If you have to take a cold shower because you're in a hurry and can't wait for the water to heat up, or because you're the last to take a shower and there's no more hot water in the house, cold water shock is something you need to get used to. Many swimmers, competitive athletes, and members of the armed forces also need to learn to deal with this discomfort. While shock can be healthy and help you lose weight, it can be quite difficult to deal with. Fortunately, there are ways to help the body get used to it.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Adapting slowly
Step 1. Warm the bath normally
Assuming you are not required to immediately adapt to a cold pool or open water swim, you can use your shower or bathtub to gradually train your body to adapt to the cold. Turn on the water and allow it to heat up.
Step 2. Enter the bath
Since the water is hot, this shouldn't be difficult. Make sure your hands, feet, and face are wet, as most of your heat and cold receptors are there. After a few moments, lower the temperature slightly and shower normally.
Step 3. After adapting, lower the temperature again
Remember, you're not trying to get a thermal shock; this is a gradual method of getting used to cold water! At this point, you should be finishing your shower as you adjust to your second change in temperature. If you feel comfortable or need more time to shower, feel free to lower the temperature a third time.
Step 4. Repeat this process daily
Each day, you should find the temperature drops getting a little easier. This indicates that the body is getting used to the process and is doing a better job of thermoregulation.
Step 5. Lower the start temperature
After a few days or a week of doing this whole process and the drops in temperature are not so intimidating, lower the initial shower temperature. Now, you will start the bath with the temperature of the first decrease, and your last decrease in temperature will be cooler than all the others.
Step 6. Repeat every week or for a few days
The exact timing will be different for everyone depending on how fit you are and how much body fat you have. Ironically, the best body type for this process is one that is fit and fat! Whenever ready, continue to lower the starting temperature again. Before you know it, you'll be feeling comfortable in temperatures that used to bother you.
Method 2 of 3: Joining at Once
Step 1. Prepare the water
Of course, if you're doing this outdoors or in a cold pool, everything will be ready in advance. This method is quick, and great for swimmers and athletes who will need to use ice baths to help them recover from an activity. When the water is ready, prepare for the shock.
Step 2. Wet your face, ears, hands and feet
Since most of your sensory receptors are in these areas, they are the most important ones for overcoming shock. This is an easy way to get started if you don't already have the mental strength to jump all at once.
If you cannot dive these areas, splash cold water over these locations
Step 3. Play yourself
Just go. Go in and see if the entire body is covered from head to toe in the cold water. Leaving some areas dry and warm will hinder adaptation, as your body will have something warm to compare with cold water.
Step 4. Continue
If you're swimming this will be easy, but it can be harder in a bath. Shift your body weight and move your feet. Any muscle movement will help initiate the body's thermoregulation and adjustment process.
Step 5. Prepare yourself mentally
At first, it will be tempting to jump out of the water or raise the temperature. Do not do this. You can build a mental wall against the cold until the body fully adjusts and adapts. Every time you build that wall and resist the cold, it gets easier, both psychologically and physically due to the increasingly efficient thermoregulation.
Method 3 of 3: Understanding the Body and Using the Environment
Step 1. Understand why you feel hot and cold
The normal temperature of the human body is 37 °C. The human body has three types of sensory receptors in the skin: pain, heat and cold. Heat receptors start sensing heat above 30°C (and up to about 45 degrees, where pain receptors take over). Cold receivers sense cold when the temperature drops below 35 degrees.
- As you can see, there is a 5°C overlap zone that triggers the heat and cold receivers.
- You feel cold more strongly than you feel hot because your body has four times as many cold receptors as it does heat. Many of these are located in the face, ears, hands, and feet.
- The cold receivers stop working below 5°C when you stop feeling cold and start getting numb.
- Your core body temperature may vary slightly depending on hormonal and health changes.
Step 2. Understand how the body reacts to temperature
When your temperature exceeds 37°C, your blood vessels will dilate, allowing more blood to reach the surface of your skin to be cooled. When the temperature drops, blood vessels constrict to conserve body heat. As you regularly experience this sensation, your body will become more efficient at thermoregulation (the process of temperature control).
Step 3. Lower the room temperature
Part of the difficulty with getting into a cold shower (especially in the morning when you've been in bed) is that the shock is greater because the environment you were in before was quite hot. If you lower the room temperature, the cold water will be less shocking.
- Turn thermostat to decrease one or two degrees. This will even save you money in winter.
- Have a fan in the bathroom or bedroom. Increasing air circulation under 37°C will get your body's cold receptors used to being activated.
- Don't overdress at night. This can be very useful if you are having trouble with cold showers in the morning. The hotter you are, the colder the water will feel.
Step 4. Raise the temperature of your heartwood to make the cold feel better
There are times when the cold can feel good, like when you jump into a pool on a hot summer day or sip a cool drink after an intense sporting activity. This is because your body is elevated above 37°C and is struggling to lower the temperature. If you increase your body temperature, it can make cold water easier to adapt to and also make it refreshing.
- Consider doing a high-intensity exercise before a cold shower. Interval or circuit training is very effective.
- A cold shower will have the added benefit of helping your muscles to recover!
Notices
- Be aware that prolonged immersion in any water with a temperature below 15 °C can be fatal. You have about one minute of immersion per degree before you have problems with the cold (if the water is 10°C, you have ten minutes, and if the water is 1°C, you have one minute).
- Those with little fat and muscle tissue and those who are ill should be very cautious about prolonged exposure to cold.
- Learn how to recognize hypothermia. It's better to recognize your limits rather than push them to the point where you experience hypothermia, which causes your body to stop functioning.