Of course, with our kind of weather, everyone would prefer a pleasantly warm bath over a cold shower; but did you know that there are scientifically proven health benefits of taking cold showers? Yes, there are, especially in the mornings as you start your day. Let`s talk about this.
Amazing Benefits of Cold Shower
Improves Mood And Fights Depression
Cold showers stimulate the sensitivity of nerves whose signals are transmitted to the brain. This heightened sensitivity improves the production of dopamine and serotonin among others, thereby improving your mood when you’re depressed.
Improves the Condition of the Skin and Hair
Cold showers enhance beauty too. Did you know that warm water removes a lot of the natural oils that the skin and hair produce, leaving them listless and dry when compared to cold water showers? What`s more? Hair that is washed regularly with cold water has been shown to have stronger follicles, and are less likely to experience dandruff. That is not all, as cold water showers also spur blood flow to the scalp, making it an attractive option for many, considering techniques to combat hair loss.
Increases Testosterone Levels
Hello males! You might want to sit upright as you read this interesting piece of information. Did you know that testosterone increases as a result of exposure to the cold, as the increase in body temperature causes DNA and protein synthesis rates to increase? Have you ever wondered why your testes hang lower than your body? Well, it`s because testosterone production and spermatogenesis are repressed by high heat; so to compensate, your testes hang away from your body which equates to a lower temperature. Cold water enhances production of testosterone by the testes. Professional weightlifters know this, and this is why they soaking in ice baths before a competition, especially because it is believed to have connections increased with power generation.
It Enhances Sleep
Cold water enhances the stimulation of melatonin, an essential hormone that regulates the natural circadian rhythm, and whose levels increase as the sun sets. Having a cold shower before you go to bed makes a lot of difference.
It Boosts Immunity
Cold water improves the circulatory system, and many other organs benefit from it. The immune system is one of them. Cold water helps to promote the efficient destruction of foreign pathogens that may cause infection. They can also promote healing of wounds.
It Promotes Weight Loss
Weight loss can be an issue in our society. It may sound funny that cold water, as trivial as it appears, combats weight loss which is such a seemingly challenging condition. There is a high increase in burning calories as a result of cold showers in the morning.
It Promotes Muscle Recovery
Athletes soak themselves in an ice bath, and the reason for this is not far-fetched, as cold showers help to relieve pain the day after training. People who take cold showers as short as 25 minutes per session are able to significantly reduce inflammation and pain, and also recover much faster as well.
It Reduces Stress
Stress can be a major health challenge, leading to a number of other conditions. Cold showers help to decrease cortisol secretion and to increase levels of beneficial brain chemicals known as endorphins. To achieve this, powerful antioxidants such as glutathione are increased along with other accessory compounds which help to reduce the effects of excess stress caused by high cortisol secretion. Cold showers over time, improve resistance to oxidative stress and help modulate the production of cortisol by the body.
Let`s Discuss some Water Facts
Here`s a list of amazing water facts
- 30% of fresh water is in the ground.
- 1.7% of the world’s water is frozen and therefore unusable.
- Approximately 400 billion gallons of water are used in the United States per day.
- In a year, the average American residence uses over 100,000 gallons (indoors and outside).
- Water can dissolve more substances than any other liquid including sulfuric acid.
- About 6,800 gallons of water is required to grow a day’s food for a family of four.
- To create one pint of beer, it takes 20 gallons of water.
- 780 million people lack access to water source.
- In just one day, 200 million work hours are consumed by women collecting water for their families.
- 1/3 what the world spends on bottled water in one year could pay for projects providing water to everyone in need.
- Every hour, unsafe water kills 200 children.
- A jellyfish and a cucumber are each 95% water.
- 70% of the human brain is water.
- 80% of health challenges in the developing world is water-related.
- In some countries, less than half the population has access to clean water.
- 40 billion hours are spent collecting water in Africa alone.
- A person can live about a month without food, but only about a week without water.
- There is about the same amount of water on Earth now as there was millions of years ago.
- Children in the first 6 months of life consume seven times as much water per pound as the average American adult.
- Americans drink more than one billion glasses of tap water per day.
- The United States draws more than 40 billion gallons (151 million liters) of water from the Great Lakes every day; now that`s half of which is used for electrical power production.
- 85% of the world population lives in the driest half of the planet.
- 300 tons of water is required to manufacture 1 ton of steel.
- 1 in 6 gallons of water leak from utility pipes before reaching customers in the US.
- America uses 5.7 billion gallons per day from toilet flushes.
- Each day, we also lose a little more than a cup of water (237 ml) when we exhale it.
- By 2025, water withdrawals are predicted to increase by 50 percent in developing countries and 18 percent in developed countries.
- By 2025 half the world’s people will live in countries with high water stress.
- The average family of four uses 180 gallons of water per day outdoors. It is estimated that over 50% is wasted from evaporation, wind, or overwatering.
- It takes more than twice the amount of water to produce coffee than it does tea.
- Chicken and goat are the least water-intensive meats to consume.
- There have been 265 recorded incidences of water conflicts from 3000 BC to 2012.
- Hot water can freeze faster than cold water under some conditions (commonly known as the Mpemba effect).
- Over 90% of the world’s supply of fresh water is located in Antarctica.
- Water regulates the earth’s temperature.
- On average, 10 gallons per day of your water footprint (or 14% of your indoor use) is lost to leaks.
- The average pool takes 22,000 gallons of water to be filled up.
- Flying from Los Angeles to San Francisco, about 700 miles round-trip, could cost you more than 9,000 gallons of water.
- Water use has grown at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century.
- Only about 0.007 percent of the planet’s water is available to fuel and feed its 6.8 billion people.
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References
[1] www.seametrics.com
