So I am wanting to begin doing cold showers. I just want the mental benefits from it honestly. Anyway, I have a question: When you take one, how cold does the water need to actually be? Like, does the water need to be super cold, like as cold as I can get it? Or only as cold as I can tolerate, and maybe work to getting it colder? I took one earlier for the first time. I turned the water to cold but I adjusted it so that it was simply cold and not actually feeling like it was freezing.
For the past several weeks I've been taking cold showers only. As cold as I can stand it, for as long as I can stand it. I don't adjust the water temperature. If it feels really uncomfortable I'll move my head and body away from the water for a few seconds.
So long as you are in good health, go for the cold. Last year, during the winter, I took snow baths. I could only stand it for about 2-3 minutes, but WOW. If you want the mental benefits, that's what you've got to do. You've got to wrap your arms around the cold and say, "c'mere lovely!!" At first, it feels cold, but then it feels liberating.
Cold exposure can be very powerful and beneficial. I have a cold exposure game of going outside in my boxers for 10-15 minutes. I watch the stars and plants and make it a quiet, spiritual moment for me.
Same. I dont go in my boxers. But I do go out into the cold with a cup of coffee or something and just hang out gor a while and drink my beverage while I breathe in the cool air. I am addicted to the feel of cool air in my lungs. It also appears to spark creativity bursts in my mind. I write some of my better poetry while in the cool air.
I have taken cold showers everyday since March 2017, except for one day where I had to sit in a warm bathtub when I pulled my groin muscle. I feel so alive these past few years and am not going to stop the cold showers because my mind feels so crisp and clear after the cold showers.
Work up to it. Start with warm water for 10 seconds at the end of your shower, then cool water for 10 seconds, then cool for 20 seconds, then cool for 30 seconds, cold for 5, then cold for 20 seconds, then cool for the whole shower cold for 20 seconds and so on.
Just go straight for the coldest. I've played around with it and honestly unless your "cold" is really just luke-warm, it's going to feel terrible those first few seconds whether it's cold or near-freezing. Then you adjust and it feels better. So it's best to just go straight to the coldest setting. I'm personally a bigger fan of contrast showers. I don't have the best circulation in my hands and feet, especially now during winter, so I use them to improve my circulation, while also getting the benefits of cold showers. Basically I have the water hot for ~30 seconds, then on the coldest setting for ~30 seconds, then repeat several times. When the water is hot, blood rushes down your arteries to your extremities, when the water is cold, blood rushes back up your veins towards your core to keep your core body temperature stable. So it can help with both venous and arterial circulation. It also makes you experience that "Oh fuck it's cold!" sensation every time, rather than just getting used to the cold.
Bunch of guys in my office swear by the Wim Hoff method https://www.wimhofmethod.com/practice-the-method I have done the super cold shower thing, and definitely come out feeling revitalized. It focuses the mind on survival (i find) than about any other worry or distraction I might have at the moment.
Great idea! I'll do that. Also it's important to get enough sun during wintertime (if you don't want to take vitamine D supplements). So when you go out in shorts and t-shirts you can do two beneficial things at once for your body and mind.
