There are many reasons why people want to harden. Basically, people have a desire to strengthen their health and immunity. Another important source of motivation is the resistance to cold in cold weather. People have a conscious or unconscious desire to increase their willpower. Cold showers and hardening procedures are useful for both health and willpower development, and success is guaranteed by regularity.
People use less water when they use cold water
Motivational is Dr. Buijze (Netherlands) study, in which 3018 people under the age of 65 were interviewed. The results were convincing - people who regularly take cold showers suffer from 30% less. And those who engaged in sports and physical activities in parallel with the cold showers suffered 54% less than the control group.
Cold water improves the body's thermoregulation and a regular routine develops and activates "brown" fats, which help regulate a person's temperature.
Cold showers in history and literature
Hippocrates, a pioneer in medicine, prescribed cold baths to his patients. In the ancient Roman era, one ritual included several rooms with elevated temperatures, followed by immersion in a cold pool, hence the Latin word frigidarium. You still see examples of such practices around the world.
Cold showers for athletes
Athletes use ice baths to reduce local inflammation and soreness after a heavy workout and improve recovery times. A cold water bath improves the athlete's performance, accelerating the normalization of body temperature. In this way, the effect of physical stress on the body in each stage of the competition is reduced. Immersing a person in the coldest possible water is the best way to cool the body in the event of a heat stroke.
When to start hardening in a cold shower?
You can start hardening at any time of the day or season, not all people start hardening in the summer. You can also start in winter. Start gradually and your success will not be missed. If a person has a weak immune system or the cold is frightening, then it is necessary to start very gradually, gradually moving to a longer cold exposure. If you have any health problems after the first one, talk to your doctor first.
How to start hardening?
For the commitment to work and the results to work, people's thinking about the cold must be constantly changed. It is a common notion that comfort and warmth are good and positive. The heat is pleasant, but it makes people weak and the body passive to thermoregulation. The cold may seem threatening, but it can be a good friend to us.
The health benefits of hardening and contrast showers
Alternating cold and hot water strengthens blood vessels, tones the skin and increases immunity. Hot water opens the pores of the skin, but cold narrows them - so a contrast shower is a great way to cleanse the skin. Water contrasts improve blood circulation and help the skin become more elastic. A regular morning contrast shower also provides energy, helps to cope with stress and psychological problems.
How to start a cold water shower?
- Start with a warm or hot shower, wash as much as you like.
- Turn on the cold water shower and start with foot sprinkling and gradually go up to the shoulders.
- The first time start with 10-15 seconds of cold water. Each time, increase the cold water exposure by 5 or 10 seconds to 1-2 minutes. When you spend more than a minute under the cold water tap, thermal insulation begins in the body and the body stays warm.
- Always end with a cold shower.
Contrast showers can help you get used to the cold at first
- After taking a warm shower, turn the water a little colder, but not hardening.
- Stand under this cool shower for about 1 minute.
- Then warm up again in a warm shower and turn on the colder water again.
- At first you can vary the warm and cool water, but later, when the skin is used, you can increase the contrast. The larger the temperature difference between cold and hot water, the better the effect.
What to do after cold showers?
The next step after cold showers is bathing in cold water, in winter conditions in the algae, which we will read about in the next article on improving immunity and strengthening health.
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