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Cold therapy is also known as Cryotherapy. It is taken from the Greek "Cryo" which means cold and "Therapeia" for treatment or cure. Cryotherapy has been around us well before many of us even knew such therapy existed. Back in 400 BC to 1050 AD, cold therapy was used in ancient times and also by monks as a local anesthetic.
Throughout history, many cultures, doctors, and scientists continued to incorporate cold therapy and discovered many health benefits. It is now commonly used all around the world by athletes taking a cold post-workout plunge in an ice water bath. Cold therapy is used to reduce muscle pain and soreness after intense workout sessions.
Not only cold therapy is excellent for muscle and pain relief but has long-lasting health benefits that naturally regulate the body and eliminates medical conditions. What’s even incredible about cold water immersion is that it’s absolutely FREE and it will make you feel like a million bucks.
Let’s take a deep look at some of the significant advantages of cold therapy.
Improves Lymphatic and Immune System
The Lymphatic system is a large network of vessels and organs that helps remove wastes, microorganisms, and organisms from your cells, basically purifying your body. The lymphatic system depends on the withdrawal of muscles through blood vessels. So, if you don't exercise your muscles, the lymphatic system in your body can slow down and cause issues like joint pain, infections, sickness, and even diseases.
Coldwater therapy stimulates the lymph vessels forcing the lymphatic system to rapidly pump lymph fluid in your entire body, getting rid of all the waste. It then triggers the immune system’s white blood cells to fight against all the unwanted toxins in the fluid. In order words, cold water positively affects both the lymphatic and immune systems which boost your mood, energy, and health.
Improves Cardiovascular Circulation System
The cardiovascular system is a circulation where the blood circulates through a system of vessels throughout the entire body. It provides nutrition, oxygen, and discards metabolic waste for each cell.
At the point when we think of cold shower benefits, we don’t often think about how it helps improve cardiovascular circulation in our body, yet it's one of the most important parts to our general wellbeing and health. Having a poor cardiovascular leads to medical issues like high blood pressure, fatigue, hypertension, muscle soreness or even cardiovascular failure and stroke.
We all know the most obvious components which are exercise, and a healthy diet that helps improve circulation in our body. However, having a cold bath or shower helps to stimulate the blood flow. When you submerge yourself in cold water, the blood rushes through your vital organs, which in turn helps your heart muscle become more efficient.
Reduces muscle inflammation
Have you had an intense workout and the next morning you are sore? Well, cold showers can help with high-intensity exercise, relax muscles, and prevent them from swallowing and inflammation. That’s why many professional athletes after their workout or game would get into an ice water bucket.
But you don’t have to be a professional athlete to have cold water immersion, anyone can do it.
Potential side effects
However, if you have encountered other health problems, it is recommended that you first consult your medical professional. In particular, people with high blood pressure, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease are extremely at risk of side effects.
Another complication that may happen is hypothermia, particularly if you're in the ice water for a long time.
Calms Itchy skin
If you're experiencing irritated skin or itchiness because of hives, dermatitis, eczema, or another reason, a cold shower helps calm the skin and prevents further skin inflammation. Your nerves can't transmit two signals at once – for example when your skin is irritated and you're having a cold shower, the cold automatically overrides the itchiness and the discomfort of the skin.
Improves skin and hair
Who doesn’t want healthy skin and hair? We tend to spend tons of money on various beauty products, yet we never seem to get the right results so end up constantly moving from one product to another.
Having a cold shower or bath every day has many health benefits when it comes to improving the quality of your skin and hair. Cold showers help tighten pores, soften skin and due to the blood circulation, it improves the texture of the skin. Since cold doesn’t release oil as it does when having a warm shower, it also prevents hair breakouts, greasiness, and hair dandruff. In return, this helps stimulate hair follicles and thick hair.
Increases mental toughness and well-being
Are you feeling down and anxious? Having an ice-cold shower is meant to boost your mood and mental toughness. I know it sounds a bit superficial but in 2017 study showed that ice-cold immersion can help treat depression and other mental disorders. If using cold immersion on a daily basis, along with other lifestyle changes, cold therapy can also be just as effective or perhaps more effective than a medical prescription for mental well-being.
Cold therapy will boost your blood flow and trigger your neurotransmitter keeping your body and mind happy. Whether you are swimming, taking a dip in the lake or a quick cold rinse at home, if used every day as a routine, you will feel more energetic and active. Above all the exposure of cold therapy will improve sleep, breathwork, skin elasticity, aging, stress release, better immunity, faster muscle recovery, and prevent any other diseases.
How to incorporate it
If you are prepared to take your first cold immersion, there are few ways to go about it and a few things to know.
At home use
For starters, set the cold water to about 10–15°C or 50–59° Fahrenheit. If you're using your shower head, you can check the temperature by using the thermometer.
At first, it may be unbearable, but allow yourself to feel the shock and simply focus on your breathing for the first 15 sec, your body will gradually adapt to the reaction. Make this part of your daily routine and soon you will be ready for an ice bath challenge.
Ice bath
The ice bath can also be done at home, all you need is 2-3 bags of ice, and then fill the bathtub with cold water. Spending an excessive amount of time in the ice bath can cause unpleasant results. For that reason, you should constrain your ice bath time to no longer than 10 to 15 minutes.
When it comes to how often you should ice bath, it would be advisable to do more research. For more information on cold therapy check out Wim Hof, also known as Iceman for more cold therapy methods.
