Midway through the month of March, I decided to take cold showers for 30 days after being inspired by Matt D’Avella to step out of my comfort zone. Morning after morning, I was slapped on my back to get up and jump into pure discomfort. It was difficult. Dive in to find out about my experience and the health benefits of cold showers.
Matt D’Avella (one of my favourite YouTubers) created a video sharing his experience of cold showers. I saw it and challenged myself if I could attempt it. Obviously, not many want to jump into cold showers in early Spring but knowing a couple of people who had tried it, I thought what’s the big deal. Suddenly, one fine and sunny morning, I decided to do a cold shower; it came to me like an avalanche blowing me away from my comfort zone. ‘In and out’ is my description. I turned it to the coldest setting and shivered away with a sense of pain and excitement.
My Experience
I came out and decided to try it out for 30 days. For motivation, I created a 30-day calendar checkbox and stuck it just outside the bathroom. Then, my journey began!
Every day seemed like a small stepping stone in the gradual process of overcoming my fear. The first few days were a bit of strife although things really got easier. It became normal overtime! From the 15th day onwards, I began to ease into the showers. Every day there onwards, I had the confidence so it was just as comfortable as a stroll in the park. That’s what makes this challenge do-able!
When I began to get used to it(from day 15), I definitely liked it; it was kind of addictive and definitely gave me a fresh feeling every morning. This is partly why I saw some positive changes.
My Results
I expected to see positive changes in habit-making and stepping out of my comfort zone. However, I didn’t really notice too much difference; perhaps I hadn’t tried it for long enough… Although, I did see some change in my alertness as I was able to concentrate more on my lessons at school and work at home.
Health Benefits
- More alert – When our body is cold, it naturally undergoes ‘vasoconstriction’ which increases the blood pressure. This causes the blood to flow faster and hence there’s a faster heartbeat too. This increases alertness and our daily dose of energy. This is also why you feel fresher from a cold shower.
- Fight the diseases – As a result of improved circulation, our blood flows faster and our immune system has a higher chance of fighting off diseases. This includes cancer, colds and flu.
- Time to get fit – Coldness stimulates the production of brown fats. These fats assist in the burning of energy so, you can burn more calories per second. Additionally, chemical reactions happen faster from increased metabolism so, more calories are used up in this process which can lead to a weight loss.
- Muscle relief – Cold showers relieve the muscles partly due to the increased metabolism. Therefore, the muscles grow and repair faster so you can get the perfect body! This is why athletes go into ice after intense physical activity.
- Get happier – Cold showers can relieve depression; endorphins(hormones) are released which make you happier due to lots of electrical impulses from cold receptors. These hormones cause an antidepressive effect so we can be happier!
Why I took the challenge?
My main purpose of taking this challenge is to experiment with habit-making and to try something new, however, I have also taken this up for some other benefits:
- Less energy used for the showers so fewer greenhouse gases released.
- Less wasted water as it’s quicker.
- Less drowsy and more awake during the mornings.
- Ever since, I have hated warm showers so I waste less warm water during my showers.
I thank Matt D’Avella for encouraging me to follow this practice for 30 days and if you intend to take this challenge I wish you all the best. Here are some tips for you:
Easy shower:
You can go into the shower from a lukewarm to cold setting.
Start from your head and then work your way down.
In and out. Try not to stay for too long.
Challenge:
Directly jump into the coldest setting.
Start from your back(it’s freezing).
Try to stay for a while(3-5 mins) and adapt to make it comfortable. This could allow you to get used to it quicker.
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