As the mist and spray splatter against your ankles, an acute vulnerability hits you. Here you are, naked and cold, wondering what on earth you are doing. You are about to step into the icy blast of a freezing cold shower and the discomfort is real. There is no place to go without feeling like an utter failure. You burn the bridges in your own mind and take that powerful step forward. That is the moment of achievement. What happens after that is pure survival.
A Victory a Day #5
A Victory a Day challenges you in many ways. It is emotional, physical and mental and launches you, kicking and screaming, out of your comfort zone. As I wrote the book, I always winced when I glimpsed at what the fifth day of the programme had in store. A cold shower is a raw experience that disturbs you mentally before it begins, and physically when you’re experiencing it. There is a primal sensation that brings people, closer than they could imagine, to a feeling of fighting for their life.
Who are you?
A cold shower teaches us so much about ourselves. As I stood there naked, with adrenaline pumping around my body, so many thoughts raced through my mind. Your body is built for survival and will always try to dissuade you from doing something that may put you in peril. To your body and mind, a cold shower equals danger on many levels.
How you deal with this potential “danger” can give you an interesting insight into the type of person you are. Before it, I was confident and sure It would be a breeze, a simple case of gritting my teeth and getting on with it. This, however, was not the case!
In a matter of minutes my world shrunk to the size of my bathtub (I understand that, at this stage of the 21st century, I surely should have been standing on a shower tray). As I stood there thinking of every excuse not to go through with it, 7 cold shower personalities revealed themselves.
The Quitter
This personality is confident and cocky as they enter the shower. However, once that cold water starts flowing things suddenly change. This Quitter goes from “Bring it on!” to “I’m outta here!” Think of this person as your friend who pays for a gym membership, attends one spinning class and is never seen again.
The Procrastinator
As in all other aspects of life, the procrastinator does everything they can to delay the process. I found myself looking all around for a brief distraction. My shampoo bottle, with shampoo stains running down it’s sides, gave me a few minutes as I cleaned it before my shower commenced. I also hopped back out to make sure my bathmat was laying perfectly on the floor and ready to go. This is a step up from the quitter as eventually (10 chilly minutes later) you put your head down and get it over with.
The Shouter
Instead of singing in the shower, the Shouter screams their heart out as they imagine each cold droplet stabbing their bare skin. They become angry when faced with difficult decisions and believe they are being murdered by the jets of water repeatedly hitting them. They shout the house down and terrify all their neighbours! In real life, any change from the norm upsets them. However, after processing the change for a while, they understand what needs to be done and get through the tough time.
The Tryer
People say that everyone loves a tryer. Fair enough if you battle on until the end but unfortunately, this is rarely the case. It’s one step above the Quitter for the simple reason that the Tryer hangs in there longer. However, both fail the task quite miserably. Sometimes the Tryer experiences more frustration as they realise they are close but just can’t reach their goal. This person gets caught with shampoo in their eyes flailing around searching for the shower dial to prematurely end their pain.
The Smarty Pants
These types see the world a little differently. While most people are focusing on what’s right in front of them (the freezing water) the Smarty pants is thinking ahead and making plans. They are the ones lathering themselves up with shampoo and shower gel before even stepping into the shower. The Smarty Pants enters prepared and has everything organized. They break things down so that when it’s time to execute, they’ve prepared so much that they cannot fail.
The Fighter
As the name suggests, there is only one thing on this person’s mind…this cold shower is going down! The Fighter thinks about it all day and gets nervous ten minutes before they enter the bathroom. Their breathing elevates and they start blowing air out through their cheeks. They look tense and on edge and overreact to simple requests from family and friends. The Fighter is in the zone and ready to go. The cold water is hated with a fiery passion and they curse it under their breath. Once it’s go time, their body contorts and never stops moving between their grunts and shouts. When their shower is over, they scream with joy before shouting foul mouthed expletives at the shower head. To them the win tastes oh so sweet.
The Silent Type
Something a little eerie happens with this person. They may be a boisterous outgoing mega star in the outside world but once faced with the challenge of a cold shower they don’t utter a sound. They process it internally and see no need for words. It’s like their survival method that keeps them safe when in danger. Anyone listening outside the bathroom door would presume that a normal shower was being had. However, inside a battle is being waged in a completely silent way. I have tried this method but just can’t do it. I need to release a few shouts just to stay sane!
You did it! It was a sprint and you still have some suds around your ears and knees but you completed the task. The great news is, not only did you do what you set out to do, you also gained many health benefits from conquering the cold.
Studies have shown that cold showers have numerous benefits. Here are my top six:
- Speeds up recovery after exercise: Although not as effective as submerging yourself in an ice bath, a cold shower can decrease inflammation after a hard workout and help relieve the muscle soreness you may feel the following day.
- Burns fat: Your body has to work to heat you up again after a cold shower. This increases your metabolic rate which helps burn more calories and fat.
- Improves immunity by boosting your white blood cell count: A cold shower makes you a little uncomfortable which shocks your system. This little system wake up call trains your body to be ready when your immune system comes under a bit more pressure in colder months of the year.
- Improves sleep: Having a cold shower before you go to bed can improve sleep by cooling the body. This cooling effect creates optimal conditions which promotes a better and deeper sleep.
- Keeps your skin and hair healthy: Hot water has a drying effect on skin which can lead to dry elbows and knees. Cold water can make your hair shinier by reducing the amount of essential oils that are lost during a hot shower.
- Immediate energy boost! You feel alert, energized and ready to focus on your next task.
It’s certainly a daunting thought to have a cold shower instead of your nice hot one but it will reward you in many ways. It gives you a wonderful feeling of accomplishment, gives your body numerous health benefits and also helps you learn a little bit more about the type of person you are.
Which cold shower personality are you? I’m working on it, but at the moment I’m a strange mix of The Fighter and The Silent Type! Turn that dial to cold and let me know who you really are by commenting below!
I have been showering cold thru summer and winter for almost 4 years now. Its addictive! I also get into ice cold pools in the dead of winter and my family call me mad dad, but it does wonders for me. The best is waking up at 4 am and in that cold quiet part of the early morning I hit a ice cold shower for a few minutes, small apartment means you have no choice but to be silent… very difficult, but I am warm and toasty thereafter and so focused I get most of my days administrative tasks… Read more »
Sounds like an amazing way to wake up John! Yes, keeping silent must be very difficult! I have been finishing my warm showers now for years with an icy one minute blast and it feels great. You, however, take it many steps further by showering in cold water constantly!! That’s seriously impressive!
Heya Colin, cold showers also help people to make brown fat, so they can keep burning white fat long term http://healthland.time.com/2012/01/26/how-now-brown-fat-scientist-are-onto-a-new-way-to-lose-weight/
Hi Marc, thanks for sharing. That article is an interesting read. As this brown fat is stored around the neck and upper back area, the jets of water from a cold shower hit it directly which is great for activating it. It helps us to warm up again and therefore burns calories. Also, I love that it gobbles up the bad white fat!
Great article. An interesting thing is happening to me over the last 3 months when I have been taking two cold showers a day. At the beginning I was very light – around 62 kg and I didn’t start the showers to lose weight obviously. (The other benefits are enough and have all been happening). Anyway, after a month of cold showers, I noticed that my weight stabilised between 63 – 64 kg. And this felt right – less boney, less fat but a little more muscle perhaps? I get a sense that the showers are adjusting my metabolic rate… Read more »