Cold showers

I’m going to give this a try! Thank you for the post.

 

When I first read about cold showers on NoFap 8 years ago (man I've been here a while ), and tried it out, I found out that I hated warm showers. I wish I'd known earlier... nowadays I only shower warm when I'm sick or when it's really hot, otherwise I shower at a bit below room temperature, I think (it's hard to tell, isn't it?). It could be good to go even colder at the end, though, although at this temperature when I go stand under the shower (I don't do this until the very end anyway, this was another thing I wish I'd learnt earlier: you only need to be under the water for a fraction of your total shower time, and for a lot of the time you can even just turn the water off altogether) I do get an adrenaline kick, so it might be cold enough.

 

There is something about freezing cold showers, especially during the winter.

They’re just so invigorating! They get the blood moving and the blood as well, and they make your lungs expand like crazy and make you take really deep breaths.

Overall, even if it’s the placebo effect, they’re so great to wake you up, not just from sleep but from a mental and emotional lethargic state of being in the morning. And even at night, before sleep, I feel like they positively affect my sleep for the night.

My experience with cold showers has been nothing but good.

 

Cold showers have been a game-changer for me.

I used to live in a much warmer climate, where in the summertime the "cold" water was about 70 degrees. That still took me some getting used to.

But a few months ago, I moved to a much colder area, where now in December, the cold water is around 50 degrees. When I first tried a cold shower here, it literally felt like needles firing at my skin (I have high water pressure), and I was like NO F***ING WAY CAN I HANDLE THIS. I tried a few times and bailed after just a few seconds.

But finally I just realized it wasn't going to kill me. And even though it still sucks, and I still hyperventilate like crazy for 45 seconds, my body does acclimate to the temperature and I am able to calm and regulate my breathing. I can stay in my coldest shower now for over 90 seconds, and when I get out, I feel absolutely amazing.

The physical benefits are great and all, but for me, the biggest benefit is the practice of forcing myself to do something very uncomfortable. It's the polar opposite of choosing instant, easy gratification like PMO. It's a simple way to start building self-discipline.

If you have a watch with a stopwatch, use it to time yourself and see if you can stay in a little longer each time. And personally? I'm a big fan of just getting in cold. Don't take a hot shower and then ease into the cold like a wuss. Get in that cold AF stream, deal with the hyperventilating and discomfort--I promise your body will acclimate, and you'll feel amazing for having stuck it out.

 

Very similar to my experience. I just love it. But I do admit, that many times I do a hot shower first and then end it with 60 seconds of freezing cold water.

 

I mean you definitely can do it that way. Even Wim Hof encourages people to start out that way, I think. But whenever I did that, I always turned down the temperature so gradually that 1) it took forever, and 2) I wouldn't get the same wild shock to my system.

Even now, after getting used to the colder water, I still stand away from the stream for a good 20 seconds just psyching myself out because I know it's gonna be cold AF.

 

Ya I should start with this as a goal

 

That “wake up shock” is definitely good for us. We are way too comfortable in our lives today, especially if you live in a. More developed first world country. I live in the US, on the west coast, and life is just too easy at times….in many ways.

So putting yourself in an uncomfortable situation is good.

 

I was mainly just teasing. If someone goes from hot to cold and that challenges their comfort, I'm in full support of it. I just think people underestimate themselves, and most could start cold if they pushed themselves to try it.