I discovered that my shower has another setting that I hadn't considered, one that is really and truly cold with no input from the heating element. The first day I tried that setting was about a week ago, and boy, that was cold! I felt that my body burnt a huge amount of calories to cope with the cold water and to warm up afterwards. I shivered really quite violently while under the water. I had my usual meaty breakfast with lots of butter right after but didn't feel that I had eaten enough until I had an early lunch of bacon and eggs and butter. However since that first day of 'true cold' my body has adapted really fast, possibly because it had already adapted to a cool shower for a while before. Now I'm extending my time in the very cold water until I'm really pink, and when I get out I stand for a few minutes to let my body warm itself up, before towelling off.
An interesting thing is that after about three weeks of cold showers, I don't want to use hot or warm water for washing outside the shower. I wash my hands in cold water every time, and I always wash my face and head in cold water. I generally find that even warm water feels too warm. Leaving my hands under the cold water after rinsing off the soap is really refreshing.
aleana said:
I have also noticed increased alertness, which has made me think that hot showers and baths, like so many of other things we take for granted as being good do, in fact, just make it easier for us to “sleep”.
I think this is a good point. Cold showers, wearing less clothing in cold weather, and turning down the heating at home all seem to contribute to the opposite of 'sleep' – 'it' likes to be warm and cosy!
