7 Hidden Benefits of Cold Showers For Women

cold shower

Cold showers have rocked the health and wellness news lately. And as someone always interested in learning new ways to rid my body of toxins, the concept intrigued me. Especially because it was something I could try for zero extra cost. Cold water instead of warm for my morning shower, though? How could this possibly be a self-care technique? To say I was also leery is an understatement, but then I wondered if there were hidden benefits of cold showers for women that I needed to explore?.

Anyone who knows me well knows I have never been one for super hot temps. But I would still get super frustrated with my three girls and husband would use all the hot water and leave me with only cold water. Hot topic or not, willingly jumping into a cold shower took a bit for me.

Ease into cold showers.

Cold showers are not always the most enjoyable, I admit. I definitely didn’t jump into freezing water with abandonment. I eased myself into it slowly, decreasing the temp of the water toward the end of my shower and extending the time each day. The first day was only 30 seconds. The next was 35 seconds. I worked myself up to 2 minutes and when it was boiling outside, I took whole showers using only cool water. And eventually, I started looking forward to the cold showers because I loved the energy I felt afterward.

Tip: Keep a warm robe right outside of your shower. Being able to wrap yourself up in a fuzzy robe immediately after a cold shower will not only warm you up, but the softness after the revitalizing shower adds to the luxurious feeling of self-care. This is proof self-care doesn’t have to be crazy expensive or time-consuming!

Bonus: Cold showers save on energy bills. Not only do you typically take shorter cold showers, which use less water, but it uses less electricity and gas to heat the water. Yay for saving money!

Here’s what I’ve discovered…cold showers are pretty darn satisfying.

After a few weeks of working them into my daily routine, I can attest to a few hidden benefits of cold showers for women – Let’s break it down below. They may help you:

1. Stimulate your energy.

If you find you struggle with productivity in the morning, a cold shower may be exactly what you need. Research points to cold showers may help you get more done in a day and result in fewer feelings of burnout. While I haven’t been doing it for years, my energy level in the morning has boosted. I feel refreshed and more ready to take on my day.

It is so refreshing to take a cold shower after a workout. If you are a hot box like me and struggle with being able to stop sweating after an intense sesh in order to get ready for work – this helps the cooldown. It’s so much easier to put makeup on cool skin rather than one that’s perspiring yet.

2. Increase your blood circulation.

A shock of cold water has a way of jolting our bodies. I know the first time I was brave enough to turn the faucet toward cold, I involuntarily sucked in my breath the instant the water hit my body. It was like I could feel the blood flow faster, moving through my arms and legs. I noticed after a few times I just felt better.

This is because an increase in circulation has a big impact on your overall health.

  • More oxygen gets to your vital organs and muscles, which means they are able to work optimally.
  • White blood cells make their way around the body easier, fighting off infection and illness.
  • Skin looks healthier (more on this later!)
  • Your body removes waste quicker and more efficiently (more on this below).

3. Trigger lymphatic drainage.

With an increase in blood flow, the part of our body that gets rids of toxins and waste jumps into gear. This amazing part of our complex immune system is the lymphatic system. No matter your primary health concern,—weight loss, balancing hormones, warding off cancer, or just building up a stronger immune system—encouraging the body to ditch waste faster is going to make a big impact on your goals. A cold shower stimulates the lymphatic system, so standing for even a minute under cold water can be beneficial.

After having cancer, I do everything I can to avoid putting anything toxic in my body. But I’m not perfect and know I can’t avoid them all. I use a dry brush before jumping in a cold shower, which also helps kick start the lymphatic system.

4. Relieve muscle soreness

We all have moments when we just hurt. Sometimes it’s from a strenuous workout where we’ve overworked muscles we haven’t used in a while. Other times it’s because we’ve moved the wrong way and strained a muscle. Alternating cold and warm showers may be good for relieving tension and inflammation in our muscles.

If you’re really sore, try soaking in a tub of cold water for 5 to 10 minutes. Physical therapists use this type of hydrotherapy to help athletes with muscle recovery. I haven’t been brave enough to try this, but I like the idea of trying a cold bath before popping pain relievers.

