# Cold showers



## Micliph (Dec 28, 2008)

Hello everyone!

Has anyone tried cold showers?
When I take a warm shower i always finish up with a cold ending even though its freakin cold!
It does wild things believe me, even after your first try! I didnt believe then so i tried.. i took a normal warm shower to wash up, and then in the ending i stood with my head directly under the shower head and turned off the heat - completely! WOW it was cold, felt like my head went numb while the water was running, and when it hit my shoulders and chest i couldnt take more.
10 seconds I did, and i said to myself - no more of this torture!

I stood out of the bath and BAM! Strong euphoria, extreme body calmness and tranquility hit me. Wow, this actually worked!

Euphoria (i was actually laughin a bit for no reason) lasted for only 15 minutes and then faded fast.. But..

The calmness in my body and tranquility lasted for the whole day - it faded slowly after the shower but it was there!

Since then I've been taking these showers almost every time, unless im in a hurry or i dont feel like it.. cause its damn cold! I think other can take it better.

Example, I was at a friends house and he suddenly told me other friends were coming, oh no! i panicked and my SA already grew and grew..

I got the idea of a cold shower and asked my friend if i could take one, and of course i could do that. it worked and i was actually able to enjoy the social gathering.. 

Try it! It is cold and your body shakes, you begin to hyperventilate instantly and it feels like liquid ice running over your body :afr but it works so well! I sometimes take 3x8 seconds under the water, with intervals with warm water in between the cold water, then it works 
best!

Here are some articles for you to read before trying this out:

Cure for depression
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/12/18/depression-cold-shower.html

Remedies to ailments from a to z
http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/showers.html

Weight loss
http://ezinearticles.com/?Cold-Water-Treading---A-Secret-to-Faster-Weight-Loss&id=1086280

Surprising Health Benefits
http://www.bottomlinesecrets.com/article.html?article_id=30209

Google is your friend!

sorry for my danish/english - hope it is readable


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## mark555666 (May 1, 2008)

Cold showers are so great. 

It's now middle in the winter but if i stand under a really really cold shower (first wash myself with warm water then the i tap warm water off and the torture can begin.) 

The first 2 minutes are hell.

After 5 minutes I feel so f great. It's amazing. All the anxiety that I have suddenly gone. 

I feel kinda 'high' for the rest of the day. 

Tomorrow I will try them again... if I have the guts for it. :um

Cold showers --> klonopin
Who's with me? I need some motivation.


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## whiteWhale (Nov 19, 2009)

The only time I've took a cold shower was when the couple times when my hot water wasn't working. Didn't have any positive effects, but could be because I didn't start with warm first. I'll try it sometime next week. :b


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## veron (Apr 29, 2009)

Micliph said:


> Try it! It is cold and your body shakes, you begin to hyperventilate instantly and it feels like liquid ice running over your body :afr but it works so well!


Woah, isn't this kind of dangerous? Not too long ago I heard of a man who jumped into a cold shower on a hot day; he later suffered a heart attack and died. It's not summer right now but I still think you should be careful...


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## lucyinthesky (Mar 29, 2009)

Cold showers are great. But only if you choose to have one... I spent 18 days in Africa and they were torture  But it makes your hair really shiny


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## A nonymous (Dec 21, 2009)

Gonna try this


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## shadowmask (Jun 22, 2009)

Wow I just tried it this morning, that's one hell of a rush. O_O I had to psyche myself up for almost a minute, then I threw myself under the water. It was refreshing, in a masochistic way. It's nice actually being _warmer_ after you get out of the shower too. I don't feel any effects now though, maybe I should have stayed under longer. :?


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## tutliputli (Feb 22, 2009)

Lately I've had several cold showers, not out of choice, but because the boiler broke and the water suddenly decided to go from pleasantly hot to ice-cold. I couldn't bear it - I had to get out IMMEDIATELY. Cold water all over my body just makes me feel like I want to die. It's nothing but pure misery!


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## Gloomy Grasshopper (Dec 20, 2009)

I'm reminded of a time when I lived in a trailer in a mountainous region of Tennessee. The hot water heater was powered by gas -- and I remember running out of gas for a substantial period of time before I could purchase more gas. I took cold showers for two months (these were colder months, mind you) and although I got used to taking them after a couple of weeks, it was pretty brutal. I almost froze my nipples off.


