Greetings. Today i am gonna share my personal story of trying cold showers, plus the positive/negatives of it.
First of, why did i wanna try cold showers in the first place?
There are many people boasting about the benefits of exposing yourself into the cold, and cold water . At first, they sound really good, but on a second though the sound like hippie science stuff, and to tell you the truth most of the "benefits" you hear, are unfortunately as far as i know, anecdotal and of no statistical significance. To make matters worse, there have not been many studies done on cold exposure, hence why we dont know for sure on the benefits you get.
Having said that, what made me expose myself into cold water?
Emotional Resilience. Let me clarify now,
One of the things i envy in army special forces, is the ability of these men to put aside their wants vs needs, in order to accomplish X order. One of the key things in special forces bootcamps, is cold exposure and cold water swimming. In my opinion, such mindset is very useful to have, especially in a world of instant gratification. Exposing yourself into cold water, especially now in the winter time, is... hardcore to say the least. However, it requieres a lot of determination and "lets get this done" mindset. In my (short) experience, this has slowly transfered into other areas in my life, not just bathing.
I think its the fighting your "wants",that actually helps develop discipline and willpower. So, the same could be accomplished by other extreme examples, like fasting for 24 hours or some sort.
Now, to the more anecdotal benefits i see,
I feel invigorated after cold showering - helps you wake up, without coffee or tea - great thing in the morning
My skin has become thicker to touch - hot water removes natural oils of your skin, leading to skin dehydration
I dont feel as cold as other people - I live in Greece, and during november almost everyone is out with full clothing and/or jackets. Me? A sleeveless t-shirt, and a light jacket is all i need, and if i walk for a bit i tend to remove the jacket because i quickly get sweaty and hot.
I feel a sense of "empowerment" that i can bath with cold water, while the rest of people need their "woosy" hot water .
My total bath time is reduced, so i save up for both for water/electicity bill and precious time that i can expend somewhere else.
Drawbacks: When you first try cold shower, you get really really cold. I hated it. It was almost like self-subjected torture. My "ego" wanted me to switch back to hot water immediately.
If done right before sleep, the jolt of energy wlill remove your need for sleep for like an hour or so. Never do cold showers right before sleep, unless your body has accustomed to the feeling.
So, should everyone do cold showers? Thats up to you - and none is superior or inferior for not wanting to bath with cold/hot water. Thats a big myth usually portraid by manosphere blogs, and tbh thats a really bad mindset to have and marketing tactics of those blogs in order to sell you their agenda.
Cold exposure teaches you discipline, and to be cool and present in the moment while under stress. Thats something i noticed, over the days. While i cant prove what i say (there are no scientific studies - as far as i know) i have a theory. When you pour cold water over your body, your blood pressure and heart rate rise. Its your bodies way to quickly increase blood transfer and heat, while this is happening a small cortisol release happens also, because of the stress you put your body though. This stress, is also released in everyday living, like being late for school/work, exams etc. So, my theory here is that by subjecting your body into cold water, you "teach" your mind to be cool while under stress.
Thanks for reading.
tl;dr : Cold water is more of a cultivation of mindset, discipline and willpower. The benefits you read online, like increased brown fat,better immune system etc, are not proven facts. They are mostly anecdotal. While i have heard of many winter swimmers never getting cold, and want to believe this is true (who wants to get the flu in the winter?) i am skeptical about the validity of those claims .
First of, why did i wanna try cold showers in the first place?
There are many people boasting about the benefits of exposing yourself into the cold, and cold water . At first, they sound really good, but on a second though the sound like hippie science stuff, and to tell you the truth most of the "benefits" you hear, are unfortunately as far as i know, anecdotal and of no statistical significance. To make matters worse, there have not been many studies done on cold exposure, hence why we dont know for sure on the benefits you get.
Having said that, what made me expose myself into cold water?
Emotional Resilience. Let me clarify now,
One of the things i envy in army special forces, is the ability of these men to put aside their wants vs needs, in order to accomplish X order. One of the key things in special forces bootcamps, is cold exposure and cold water swimming. In my opinion, such mindset is very useful to have, especially in a world of instant gratification. Exposing yourself into cold water, especially now in the winter time, is... hardcore to say the least. However, it requieres a lot of determination and "lets get this done" mindset. In my (short) experience, this has slowly transfered into other areas in my life, not just bathing.
I think its the fighting your "wants",that actually helps develop discipline and willpower. So, the same could be accomplished by other extreme examples, like fasting for 24 hours or some sort.
Now, to the more anecdotal benefits i see,
I feel invigorated after cold showering - helps you wake up, without coffee or tea - great thing in the morning
My skin has become thicker to touch - hot water removes natural oils of your skin, leading to skin dehydration
I dont feel as cold as other people - I live in Greece, and during november almost everyone is out with full clothing and/or jackets. Me? A sleeveless t-shirt, and a light jacket is all i need, and if i walk for a bit i tend to remove the jacket because i quickly get sweaty and hot.
I feel a sense of "empowerment" that i can bath with cold water, while the rest of people need their "woosy" hot water .

My total bath time is reduced, so i save up for both for water/electicity bill and precious time that i can expend somewhere else.
Drawbacks: When you first try cold shower, you get really really cold. I hated it. It was almost like self-subjected torture. My "ego" wanted me to switch back to hot water immediately.
If done right before sleep, the jolt of energy wlill remove your need for sleep for like an hour or so. Never do cold showers right before sleep, unless your body has accustomed to the feeling.
So, should everyone do cold showers? Thats up to you - and none is superior or inferior for not wanting to bath with cold/hot water. Thats a big myth usually portraid by manosphere blogs, and tbh thats a really bad mindset to have and marketing tactics of those blogs in order to sell you their agenda.
Cold exposure teaches you discipline, and to be cool and present in the moment while under stress. Thats something i noticed, over the days. While i cant prove what i say (there are no scientific studies - as far as i know) i have a theory. When you pour cold water over your body, your blood pressure and heart rate rise. Its your bodies way to quickly increase blood transfer and heat, while this is happening a small cortisol release happens also, because of the stress you put your body though. This stress, is also released in everyday living, like being late for school/work, exams etc. So, my theory here is that by subjecting your body into cold water, you "teach" your mind to be cool while under stress.
Thanks for reading.
tl;dr : Cold water is more of a cultivation of mindset, discipline and willpower. The benefits you read online, like increased brown fat,better immune system etc, are not proven facts. They are mostly anecdotal. While i have heard of many winter swimmers never getting cold, and want to believe this is true (who wants to get the flu in the winter?) i am skeptical about the validity of those claims .