5. Calms itchiness

Living in Iowa where there’s a lot of fields of corn, late summer and autumn can be brutal for people with mild allergies. I hear many complaints about itchy eyes and skin when corn tassels, during seasons of spraying to reduce weeds and insects in fields, and even more when farmers harvest. If you fall in the camp where you want to itch your eyes out, a cold shower may help. It doesn’t even need to be super cold–cool water running down your face will ease the need to rub the itchiness away.

The same benefits occur for skin irritations. Cold water can help itchy skin associated with eczema and other topical allergies. Although I try to buy products without harmful ingredients, every once in a while one of my girls gets little red bumps that itch. Before I try anything else, I put them in a cool shower for a few minutes to calm the skin.

6. Make you glow from the inside out.

I’ve touched on the ways cold showers can benefit your body from a health aspect. But cold showers can also have a big impact on your beauty as well. Have you felt like your skin appears dull and uneven lately? A cool spray of water for a few minutes every day may help!

It will naturally brighten your appearance and give you a glow others will admire. And I don’t mean in a crazy radioactive way or like an 80s Gloworm doll. I mean that your skin will have a natural glow that reflects your inner health. Since I’ve started taking cold showers, combined with my chilled Gua Sha and Ridged Roller, I’ve gotten more results which boosts my confidence.

So why do cold showers affect our outer beauty? It’s pretty simple. The cold water stimulates our blood flow, which increases the amount of oxygen that gets to all parts of our body. The evidence of this happening is in the clearer, more even tone and smooth skin. Cold water also helps reduce puffiness and dark circles around the eyes. And this makes us look younger! Who doesn’t want that?

7. But glowing skin isn’t the only beauty benefit of a cold shower.

Even a 30-second blast of cold water at the end of your shower may cause some other beneficial side effects:

  • Shiny, healthy hair: Cold water seals the cuticle of each strand of hair, making it appear smoother and shinier. My hair was much less frizzy over these last few humid months on days I took a cold shower. If you dye your hair, ending your shower with cold water will help the color last longer.
  • Weight loss: Some studies show that cold water releases hormones that may help burn belly fat. And in response to the initial shock of cold water, your metabolism temporarily increases, too. Obviously, cold showers alone won’t result in a total body metamorphosis. But when combined with regular workouts, it might add that little extra something!
  • Mood improvement: While this isn’t a standard beauty benefit when we feel happier on the inside, we look happier on the outside. A cold shower boosts endorphins, which decreases feelings of stress, anxiety, and sadness and increases good feelings. I throw this in with beauty because feeling good mentally ties in with looking healthier and youthful physically.

The first step.

Are you struggling with making yourself a priority? Self-care is so important in being the best version of yourself. And hopefully the benefits of cold showers will sway you to take the first tiny step toward making more time for you. Remember, self-care is not selfish. Hopefully, you try it and think I feel good and want to do more for myself!

Check out some of my past blog posts for more ways to show yourself a little love when you’re overly busy. You may think it sounds crazy, but the times you feel the most overwhelmed and frazzled are the moments when self-care is the most important.

Take care of yourself, mama!

dawn-marie-logo.png

By Category

Body (11)

Home (15)

Mind (32)

Products I Live By (3)

Don't Miss Out!

Sign up to get Mental Edits delivered to your inbox

Primally Pure

Recently on the

Mental-Edits-Logo.png

blog

My Awakening Journey could be an Inspiration for You!!

LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS LISTEN ON SPOTIFY LISTEN ON GOOGLE PODCASTS Is your everyday to-do list giving you no time for yourself? Join me for ...
Read More →

Why is it Important to Read Food Labels Before Buying Them?

LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS LISTEN ON SPOTIFY LISTEN ON GOOGLE PODCASTS When was the last time you flipped the product to read the ingredients while ...
Read More →

Chiropractor Care for Gut Health

LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS LISTEN ON SPOTIFY LISTEN ON GOOGLE PODCASTS Did you know that your gut health is directly connected to your immune system? ...
Read More →

Soak in more memories during mealtime

Snag My Meal Planner Sanity Saver

Expand your time & your sanity with your family using a simple guide to plan out your meals. Using my foolproof steps to guide you through writing out a weekly menu building in meals that fuels you and your family, reduce your weeknight stress, and build a grocery list within minutes. Check, check!