Tiktok and other social media platforms have been responsible for a number of health and wellness trends. In the end, most of them are debunked by professionals as not being as good for you as they seem. But there is one trending health hack that experts are saying truly is something that can improve your mental and physical health.
If you search “taking cold showers” on TikTok, you will likely see hundreds of thousands of videos from content creators claiming that taking a cold shower every day has changed their lives.
Melissa Urban, the co-founder of the popular Whole30 diet, made a TikTok post claiming that taking a cold shower every day in 2020 helped nearly eliminate her seasonal depression among other positive changes in her body.
But be warned – it is not easy to get started. The idea of willingly putting yourself under freezing cold water during a shower, when most people enjoy the soothing sensation of hot water, is pretty tough to work with.
Many people in the trendy TikTok videos are struggling through 30 second sprints under the cold shower, visibly shivering. But once they are done, they all report they have noticed some real changes in their bodies.
So does it actually work? Here is everything you should know about taking a cold shower.
The Health Benefits Of Taking Cold Showers
Immune system support
Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler, MD, an eye surgeon who focuses on creating health and wellness content, assures his audience that taking a cold shower does in fact help keep you healthy. “Finishing your shower with cold water for as little as 30 seconds can reduce your chance of getting sick by 30%.” A clinical study in the Netherlands found that regular cold showers helped to reduce the number of people calling in sick in the workforce by 29%.
Improve mental health and stress management
Experts at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine did a study showing that a cold shower can send an overwhelming amount of electrical impulses from peripheral nerve endings to the brain, which could result in an anti-depressive effect. When practiced routinely, according to a recent study, immersing yourself in cold water can build a tolerance to stress. The effects, however, only remain if a person does this on a regular basis.
Increase energy levels
When taking a cold shower, your body sends electrical impulses to your brain which releases endorphins. This not only helps improve mental health and stress management – a cold shower can also help you maintain higher energy levels. In turn, your clarity and alertness will also improve greatly.
Shinier hair and healthy skin
According to WebMD, cold showers help to maintain healthy skin and hair by tightly closing your pores and keeping healthy oils inside. Many people who struggle with skin conditions such as eczema or chronic dry skin have taken up the cold shower trend – and the results are impressive. Dr. Tania Elliott, who is part of the faculty at NYU Langone Health, says that your nerves can’t transmit multiple sensations at the same time. Typically, your body will feel the sensation of the cold water instead of the itch, helping patients to stop scratching which only makes the condition worse.
Helps boost your metabolism
According to research from the New England Journal of Medicine, we all have both healthy and unhealthy fat. Healthy fat, known as brown fat, develops when the body is exposed to cold temperatures. While this does not necessarily help to eliminate unhealthy fat, known as white fat, it has been shown that taking a cold shower 2 to 3 times a week helps to boost your metabolism. This supports the body in the process of losing weight, which includes eating right and exercising regularly.
Muscle recovery and pain management
There’s a reason you always see athletes taking a cold plunge or ice bath. Cold water helps to improve circulation and get the body working harder to maintain core temperature. According to Women’s Health Magazine, the cold constricts blood vessels which helps reduce swelling and potentially slows the rate at which pain signals are transmitted to the brain. This keeps the blood moving to vital organs in need of recovery sooner.
Helping pregnant women avoid negative birthing outcomes
If you’re an expectant mother looking for healthy tips during pregnancy, cold water could be an important part of your routine. According to studies being conducted at the University of Bristol Medical School, cold water swimming, specifically, may help pregnant women in the delivery room. For the same reasons it is helpful for stress management, adding cold plunges to your routine improves your overall stress response, which for expectant mothers, can help to reduce the risk for negative outcomes in the delivery room.
How to Start Taking Cold Showers
The easiest way to start taking cold showers is by slowly incorporating them into your routine. You might want to start by taking a regular warm shower, then spending the last few moments under cold water. Your body will feel the shock at first, but it gets easier every day.
You could also dive right in by spending 15 seconds under cold water the first time you do it, and gradually increase the time you spend under the water until you’re at 2 to 3 minutes.
It’s important that the water is cold enough that you feel uncomfortable. You should turn it as cold as your shower will go and force yourself to stay under for at least 30 seconds the first time. It’s not supposed to be easy!
Conclusion
Not everything you read on TikTok is true. There is no “get-healthy-quick” scheme that will dramatically change your life instantly – but for now, cold showers come pretty close. It is touted by experts as a great addition to a health care routine at home and has been studied multiple times with positive physical and mental results for many who take part. The important part is sticking with it so the effects have a lasting grip on your health.
