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Medical Video: Cold Water Vs Warm Water: One of Them is Damaging to Your Health
Many immediately shook their heads when they imagined having to wash their bodies with a splash of cold water when they woke up in the early morning. In fact, cold showers can be a healthy way for you to start the day. And not only that, cold showers also have a variety of health benefits that you have never realized before.
Benefits of cold shower for health
1. Increase alertness
Cold water even before the rooster crows is probably the last thing many people want. But, deep breathing when we are shocked to shiver with cold actually actually opens up breathing and increases oxygen intake throughout the body, which in turn increases the heart rate and facilitates blood flow so as to keep us warm. This then gives us a "kick" of energy to start activities.
2. Smoothes hair and skin
Cold shower is one of the natural ways to maintain healthy hair and skin. Hot water which disarms natural oils and dries the skin. Meanwhile, cold water actually tightens the cuticles of the hair and skin through temporary blood vessel shrinkage while the body reacts to changes in temperature. The tightened cuticles and skin pores will prevent dirt and other harmful elements from clogging the pores of the skin and scalp.
Cold bathing can also make hair look shinier, stronger, and healthier by flattening hair follicles, and increasing its ability to grasp the scalp.
3. Improve body immunity and blood circulation
The shock that we feel from the splash of cold water can first trigger the heart to more efficiently pump blood throughout the body, which can then promote better health - including skin and liver health. A smoother blood circulation after a cold shower can also lower blood pressure, rinse plaques that accumulate in blood vessels, and encourage a better immune system work.
A 1994 study found a drastic decrease in uric acid levels during and subsequent exposure to cold stimuli.
4. Lose weight
A cold shower can help your weight loss program in an unexpected way. The human body contains two types of fat, white fat and brown fat. White fat is a buildup of fat in the waist, abdomen, and neck that occurs when we consume more calories than our bodies need to function, and we don't burn white fat for energy. While brown fat is a good fat that we use to produce heat to keep our bodies warm, and burn when we are exposed to extreme cold. So, cold showers can promote brown fat metabolism.
A 2009 study found that exposure to extreme cold was reported to burn brown fat in the body with a 15-fold increase, which means you could lose up to 5 kilograms in a year if you kept diligently showering in cold water.
5. Speed up the recovery of muscle aches and aches
Cold shower is especially effective in reducing muscle pain, which shows up late, for example, a few days after you gym. That's because cold water has regenerative properties that can help soothe muscle aches after a tiring training session.
6. Relieve stress
Allowing the body to cool down without further ado can help promote increased body tolerance to stress, physically and mentally. There is also an increase in gluthathione, an antioxidant that makes all other antioxidants at an optimal level. After observing 10 healthy people who swim regularly in cold water during the winter, researchers report a body adjustment to repetitive oxidative stress - showing increased body resistance to attacks of stressful sources.
7. Helps manage depression
Although trials using cold baths as a therapeutic treatment for depression have not been carried out yet, repeated exposure to cold water has been shown to reduce depressive symptoms due to the intense impact received by cold receptors on the skin, which send large numbers of electrical impulses from peripheral nerve endings to the brain . This results in antidepressive effects, and improves mood, making you more excited about your day.
In addition, adapting to exposure to cold water can increase the body's ability to deal with other psychological aspects that accompany anxiety and depression.
But, not everyone can take a cold shower
While cold showers have many health benefits, this method is not recommended for everyone. The shock sensation that we feel from cold water is beneficial even though it increases, but can cause the opposite effect in people who are sick or vulnerable conditions - for example older people, the elderly, or those who have a heart condition. The shock of the cold shower might cause them to be shocked to faint or experience a heart attack that could be fatal - especially if it fell and hit the wall.