“We are the alchemists of our own bodies” - Wim Hof
Cold therapy is also known as Cryotherapy. It is taken from the Greek "Cryo" which means cold and "Therapeia" for treatment or cure. Cryotherapy has been around us well before many of us even knew such therapy existed. Back in 400 BC to 1050 AD, cold therapy was used in ancient times and also by monks as a local anesthetic.
Throughout history, many cultures, doctors, and scientists continued to incorporate cold therapy and discovered many health benefits. It is now commonly used all around the world by athletes taking a cold post-workout plunge in an ice water bath. Cold therapy is used to reduce muscle pain and soreness after intense workout sessions.
Not only cold therapy is excellent for muscle and pain relief but has long-lasting health benefits that naturally regulates the body and eliminates medical conditions. What’s even incredible about cold water immersion is that it’s absolutely FREE and it will make you feel like a million bucks.
Let’s take a deep look at some of the significant advantages of cold therapy.
Improves Lymphatic and Immune System
The Lymphatic system is a large network of vessels and organs that helps remove wastes, microorganisms, and organisms from your cells, basically purifying your body. The lymphatic system depends on the withdrawal of muscles through blood vessels. So, if you don't exercise your muscles, the lymphatic system in your body can slow down and cause issues like joint pain, infections, sickness, and even diseases.
Coldwater therapy stimulates the lymph vessels forcing the lymphatic system to rapidly pump lymph fluid in your entire body, getting rid of all the waste. It then triggers the immune system’s white blood cells to fight against all the unwanted toxins in the fluid. In order words, cold water positively affects both the lymphatic and immune systems which boost your mood, energy, and health.
Improves Cardiovascular Circulation System
The cardiovascular system is a circulation where the blood circulates through a system of vessels throughout the entire body. It provides nutrition, oxygen, and discards metabolic waste for each cell.
At the point when we think of cold shower benefits, we don’t often think about how it helps improve cardiovascular circulation in our body, yet it's one of the most important parts to our general wellbeing and health. Having a poor cardiovascular lead to medical issues like high blood pressure, fatigues, hypertension, muscle soreness or even cardiovascular failure and stroke.
We all know the most obvious components which are exercise, and a healthy diet that helps improve circulation in our body. However, having a cold bath or showers helps to stimulate the blood flow. When you submerge yourself in cold water, the blood rushes through your vital organs, which in turn helps your heart muscle become more efficient.
Reduces muscle inflammation
Have you had an intense workout and the next morning you are sore? Well, cold showers can help with high-intensity exercise, relax muscles, and prevent them from swallowing and inflammation. That’s why many professional athletes after their workout or game would get into an ice water bucket.
But you don’t have to be a professional athlete to have cold water immersion, anyone can do it.
Potential side effects
However, if you have encountered other health problems, it is recommended that you first consult your medical professional. In particular, people with high blood pressure, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease are extremely at risk of side effects.
Another complication that may happen is hypothermia, particularly if you're in the ice water for a long time.
Calms Itchy skin
If you're experiencing irritated skin or itchiness because of hives, dermatitis, eczema, or another reason, a cold shower helps calm the skin and prevents further skin inflammation. Your nerves can't transmit two signals at once – for example when your skin is irritated and you're having a cold shower, the cold automatically overrides the itchiness and the discomfort of the skin.
Improves skin and hair
Who doesn’t want healthy skin and hair? We tend to spend tons of money on various beauty products, yet we never seem to get the right results so end up constantly moving from one product to another.
Having a cold shower or bath every day has many health benefits when it comes to improving the quality of your skin and hair. Cold showers help tighten pores, soften skin and due to the blood circulation, it improves the texture of the skin. Since cold doesn’t release oil as it does when having a warm shower, it also prevents hair breakouts, greasiness, and hair dandruff. In return, this helps stimulate hair follicles and thick hair.
Increases mental toughness and well-being
Are you feeling down and anxious? Having an ice-cold shower is meant to boost your mood and mental toughness. I know it sounds a bit superficial but in 2017 study showed that ice-cold immersion can help treat depression and other mental disorders. If using cold immersion on a daily basis, along with other lifestyle changes, cold therapy can also be just as effective or perhaps more effective than a medical prescription for mental well-being.
Cold therapy will boost your blood flow and trigger your neurotransmitter keeping your body and mind happy. Whether you are swimming, taking a dip in the lake or a quick cold rinse at home, if used every day as a routine, you will feel more energetic and active. Above all the exposure of cold therapy will improve sleep, breathwork, skin elasticity, aging, stress release, better immunity, faster muscle recovery, and prevent any other diseases.
How to incorporate it
If you are prepared to take your first cold immersion, there are few ways to go about it and a few things to know.
At home use
For starters, set the cold water to about 10–15°C or 50–59° Fahrenheit. If you're using your shower head, you can check the temperature by using the thermometer.
At first, it may be unbearable, but allow yourself to feel the shock and simply focus on your breathing for the first 15 sec, your body will gradually adapt to the reaction. Make this part of your daily routine and soon you will be ready for an ice bath challenge.
Ice bath
The ice bath can also be done at home, all you need is 2-3 bags of ice, and then fill the bathtub with cold water. Spending an excessive amount of time in the ice bath can cause unpleasant results. For that reason, you should constrain your ice bath time to no longer than 10 to 15 minutes.
When it comes to how often you should ice bath, it would be advisable to do more research. For more information on cold therapy check out Wim Hof, also known as Iceman for more cold therapy methods.
“We are the alchemists of our own bodies” - Wim Hof
Writer - Gargie Kejriwal
