Seldom Posted June 30, 2011 (edited) have recently started cold shower regime, can't speak highly enough of the positive effects Here is a collection of info which i've found explaining the basics " The underlying premise of cold showers is that briefly and somewhat regularly exposing the body to certain kinds of natural stresses (like cold water) can enhance health. The advantage over hot showers seems to stem from a modification of the “sensory functions of hypothalamic thermoregulatory centres to lower heat loss and produce less heat during cold exposure.” The researchers concluded that regular cold showers produce “metabolic, hypothermic and insulative” kinds of adaptation to cold temperatures. ...Some of the specific benefits? A German study examined oxidative stress associated with cold showers and found that cold-showerers showed an “adaptive response” through enhanced “antioxidative defense” as measured by several blood markers. When we hop in to the cold water our blood vessels tighten instantly draining them of blood making you feel numb. When you climb out of the water, your blood vessels will open up again, allowing new blood carrying fresh oxygen to your muscles, which will invigorate them leaving you feeling refreshed and ready to take on a new day. Other research highlighting cold water’s effect on immunity shows an increase in both the number and activity of peripheral cytotoxic T lymphocytes in those regularly exposed to cold therapies. " positive effects on the endocrine system and hormone production, from what i've read, also seem fairly substantial I think in the end it’s all about upregulating the body, taxing it in a healthy, natural way like intermittent fasting. Again, i've only been doing it for < a week, but benifits to circulation, better skin, increased oxygenation producing clearer mind, heightened concentration and increased energy, it's worth it.there are alot of claims out there -> http://www.cold-showers.com/a-doctors-view-on-cold-showers/ about it's effects, but from what i've read so far the scientific basis seems solid. Do you guys have any experience with this or cold water therapy? Edited June 30, 2011 by humanzee 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chnt Posted June 30, 2011 you have me interested in trying this, the only problem is that i HATE cold showers.. do you get used to them over time? given you've only done it for a week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seldom Posted June 30, 2011 (edited) in the literature it seems habituation is key in producing the effect i like the challenge for exsample in the Buddhist perspective it's not a 'thing' that bothers a person, ultimately there are no 'things, it's the person's perception of the thing which is bothering them this to me has been a killer opportunity to work this idea, cold showers are intense experience, but it's not harmful, it's actually tremendously benificial, but being able to do it involves retraining your perception. it hasn't stopped being cold or intense, but the more i do it i can definitely say the easier it is. it forces you to realise that aversive physical intensity doesn't universally mean detrement. the only way i would describe it is i feel kind of battle hardened, a feeling of being ready for anything Edited June 30, 2011 by humanzee Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chnt Posted June 30, 2011 i'm thinking maybe i can start with a warm shower to be able to relax and wash myself, then at the end i can make it cold for a couple of minutes. what do you think? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
synchromesh Posted June 30, 2011 Are you guys mad or something? It's Winter... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slybacon Posted June 30, 2011 How do you have man time in a cold shower? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seldom Posted June 30, 2011 (edited) ^ hahaha.. i'm back staying with my parents over the mid semester uni break, the technicalities will have to be worked out when i get back. imagining it now it could actually be romantic. morning after a night out 'shower together darl?', 'ok', then BAM. foetal position - 'AAARRRGGH!'. all the while i would be super habituated, and it will be business time, if you get me. MMMhhmm. unless you mean solo man time, that's just sick why would you say that. Edited June 30, 2011 by humanzee Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slybacon Posted June 30, 2011 unless you mean solo man time, that's just sick why would you say that. ;)..... Come on duuuude..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tripsis Posted June 30, 2011 Cold showers in winter...sounds like hell. I loathe the cold, not adapted to it in the slightest. But this does intrigue me, especially in that they help you adapt to colder temperatures. Cold showers in summer can be bad enough though, let alone in winter. Still, maybe I'll try this out. It would be nice not to be the first person shivering uncontrollably when it's not even all that cold. