Moneycontrol News | November 8, 2023 | Images: Canva

The benefits of  cold showers, also called cryotherapy

Hot Vs cold showers

The health benefits of taking cold showers, also called cyrotherapy, will surprise  you. It boosts your immunity, increases blood circulation, relieves sore  muscles, and even helps you fight symptoms of depression

Who doesn’t love to soak in a nice, warm bath or take a steamy hot shower after a long tiring day? Even though hot showers would win the poll any given day, it is the cold ones that might actually do you greater good

After a cold shower, your body goes straight into survival mode, focussing on maintaining its core temperature. This process increases blood flow circulation, delivering freshly oxygenated blood to areas that need recovery or rejuvenation

When you continue taking cold showers, your circulatory system becomes more efficient, over time, in moving blood through veins more quickly. This proves helpful in aiding problems like high blood pressure and diabetes

A few minutes under cold running water after a hot shower protects you from circulating viruses and from potential seasonal illnesses. This is because the shock of cold water stimulates leukocytes or the blood cells that fight off infections

Water at cold temperature also helps in relieving localised pain and soothing sore muscles by tightening up your blood vessels and making your blood move to the body's core and vital organs

Once the body begins to reheat, the vessels expand again, bringing the oxygenated blood back to your tissues. As it flows back, inflammation is flushed out, pain is alleviated, and soreness in muscles is gradually decreased

Studies show that cold therapy and being exposed to cold temperatures in general increases metabolism. It also stimulates the generation of brown fat that produces energy by burning calories

When you are taking a cold shower, your body spends its energy in an effort to keep itself warm, resulting in calorie burn in small amounts, hence helping you in the process of weight loss

Research has also shown positive  effects of cold therapy on symptoms  of depression and anxiety. It helps in decreasing the impact of depression and lifting up the mood when anxious