In Siberia some kids start the day with a bucket of ice cold water. This isn’t as crazy as it might seem.
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Hormesis (from Greek hórmēsis “rapid motion, eagerness,” from ancient Greek hormáein “to set in motion, impel, urge on”) is the term for generally favorable biological responses to low exposures to toxins and other stressors.
Creating resilient, healthy kids can sometimes seem a challenge. We want to keep them safe and warm. It’s perfectly understandable. So when we see them happily pouring buckets of ice cold water over themselves, out in the snow, we tend to get a little protective. But watch the clip and you hear them laughing. Cold water dousing is as old as the hills. Different cultures have indulged in this for tens of thousands of years.
I first came across contrast showers thanks to Pavel Tsatsouline, the guy responsible for bringing the humble kettlebell to the attention of the world. Pavel recommended alternating hot then cold, back and forth, finishing off with the shower on cold. Personally, once I am done scrubbing up, I just alternate, spending a little longer under the hot water and as per Pavel’s recommendation, finishing off with a blast of cold water. The experience is…invigorating. It takes a little time to build up the initial courage but once you get in to it, you’ll be hooked.
But what’s the point? Quite simply, athletes have known about the benefits of contrast bathing for a long time, using it to treat muscle soreness and promote recovery. Cold water dousing has been shown to relieve arthritis, help lower blood pressure, boost the central nervous system, reduce and relieve respiratory infections and potentially bolster the immune system. It’s also suggested that the combination of hot and cold water may trigger the body’s natural toxin elimination helping the body detoxify.
Whatever the case, the Finns, Russians, Swedes and a host of other nations still use these simple methods to this day. At the very least, you’ll need a little less caffeine in the morning.
Like Ducks To Water
Photo Credit: bernat… via Compfight cc
All ways makes me smile to realize there are folk out there performing their own personal experiments and reporting back. I have to say, like all good habits, it’s one of consistency. It’s easy to decide that today is just a little too chilly to take a cold shower! I have to say, for me these extremes are never less than invigorating. Last year we walked a sub tropical forest and then jumped into a freezing waterfall. I was all for walking away but once we had done it…we wanted to try it all over again.
Very interesting piece. I hadn’t heard of the practice, although I’ve noted similar ones (shugiyo, scandinavian sauna / ice bathing) as well as how resistant to both heat and cold children can be! I also started ‘cold blast’ bathing many years ago (essentially, never leaving a bath or shower without at least a minute of exposure ice cold water), which drastically improved my resistance to cold, and has perhaps been one of the best health practices I picked up.
Funny this was posted, as I contemplated how my daughter only seems to sleep longer in colder temps. Apparently, there’s a tradition of putting babes to sleep under the Nordic skies in the freezing cold:
http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/02222013swedish-babies-sleep-outside-in-freezing-temps/
I got into this for a while. It is really invigorating! And the cold water helps activate the fat-burning brown fat cells located around the neck and shoulders, some using this strategy for weight loss: http://www.wired.com/playbook/2013/02/ff-cold-weight-loss/
I did unfortunately manage once to pull/cramp up my back muscles from the very cold water of winter, though. Maybe full on, sudden extremes aren’t for everyone!
Yes this has a snowballs chance of catching on in the US…
nice article, on a related theme cold showers condition the mind, and have helped greatly increase my cold temperature resistance. i got the idea to consider it after reading an article by a man who hiked nude (apart from boots) in snowy areas, and watching aussie athletes in a documentary sitting neck deep in cold water. it is nice to be walk around in just eg. a t-shirt (and a skirt), while everyone is all wrapped up nice and warm in their winter coats im glad i can now endure the cold alot better. i still hate cold though, and… Read more »