Audrey Hepburn is attributed to saying the words “water is life”. But he was more particular about clean water and not the temperature of the water when he said this. While we agree with him, understanding the impact of your exposure to water is equally important. This is why there is such a thing as water therapy.
This is because the temperature of the water that you expose yourself to will impact your health. Against this backdrop, keep reading this study that discusses the benefits of cold showers (especially for men).
Summary
Specific Health Benefits of Cold Showers for Men
As far as male fertility is concerned, the amount and quality of sperm produced are important. Poor sperm production in terms of quality and quantity; will likely impact male fertility. More often than not, this is linked to the condition of men’s sexual parts such as the scrotum and testicles.
Both the scrotum and testicles (the functions of which are linked to testosterone levels) need the right temperature to facilitate the production of sperm. This is in the right amount and quality. The ideal range for testosterone hormones to aid (quality and quantity) sperm production is around 35 – 37 degree Celsius.
This means the scrotum and testicles need to be exposed to this range of temperatures. This is where cold showers come in. With cold showers, the scrotum and testicles will be exposed to ranges that aid optimal performance. This is in terms of sperm production.
The reason is that heat is not good news for sperm production. So, you need to watch how much hot water your body gets exposed to. This is especially important for men. You do not have to take an ice bath for this purpose. Just the right amount of cold water showers every day will help in this regard.
Other Health Benefits of Cold Showers
We started with the aforementioned because it is more important for men. However, this part is not exclusive to any gender. For example, before or even after you start showing pregnancy, cold showers can help pregnant women attain the right body temperature. Having made that clear, some of the other health benefits of cold showers include:
Facilitates Healing
With proper exposure to cool water, swelling and inflammation are decreased. This facilitates a quick healing process. It is also why many sportspersons do not make light of the need to have cold showers. Cold showers have pain-relieving positive effects as they reduce muscle spasms, amongst other things.
Increased Metabolism
Many people would benefit from improved metabolism. People that need to lose excess body weight are examples. This is because the body will quickly put ingested calories to use and burn excess fat in the process. A cold shower has been proven to contribute to increasing metabolism levels. So, everyone can make the most of this.
Improved Mental Health
Staying stress-free is important for improved mental health. Just so you know, there is a chief hormone responsible for stress in the body. An increase in the level of this hormone (Cortisol) threatens mental health. With cold water showers, you can experience a significant drop in the levels of Cortisol hormone.
Improved Circulatory System
By and large, the circulatory system is all about blood flow in the body. This is very important as poor blood flow can lead to complications such as heart failure and a host of other things. So, it is important to know and practice things that contribute to improved blood flow.
One such is cold showers. This is especially as it concerns body cooling – general hydration. There are blood vessels on the skin’s surface. These blood vessels constrict due to the impact of having a cold shower. This causes the dilation of deeper tissues in the body and aids general hydration.
For the record, warm (or hot) water also improves the circulatory system. However, cold water showers do this particularly by keeping the body hydrated.
Summary
Both men and women benefit from cold water showers. However, there are some peculiar ways men benefit – improved sperm production (in quality and quantity). Having read up till this point, you are also aware of some of the other ways men (and even women benefit). So, make the most of these details going forward. You can also check the IST Health sexuality segment for more related details.