Being some weird semi-hippie means I like to think about how humanity survived without all the conveniences of the past few thousand years and then bring those benefits into the modern context.
The theory is that forgotten habits are beneficial because they were what nature intended. Yes, I realize that’s a fairly sweeping statement, and not all-encompassing, but I don’t want to turn this into a thesis, so lets continue.
My thinking revolved around the fact that hot showers weren’t around in the time of cavemen (duh), and it’s more likely they just washed themselves in the cold water of dams and lakes. To avoid arrest I chose not to wash myself in the local dam (which is quite popular amongst families) and instead decided to substitute it with a cold shower.
For my past 3 showers I’ve turned the handle to ‘Cold’ and each time, after I had gotten out and dried off, I felt fantastic. I could think clearer, I hadn’t wasted 20 minutes indulging in heated water, and my energy levels were higher.
Anyways, I was reading about the health benefits of taking cold showers, and there was one point that stood out too me:
[Cold showers] bring blood to the capillaries, therefore increasing circulation throughout the body.
Being a scientific dunce I couldn’t make any outright claims of to why this was relevant, but I decided to dig further because it felt like two puzzle pieces coming together. While searching for “circulation muscle building” and other hopeful phrases I stumbled across an article about therapeutic methods to boost recovery.
The content of this article was unrelated, yet there was one line that essentially confirmed the inkling I was having:
Massage improves the bodies’ circulation; hence improved blood flow to the tendons and ligaments.
All I have to do is reword that sentence and we prove my point: cold showers improve the bodies’ circulation; hence improved blood flow to the tendons and ligaments. Therefore, cold showers aid recovery when attempting to build muscle.
I realize how unappealing the prospect of a cold shower is, but at the very least give it a go with the open mind. If you’re not preoccupied with it’s negative stigma you’ll come out of it feeling great and with a boost in your recovery efforts. Plus, here are the other health benefits from the article that I linked to above:
- Cleans the circulatory system.
- Reduces blood pressure on internal organs.
- Provides flushing for the organs and provides a new supply of blood.
- Strengthens the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.
- Contracts the muscles to eliminate toxins and poisonous wastes.
- Strengthens the mucous membranes, which help resist hay fever, allergies, colds, coughs.
And remember, this is all just for fun. Being stressed about having cold showers will do more harm than good. If you’re not interested in messing with these sorts of habits don’t push your body to conform to an unwanted goal.