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chnt Posted June 30, 2011 dude that was amazing, i did what i said, started off with a warm shower, after i cleaned myself, i braced myself for the cold, turned the hot off, turned the cold up, i could only last about 10 seconds before turning it off, it was too much shock for my body to handle and i couldn't get into a nice breathing rhythm. once the water was off, i started slowing my breath into a nice deep rhythm, which took about 30 seconds to a minute, then i turned the water back on and could handle it much better, it was still pretty hard at first, but i just kept breathing as deep and as fast as i could (holotropic breathwork), this helped immesely, i moved my body from side to side to get equal amounts of cold shower on both sides of my body and occasionally put my head right underneath, i ended up staying there for between 1-2 minutes, which i felt was enough for the first time, i will increase this of course as time goes on. once i turned the water off again i was left feeling refreshed and energetic, i felt this awesome energy in my body and nice happy feelings and i couldn't stop smiling. i can already feel that this will be beneficial and i will now be having cold showers often for the rest of my life, thank you very much for this thread. i'm into a lot of different things for spiritual and healing purposes and one of those things is buddhism, so your next post got me even more interested, i have actually just started yoga too, 6th lesson tonight. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slybacon Posted June 30, 2011 Its actually easier to have a cold shower in winter.... I have been lazy, but when last year I surfed nearly everyday. In winter it feels far warmer, as sometimes the water temp is higher then the outside temp. Same thing with a shower. If you have a cold shower on a hot ass day you get a bit of shock, but if you stand naked for a while in the cold air, then have a cold shower it sometimes feels warms. Espcially if its so cold your fingers are numb, then the cold shower isn't so bad.... But I think this defetes the purpose of what your trying to achieve. Ie reducing the temp related body shock. It seems you are after this temprature jolt.... All the best guys, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paradox Posted June 30, 2011 an ex-girlfriend got me on to this a few years ago & i've been doing it ever since (except in winter unless i'm feeling brave) you just have a normal hot shower but then for about 30 seconds at the end you turn off the hot completely & douse your whole body in cold water... you do very much get used to it after a while & it becomes very pleasurable & enlivening! it's quite amazing how it really clears your head! at first i thought she was mad when she did it... now i'm hooked Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
∂an Posted June 30, 2011 a couple of years ago when I was a poor student my hot water system broke, and I didn't get it fixed for 3 months over winter. I had cold showers the whole time, and quickly got used to it. makes you feel wide awake, slows your heart rate and reduces your electricity bill massively. its mind over matter – I love hot showers, its very hard to force myself to have a cold one when I have hot water available, but when the hot water system was broken it was no problem. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazonian Posted June 30, 2011 Isn't it a thing in like Sweden, that they spend a while in a sauna, and then go and lay naked in the snow??? My scalp contracts under cold showers and i get brain freeze. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sapito Posted June 30, 2011 I have always tried to tell myself that the cold is good for you when working in a freezing warehouse on winter mornings. Maybe its the duration because I certainly havent felt invigorated when in these situations. Just fucking cold... Still interesting, will have to try a cold shower when its not already cold Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
woof woof woof Posted June 30, 2011 use a wash colth dipped in cold water to wash,..... slowly build up the tolerance to deal with the cold for longer periods of time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Distracted Posted July 1, 2011 How do you have man time in a cold shower? Wow that made me laugh harder than anything else this forum has said for quite awhile... Thanks On topic... I had warm showers for a year due to the hot water being fucked in a rental house, and had a cold shower stint for a bit when I was younger.. but I love my hot showers now. You're meant to wash your hair in cold water, i've heard of women going from a hot shower to a cold shower to wash/rinse their hair. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paradox Posted July 6, 2011 (edited) i've just heard that cold baths can raise the white blood cell count & thus effectively simulating the immune system.. interesting.. edit: i said red instead of white cells Edited July 8, 2011 by paradox Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coin Posted July 6, 2011 in the literature it seems habituation is key in producing the effect i like the challenge for exsample in the Buddhist perspective it's not a 'thing' that bothers a person, ultimately there are no 'things, it's the person's perception of the thing which is bothering them this to me has been a killer opportunity to work this idea, cold showers are intense experience, but it's not harmful, it's actually tremendously benificial, but being able to do it involves retraining your perception. it hasn't stopped being cold or intense, but the more i do it i can definitely say the easier it is. it forces you to realise that aversive physical intensity doesn't universally mean detrement. the only way i would describe it is i feel kind of battle hardened, a feeling of being ready for anything Interesting perspective...I've read that particular Zen 'monasteries' in Japan require the "trainees" to walk out naked into the snow each morning and wash themselves with buckets of icy water...the water forms icicles on the body, when it's right in the middle of winter, which is then dried with a small cloth. this is done throughout winter. the purpose is exactly what you're talking about the neophyte can learn pretty quickly from the first awful few days/weeks, that there's still a few months left of this, they'd better work on changing the nature of their reactivity. sensations with an unpleasant "feeling tone" without aversion (meaning *with* acceptance/equanimity) = no suffering; paraphrasing what you've said above. one's relationship to discomfort/pain (physical and emotional) is retrained in the brain at the neuronal level traditional medicine systems would probably recommend this practice only for particular body types, and not for the conditions classified as 'cold' or people with fear/anxiety/very sensitive nervous systems, etc, especially during winter/early spring. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