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## New (Aug 9, 2009)

veron said:


> Woah, isn't this kind of dangerous? Not too long ago I heard of a man who jumped into a cold shower on a hot day; he later suffered a heart attack and died. It's not summer right now but I still think you should be careful...


Yeah, sudden changes in water temperature can be harmful. Does it not work if you turn the water down gradually? Not that I'd ever take a cold shower during the 10 degree mornings we've been having lately. I prefer to turn my bathroom into a sauna, though I know it is just horrible for my skin and hair, it feels soooo good. :c


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## TATA (Sep 18, 2008)

A piece of advice, not to get sick from cold showers you have to gradually change the temperature. One day change to barely warm, second day make it a little colder, and so on. Its better for your body to do it that way, as you have to get used to it first.


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## MobiusX (Nov 14, 2008)

I only shower with warm water and even in the summer, when I went to central america I was forced to take a shower for 2 months in cold water and that sucked, it sucks just thinking about it, but I like the winter and the snow, I like every season as long as it's not permanent


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## STKinTHEmud (Jun 21, 2009)

For the weight-trainers: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/henkin15.htm

Read the bit under "Directly After Training." According to this guy, alternating hot and cold water in the shower improves circulation, which is good for muscles you've just trained.


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

ive take a few cold showers when i was in the army years ago. take a deep breath and hold it, back into the water so the water hits your back first and let the breath out. you'll be able to take your entire shower doing this instead of just a few seconds.


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## Micliph (Dec 28, 2008)

*works like wonders*

I have tried to turn down the water just bit after bit, what that just prolonges the pain i think, and thats why i just go under for like 10-15 second, warm water again and then repeat as much as you like. i have never gotten sick from it!

there are several articles in danish regarding cold shower and the effects on the amygadala and automatic fear in the brai, which say that this kinda thing toughens your amygdala so that fear is better tolerated and lessened.

i cannot really translate through google translate because it's not that good yet..


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## moxosis (Aug 26, 2009)

I take cold showers in the summer, but I know football players take ice baths after practice. Cold showers recharge my batteries in the summer.

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sampleworkouts/a/Ice-Bath.htm


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## JimmyDeansRetartedCousin (Nov 28, 2009)

Cold water is good for the soul. I went for a swim in the sea on new years day with about 100 other people. I arrived late and ran down the beach just as the countdown was kicking off. My head felt like an icecube after about five minutes in the Atlantic.


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## Classified (Dec 7, 2004)

I feel better after taking hot showers in 100 degree heat.


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## pollster (Oct 4, 2009)

tutliputli said:


> Lately I've had several cold showers, not out of choice, but because the boiler broke and the water suddenly decided to go from pleasantly hot to ice-cold. I couldn't bear it - I had to get out IMMEDIATELY. Cold water all over my body just makes me feel like I want to die. It's nothing but pure misery!


I agree. I'm always cold anyway, so the thought of a cold shower makes me cringe.

You people are freaks.

I kid! I kid! (But just about the freaks part)


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## philogos (Nov 6, 2007)

I just finished watching a talk with Thomas Scheff, a well-known social psychologist, who works on emotion research. He had this interesting theory about cathartic emotions. For one thing, he said that every primitive, or universal, emotion (e.g., anger, sadness, shame/embarrassment, fear, etc.) has a natural physiological response that helped to dissipate its effects. For example, laughter is the natural reaction to shame and embarrassment, crying is the natural reaction to sadness, and so on. 

So if the logic holds, there is a natural response to anxiety and fear as well. He suggested it was a cold sweat and shaking, something to the effect of a fear orgasm. Similarly, he said that anger reaches its peak, not in violence, but in body heat. If you think about it, this makes a whole lot of sense. When you embarrass yourself, and it's not so severe that it makes you angry, the usual reaction is to laugh at yourself - likewise, when someone makes a fool of themselves we find that funny too. I doubt crying needs any explanation. But when it comes to fear and anger I think we're socialized to repress those emotions, because they're seen as being weak or destructive. So some emotions are naturally expressed, and others are repressed. According to the psychological theory on repression this only worsens the emotion. So ironically, the more you try to control or hold back an emotion the more power it has over you. 

