Скачать или смотреть Cold Showers Can DO ONE

Cold showers have a lot of purported benefits and if they've been useful for you then I don't wish to discourage. I, too, was once a fan of a cold shower (at least in principle).

But more recently I've really reflected on just how much benefit they really offer versus how much they suck.

It's true that cold showers can offer some health benefits but a lot of them have been exaggerated. Cold exposure is great for you, but two minutes in a cold shower is NOT the same as an extended session in an ice bath (which can indeed be very useful).

There's a bit of an obsession at the moment, for doing unpleasant things in order to build up mental toughness and self-discipline. But, at some point, this just becomes self-flagellation.

Shocking ourselves into a fight-or-flight state first thing in the morning isn't particularly natural (we're already in a more sympathetic state owing to our fasted state).

There are some more promising studies showing the effectiveness of cold showers for reducing sick days. But, again, there are less miserable ways to strengthen your immune system (and that research is far from conclusive).

And, moreover, warm showers ALSO have lots of benefits that don't get spoken about nearly as often. They relax muscles, improve blood flow, elevate heart rate, reduce cortisol, and more.

I guess it's not as eye-catching to tell people to "take warm showers!"

EDIT: Posted the following as a pinned comment. Wanted to share it here, too, as I feel a bit more context is relevant for this one:

First, I am aware that cold showers elevate dopamine, too. But again, many people won't find this life-changing. Countless things raise and lower dopamine throughout the day - you get a dopamine boost from seeing family, drinking coffee, sleeping... even hot showers lol! Likewise your dopamine can tank just as quickly from an encounter on the way to work. I'm also pretty skeptical of the study showing a 250% increase. There are huge individual differences when it comes to neurotransmitters. What parts of the brain were effected? The only study I could find was looking at ice baths - which are very different from a two minute cold shower.

I regret using the term "finite resource" to describe willpower. Yes, I know this theory is also controversial. But there is actually a lot of evidence for and against and many studies that support it indirectly (like one that shows moral decision making deteriorates throughout the day). Let's use some common sense: are you more or less likely to do a bit more work at the end of the day if you've had a rough day at the office and a long drive home? Of course it's harder to make tough decisions after a whole day of them! Whether you want to call it decision fatigue or just being burned out. For me, at least, a cold shower only contributes to that more.

To be clear, I'm not claiming you end up with zero willpower whatsoever and just lie there unable to move at the end of the day...

Are the studies showing we can train willpower that much more robust? That's not my issue, though. My issue is that life is hard enough not to being doing arbitrary unpleasant stuff as well. How about just do a tough workout? Or wake up as soon as your alarm goes off? We don't need to be having horrible showers to get tougher! Also: if your body is telling you to take it easy, sometimes it's best just to listen.

Again, individual differences. Some people seem to get a lot of benefit from cold showers and that's great. There's enough out there to see why that might be the case. But don't feel like you have to do it because all the cool kids are doing it. IMO the benefits have been overhyped and it's fine if it's not working for you.

I just wanted to put out a different perspective :-)


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