santiago Posted July 7, 2011 went in my mates pool last night, the ambient temp was 2c in perth, i generally do it once a year a mad tradition. the water was so cold this year i decided to just ease in as i have heard it can cause heart attack if you submerse instantly like a dive, it a lot easier to dive though. it takes about 5 minutes to trully acclimatise to the water, then your body starts feeling like it is conducting some sort of wild energy-electricity like, i didnt stay in for as long as i would have liked this year, probably only 10 minutes-started to lose sensation in hands and feet. i highly highly recommend it, it feels like you have been recharged, its really the mental battle over the physical body which has the most novelty. i reckon the water was about 2-5c last night, its a huge co-incidence to have found this thread on the same subject-i think the most fascinating part for me was actually getting out, about 10 minutes later as i was warming up on one of those outdoor heater things at my friends place i noticed that i was huffing and puffing like i had ran a few laps of the oval, its weird how the body does that considering i just stood stillin the pool but my lungs were working overtime, i dont know why this is so.......is it shock or constriction of airways due to cold? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FancyPants Posted July 7, 2011 ^^^ Yeah I was going to ask what the risk for asthmatics is? I can't stand the cold like Tripsis, and feel it acutely. I'm trying to work on my mind-over-matter when it comes to discomfort and pain, but it's hard y'know? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seldom Posted July 8, 2011 (edited) hey..i dig that you guys are into this after doing it for almost a couple of weeks i would also add that it's not exclusively your perception towards the cold which changes, one major goal is to train the heat regulating mechanism of the autonomic nervous system to function as a finely tuned instrument, the onset and strength of the thermogenisis grows each time you do it. studies say the real therapeutic effect kicks in after a minimum of 5-6 weeks, but i can say that i feel the world better for doing it, as strange as it may sound i genuinely have no desire to ever have a hot shower in the morning ever again. the links which keep appearing with Buddhist practices are encouraging, ultimate mastery of cold would be similar i think to the phenomenon of Tummo meditation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tummo#Scientific_investigation , reading about it there are stories of old Masters who would do this practice outside in the snow overnight, competing to see who could melt a circle with the greatest diameter by morning. Wim Hof ^ is supposedly a master of this technique, he is famous among other things for attempting to climb Mt everest wearing only shorts Edited July 8, 2011 by humanzee 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zen Peddler Posted July 8, 2011 (edited) I cant actually think of any benefit that a cold shower would give a person health wise. Reduced peripheral blood flow, increased peripheral resistance and increased blood pressure, and reduced endothelial nitric oxide would be about all Id imagine it would do. Unless you suffer low blood pressure is already low and your trying to fix that. When you climb out of the water, your blood vessels will open up again, allowing new blood carrying fresh oxygen to your muscles, which will invigorate them leaving you feeling refreshed and ready to take on a new day. Other research highlighting cold waters effect on immunity shows an increase in both the number and activity of peripheral cytotoxic T lymphocytes in those regularly exposed to cold therapies. Sure they will, but new blood and oxygen is travelling to your muscles every time you have a heart beat whereas in the cold your actually restricting peripheral blood flow and then you body has to rely on extra nitric oxide and serotonin to vasodilate again. Also there seems to be some sort of misnomer that increased white immune cell expression results in better inate immunity when it really doesnt. You immune system works well if your histocompatibility allows it to. My reaction to finding of increased peripheral immune activity is that the body is reacting to a perception of damage in the periphery. Reduced peripheral blood flow is associated with inflammation. Edited July 8, 2011 by Zen Peddler BlueGreenie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chnt Posted July 13, 2011 every shower i've had since the 30th has been hot at the start to wash myself then a minute or 2 of cold at the end, i decided to start having completely cold showers with no hot at the start, today was day one, i was getting used to previous method and this was more of an effort but i can do it this way so i will now continue to do it this way. it has helped my chronic neck pain to a degree already. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zen Peddler Posted July 14, 2011 When I get bad postural hypotension my doc told me to have cold showers but it didnt help much. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
