of taking a cold shower. Who knows if any of it is true but I will tell you, I felt amazing afterwards. All I did was set a timer for 5 min to make sure I was in there long enough. The first 30 seconds were brutal, the next 30 were tolerable, the next minute I adjusted, the final 3 minutes were fantastic.

    Coming from the driest state, in the driest inhabited continent, I just see this as torture and a huge waste of water.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    ExistingFish wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    ExistingFish wrote: »
    Now see someone was just telling me yesterday about studies that showed people who used a sauna 3x a week for more than 20 minutes were significantly less likely to suffer from a myriad of diseases.

    What is cold supposed to do?

    Maybe it is just that humans are not meant to live in climate-controlled environments throughout or lives. Or being uncomfortable makes us healthier. One or the other.

    I remember ages ago when someone was promoting the idea that a cold shower would encourage your body to store "brown fat" rather than regular fat. Haven't heard much about that since, so I'm guessing it didn't stand up to further study :wink:

    I heard at some point sleeping in a 63-65 degree room would help you store your fat as brown fat.

    We keep the house on 72 and I freeze some nights, I know partly it's because there are two vents in the bedroom so it is probably below 72, but 63? I'd shake myself to sleep.

    Insufficient covers! I love to pile on the covers. Now I have a weighted blanket and only one quilt in the winter. I have my part of the house at 59 degrees and would go lower but my OH objects. I think I'm going to go lower anyway this winter and blame perimenopause, despite not having hot flashed :lol:

    And I was quite comfortable when I did winter camping at 17 degrees. I made it all the way down to 7, but that was a little uncomfortable. I had an amazing sleeping bag and a very heavy quilt.
  • drmwc
    drmwc Posts: 1,039 Member
    edited September 2019
    Win Hof has written a bit about their benefits. The guy is clearly a genetic freak, but I suspect many people could get benefits from his ideas.

    I've been doing them for 3 months. The first second or two is grim, but it quickly becomes fine after that.

    The coldest water I can remember being in recently was 4 centigrade on a scuba dive. That became quite a short dive - I couldn't move my hands after 20 minutes, so I thumbed it.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,002 Member
    Lillymoo01 wrote: »
    J72FIT wrote: »
    Read up a bunch on the benefits of taking a cold shower. Who knows if any of it is true but I will tell you, I felt amazing afterwards. All I did was set a timer for 5 min to make sure I was in there long enough. The first 30 seconds were brutal, the next 30 were tolerable, the next minute I adjusted, the final 3 minutes were fantastic.

    Coming from the driest state, in the driest inhabited continent, I just see this as torture and a huge waste of water.

    A 5 minute shower is a waste of water?
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    J72FIT wrote: »
    Lillymoo01 wrote: »
    J72FIT wrote: »
    Read up a bunch on the benefits of taking a cold shower. Who knows if any of it is true but I will tell you, I felt amazing afterwards. All I did was set a timer for 5 min to make sure I was in there long enough. The first 30 seconds were brutal, the next 30 were tolerable, the next minute I adjusted, the final 3 minutes were fantastic.

    Coming from the driest state, in the driest inhabited continent, I just see this as torture and a huge waste of water.

    A 5 minute shower is a waste of water?

    When water is a precious comodity I try to limit them to around 2 minutes unless I have to wash my hair, which I only do a couple of times a week. Hubby will even turn the water off while soaping and shampooing (he is almost bald so doesn't take long) to save even more water.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited September 2019
    Well, I'd definitely have shorter showers if I took them cold (I don't, at my prior place there was a water pressure problem plus a tankless heater and sometimes it would go cold in the middle of a shower and I hated that so much). So there's that.

    I actually might try it and see if I hate it still -- that would save water since right now I run it to warm it up.
  • TheSunAndTheRainfall
    TheSunAndTheRainfall Posts: 82 Member
    I've been taking ice-cold showers to start the day for years, and I still find the first minute an endurance test! But after that I settle into it, and it somehow makes me feel full of energy after I get out. It also seems to clear my head. Keeps me on my toes. I save the warm showers for just before bed.
  • wmweeza
    wmweeza Posts: 319 Member
    edited September 2019
    I read recently that hot baths burn extra calories (but only if you stay in an hour) ...so is it both extremes, or just anecdotal? https://womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a19969016/hot-bath-exercise-study/
  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    ExistingFish wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    ExistingFish wrote: »
    Now see someone was just telling me yesterday about studies that showed people who used a sauna 3x a week for more than 20 minutes were significantly less likely to suffer from a myriad of diseases.

    What is cold supposed to do?

    Maybe it is just that humans are not meant to live in climate-controlled environments throughout or lives. Or being uncomfortable makes us healthier. One or the other.

    I remember ages ago when someone was promoting the idea that a cold shower would encourage your body to store "brown fat" rather than regular fat. Haven't heard much about that since, so I'm guessing it didn't stand up to further study :wink:

    I heard at some point sleeping in a 63-65 degree room would help you store your fat as brown fat.

    We keep the house on 72 and I freeze some nights, I know partly it's because there are two vents in the bedroom so it is probably below 72, but 63? I'd shake myself to sleep.

    Insufficient covers! I love to pile on the covers. Now I have a weighted blanket and only one quilt in the winter. I have my part of the house at 59 degrees and would go lower but my OH objects. I think I'm going to go lower anyway this winter and blame perimenopause, despite not having hot flashed :lol:

    And I was quite comfortable when I did winter camping at 17 degrees. I made it all the way down to 7, but that was a little uncomfortable. I had an amazing sleeping bag and a very heavy quilt.

    I sleep with a weighted blanket and another blanket on top of it most nights.

    What is the point of chilling the room and then warming yourself in covers? I doubt you will get your body to store fat as brown fat if you are cozy under the covers....and why pay to chill the house just to bury in covers?

    It is so funny how one degree makes so much difference. Well, one degree on the thermostat, which may translate to a few degrees in some rooms. I like 73. Dh likes 72. We regularly switch back and forth...

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