I took my first cold shower on Tuesday 14th July of 2016. Since then I’ve averaged probably 0.7-0.8 cold showers a day. I took up the habit not long after reading Antifragile by Nassim Taleb. Cold showers are really what antifragility is about. It’s about subjecting yourself to discomfort in order to come out of the experience better than you went in. That is in comparison to something that is fragile i.e. cracks under pressure or something that is robust i.e. remains unchanged under pressure.
Physiological
There a number of physiological health benefits of taking cold showers. The most empirically supported of which is improved immune system. Cold therapy (cold showers or baths) has been shown to increase production of two types of white blood cells, namely monocytes and lymphocytes. These two white blood cell types are responsible for warding off disease. In combination with the increase of brown fat cells which combat diabetes and heart disease among other nefarious biological entities, cold showers can drastically improve general immunity. It seems counter-intuitive to think that more exposure to cold would lessen the likelihood of contracting the flu or common cold, however this is exactly what humans have evolved for. Our ancestors had no choice but to endure cold and therefore to adapt to it. Without properly insulated houses and ducted heating, there was no other way but to endure. Nowadays our lives are comfortable. Too comfortable. We don’t need to face the cold and so we don’t and therefore we don’t adapt. This can damage our immune system.
Think of it this way: A high resting heart rate is associated with higher chances of heart attack and overall poor health. When you exercise, your heart rate goes well above the resting heart-rate of a probable heart attack victim. Does this make exercise bad? No. The high stress over a short time allows the body to overcompensate in recovery by becoming more oxygen efficient, creating more red-blood cells with more haemoglobin. The same effect occurs in cold showers. The body’s cells must overcompensate for the intense cold of a cold shower on a winter’s day. This means when you are walking around during winter, your body is better equipped to deal with the environment at hand.
In addition to helping immunological adaptation, cold showers can improve cold resistance. Anecdotally I can say this is true. I walk around my house during winter barefoot sometimes with little to no discomfort (though sometimes socks are nice) and I never turn the heater on. Overall you just feel the cold less after consistently cold showering.
Psychological
The above benefits are physiological/physical. One of the most surprising (though perhaps also insufficiently supported – here’s one article) benefits is physiological/psychological, specifically that cold showers have an anti-depressive effect.
I can’t say that I made a miraculous recovery from depression by taking cold showers, having never suffered from depression, but I can state that I notice an elevated mood. This could be down to a reported increase in endorphin levels which produce feelings of euphoria and raise the pain-threshold. However, I also think that the neurological effects may be cause by the fact that cold showers are hard.
Discipline
The psychological difficulty of taking cold showers is, perhaps ironically an advantage of cold showers. The difficulty is in knowing that on the other side of the cold shower lay all the benefits, but first you must suffer the momentary, though present, discomfort. This makes cold showers a great exercise in discipline. If you’re going to take cold showers for one reason, this would be the reason. It trains you to do what is hard, but what is right, and what is advantageous It is about delaying gratification.
Maybe it’s not the cold itself that produces the endorphins, but the sense of achievement, of being able to complete something hard, that releases them as a result of particular neurotransmitter activity associated with the brain’s reward system. I don’t know, I’m no neuroscientist, but I guess it’s possible. We just need to wait for some more studies I guess.
How to start
I started with an 8 minute long, full cold shower (no use of hot tap) in the middle of winter. I do not recommend. I had early signs of hypothermia and did not restore my core body temperature for about 3 hours after being wrapped in my warmest blanket. So what would I recommend?
1. Commit to 30 days
Today. This way there is no deciding whether you should take one today or not. It is especially important because you won’t notice the benefits straight away and must be in it for the long run.
2. Do it in the morning
For your very first cold shower it might take a bit to build up the courage, so you may want to do it on an afternoon when you know you have time to relax afterwards. After that, do it in the morning. You are the best at making excuses right after you wake up, which means you have the best practice of ignoring excuses if you cold shower upon waking.
3. Start with 3 minutes, full cold
And move up 30 seconds a day until you reach 5 minutes. 3 minutes is challenging but not enough to really lower core body temperature. NB: I live in Australia where it gets pretty cold in winter but not as cold as other countries (e.g. Norway), so find out what temperature works best for you. Maybe start with the cold tap all the way. If it’s physically painful (don’t confuse discomfort for pain), then it would be best to add some warm.
4. Use your own judgement
After 30 days of 5 minute cold showers, you should have noticed at least a few benefits. Should you wish to shower for longer each time (even during the 30 days) that is up to you! I’ve found that I get the best return on investment at 5 minutes, but I have gone to 12 just to prove I could do it. Again, it also depends on the water temperature where you live. You may even decide to progress to ice baths if you want to really increase cold resistance. In my opinion it’s too much effort for reward. Also, you may find that once the 30 days are up, you find no need to shower every morning. I don’t now; but I still take at least 3 a week.
Happy cold showers!