So if the theory holds then a cold shower should bring about the same bodily reaction as intense fear - which we don't normally allow ourselves to experience. On another note I've also noticed that some of the best fighters will tend to shake up and down instinctively, which probably has something to do with the threat they sense in the ring. The lesson to be drawn seems to be that if we can express the fear or anxiety, to let it fully manifest itself in our bodies, then we can dissipate the fear response. I think that's a revelation. From my own experience I can say that this definitely works. I'd like to hear how others have experienced that, and if anyone has some ideas about how to simulate the fear response in a safe way. 

Cheers,


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## Misanthropic (Jun 25, 2010)

I've been taking cold showers (exclusively) for over 3 years. It helps, in many ways, especially if you take them at the exact same time every morning so your body adjusts.


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## LALoner (Dec 3, 2008)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammalian_diving_reflex

The mammalian diving reflex is triggered by cold water to the face. I've always wondered if this is why splashing water on your face is relaxing.


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## donavan (Jun 23, 2010)

Micliph said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> Has anyone tried cold showers?
> When I take a warm shower i always finish up with a cold ending even though its freakin cold!
> ...


alternating every 30 seconds between hot and cold showers helps circulation

just having a cold shower none stop though will just give you a cold


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## rawrguy (Mar 29, 2008)

i take a cold shower almost every single day. it really does make me feel a lot better even though it's tough to bare the icy cold water.


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## strawberryjulius (Jun 28, 2009)

Oh, I thought this was _gold _showers. I really need to go to bed..


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## AussiePea (Mar 27, 2007)

strawberryjulius said:


> Oh, I thought this was _gold _showers. I really need to go to bed..


Damn and to think you got your hopes up!!!!!

:wife /runs


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## remycointrea (Jan 18, 2013)

donavan said:


> alternating every 30 seconds between hot and cold showers helps circulation
> 
> just having a cold shower none stop though will just give you a cold


colds are transmitted by viruses. unless you are arguing that a cold shower damages the immune system.


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## Susilo Saja (Nov 6, 2015)

I dont have cold water at my house. Any ideas on how to do cold shower?


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## visualkeirockstar (Aug 5, 2012)

I can not take a cold shower ever. Well only on super hot days. I don't care what it does. I hate the ****ing cold. I'm really skinny so it could be why.


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## Ominous Indeed (Sep 6, 2015)

Cold showers are like, really, really cold here. The water is so cold it hurts in your troath when you drink it - It's like drinking ice cubes.. I have tried it but where I live I wouldn't recommend it to anybody - Maybe, only if you want to die.


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## UnusualSuspect (Feb 24, 2014)

they definitely seem to give a refreshing energy boost. at least in my experience


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## Fangirl96 (Apr 13, 2015)

F*** no. I'm freezing even when i take really warm showers. I'm trying to cool it down gradually though because hot water is bad for your scalp. So i tryyy to shower in slightly above lukewarm water. But the warmth is just so nice...


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## DerrickOdea (Aug 17, 2015)

I don't take cold showers, I feel much better in Hot showers.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

I honestly think I'd die in a cold shower. I HATE HATE HATE HATE the cold!


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## indielife (Jun 17, 2015)

I only take cold showers during summer; at winter time a warm shower is very much needed.


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## 0blank0 (Sep 22, 2014)

I will try this today


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## SplendidBob (May 28, 2014)

I used to do cold bath submersion for a while. Got to an hour in 2-3 degree C ice water.

Cold showers are much more brutal though, with cold bath submersion if you stay perfectly still you barely feel it (other than initial submersion), whereas the shower the water is constantly moving


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## sabbath9 (Dec 30, 2014)

Endless summer here in Miami, cold showers are awesome, although you have to let the water run for a minute or two to get cold water.


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## jawad (Nov 12, 2015)

its really cool man kind of freaking soothing effect!


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Other than making feel wide awake and maybe slightly help with my mood initially, it is downright awful. The anxiety is way worse with a cold shower, I am a jittery mess and my body gets so tense and sfiff my pain get worse and thus my mood gets worse. I can think of plenty other ways to get the same effects with less torture. If I wanted to feel awake I could just splash cold eater all over my face.


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## catcharay (Sep 15, 2011)

Finishing with a cold wash is so rejuvenating to me. When I do it my mind imagines all the worries just dissipate and cleanse because my head is usually very buzzing with thoughts. When the cold hits, you can't focus on anything but that freezing sensation.


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