This 90-Second Shower Trick Will Energize You for Your Whole Day
Busy schedules can drain your energy, to feel better and more energetic, many people choose to take a morning shower. But what you actually never noticed about taking shower might be affecting your energetic level!
If you take a morning shower, you probably think it energizes you for the day, but if you aren’t doing it the right way, it can actually have the opposite effect.
The Effect of Doing Only Hot Shower in the Morning
Many doctors recommend people who have trouble falling asleep to have hot shower or bath to help them fall asleep. This is because emerging from a hot shower into cooler air brings a sudden decrease in body temperature, leading to a tranquil state of mind. This is helpful when you want to fall asleep but definitely not helping if you want to kickstart your day with a fresh mind!
Hot showers have just one benefit ; they will give you a soothing good night sleep. Hot water is recommended to soothe your nerves so that there will be a drop in your temperature that helps in sleeping well.
However, to kick start your day in the morning or to continue after a heavy workout, only hot water shower will not be able to give you any active or fresh start in the morning.
If your goal is to wake yourself up and jumpstart your day fresh in your morning shower, then you need this 90-second tweak.
The Shower Trick
Taking a shower in a right way will do the trick of revitalizing you and keeping you refreshed all day long. A 90-second shower is actually your rescue from all your physical and mental pain. Cold to hot to cold shower also termed as ‘Scottish Shower,’ eliminates tiredness from your daily routine.
It’s all about the contrast.
First step is the icy cold water shower, which should be for 30 seconds. Then turn towards hotter side, as much as your body can tolerate for another 30 seconds, and then again for next 30 seconds, switch to icy cold shower.
This trick will open up your capillaries and increase your blood flow in the body by increasing the simulation. This also helps in combating the stress in an effective way and prepares you for the day.
But the Cold Water Isn’t So Comfortable….
I know it may seem uncomfortable at first, but actually hot and cold hydrotherapy has been used for thousands of years.
In Finland, the sauna is a necessity. The country is home to 2 million saunas (for a population of 5 million). The Finns make use of the sauna to relieve stress and 99% of them do it at least once a week.
Besides, there’re many benefits you can experience with this shower trick!
Benefits of the Shower Trick
Reduced stress: In a study on free radicals, 10 healthy subjects swam regularly in ice-cold water and showed adaptation to oxidative stress and hardening (an increased tolerance to stress). Hot-cold shower is the best way to get rid of tension in your nerves, and combating stress is crucial for achieving clarity of mind.
A stronger immune system: Another study found that taking daily cold showers increases the number of disease-fighting white blood cells. In an attempt to warm up, the body speeds up its metabolic rate and activates the immune system, releasing more white blood cells.
Improved blood circulation: When exposed to cold water, our arteries and veins constrict. This temporary tightening allows blood to flow at a higher pressure, which is great for cardiovascular health.
Increased ability to burn fat: Research shows that cold-induced glucose uptake results in the creation of brown fat cells, which create warmth, burn energy and keep you slim.
Aid in battling depression: A 2008 study found that adapted cold showers stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and increase beta-endorphin levels in the blood. They send a high level of electrical impulses from peripheral nerve endings to the brain, which could produce an anti-depressant effect.
Step-by-Step Practice of the Showering Trick
You need to be patient while you step in for the 90-second shower trick. Here are simple steps to do so:
- Let your feet touch the water first
First, dip your feet in the cold water of the shower and then slowly wet your face with water and put some on your back and front too. Let the pressure of the water be slow so that your body is not hit by cold water in the morning.
- Take a dip now
Slowly enter in to the shower now and immerse your body in cold water. Once you are in, get comfortable in the shower.
- Finish up fast
Stop the flow of water only when you have to shampoo or apply soap on the body. You can also do your cleaning ritual before starting the trick. So, once you are done cleaning your body then finish the shower trick and wrap the body in a towel tightly.
How to Adapt to Showering Trick Gradually?
It is a difficult task to get adjusted to cold shower every day as the first thing in the morning, but with time you can.
- Adjust yourself slowly
Start off with hot shower and then slowly turn it off to cold shower till the time your body adjusts to the temperature of the body. Step into the warm shower and relax your body and then slowly turn it on to cold shower.
- Jump into cold water
If you know how to swim, then it is easy for you to step into the cold water right away. You can gasp or scream if that helps. Get your mind ready beforehand and it will be easier for your body to take a cold shower in the morning as body will adjust automatically after some time.
The post This 90-Second Shower Trick Will Energize You for Your Whole Day appeared first on Lifehack.
Source: Lifehack.org
Post a Comment