Thursday, October 2, 2014

5 Surprising Benefits of Cold Showers

BY DANIEL WALLEN

You probably see cold showers as dreadful things that you’ve never put yourself through of your own free will; rather, they’re forced on you by circumstances beyond your control. The jerks in your dorm or apartment used up all the hot water or some inconsiderate person may have flushed the toilet before you were finished bathing. Ticked off and uncomfortable, you become irate at these people for making you have to endure this terrible thing… but what if I told you that you should thank them instead? If a person makes your shower go from hot to cold, they are doing a solid favor for your health and waistline. I invite you to consider five surprising benefits of cold showers!

There is nothing special about hot showers

Before we get into the actual benefits of cold showers, let’s establish the simple fact that hot showers are a luxury and not a necessity. Throughout most of human history, people had to bathe in whatever water was available to them. If you’ve ever swum in a lake, you can probably remember that said water often happened to be cold. The Greeks invented heating systems for public baths in the 1st century BC, but interestingly enough, many Greeks chose to continue bathing in cold water due to the health benefits.

1. Cold showers burn fat

There are two kinds of fat in your body: white fat and brown fat. White fat is the bad guy (think the Joker) and brown fat is the good guy (think Batman). White fat is the body fat we all know and struggle to get rid of. When we consume more calories than our body needs to function and we don’t burn those calories for energy, they are stored as white fat, which tends to accumulate at your waist, lower back, neck, and thighs. Brown fat is the good guy you might have never even heard of, and its function is to generate heat to keep your body warm. Here’s the good news: when brown fat is activated due to extreme cold, it burns calories to keep you warm, which could provide a helpful assist in your weight loss plan. How much of an assist? Scandinavian researchers found that exposure to cold temperatures increased the metabolic rate of brown fat by fifteen fold, which could help a person drop nine pounds in a year if sustained.

2. Cold showers boost recovery after exercise

Athletes often take ice baths after vigorous training do reduce soreness. You don’t have to take it that far, but you can obtain a similar benefit with a quick cold shower after your training sessions. Maybe dropping a pencil or walking upstairs won’t be quite so agonizing with a little dose of cold afterall of that running.

3. Cold showers increase mood and alertness

Who doesn’t feel a bit groggy when they take that first step out of bed? This is something everyone struggles with, but if you’d like to put some pep in your step first thing in the a.m., take a cold shower before you go to work. When cold water pours over your body, your breathing deepens in response to the shock of the cold (this is your body trying to keep you warm by increasing overall oxygen intake). Your heart rate will also increase, resulting in a rush of blood through your body that will help you get energized for the day.

4. Cold showers strengthen immunity and circulation

Remember how I mentioned that cold showers speed up your metabolic rate, which helps you lose fat? The increase of this rate activates your immune system, which releases virus-fighting white blood cells that will help you get sick less frequently. Cold showers also increase your overall blood circulation, which can help you avoid hypertension and the hardening of arteries.

5. Cold showers give you attractive hair and skin

If you’d like to reduce the appearance of acne, cold showers could do the job. Hot water dries out your skin, while cold water tightens your cuticles and pores, preventing them from getting clogged. You can also use cold showers for shinier, more attractive hair that your partner can’t resist playing with. Cold water will close your cuticle, making it less likely dirt can accumulate in your scalp. For further reading that will help you improve your skin appearance, check out these four skin care hacks for people who think they’ve tried everything.

Put it in Practice

If you have read any of the James Bond books, you surely have noticed his unique take on showers. Bond, tough guy extraordinaire, started with hot water, but turned the temperature down to freezing cold for the very end of his bathing routine. This character quirk is theorized to be a nod to Bond’s Scottish ancestry, since a “hot-to-cold” shower is often referred to as a “Scottish Shower.”
If you’d like to take advantage of the surprising benefits of cold showers, I’d suggest starting off by emulating Bond’s bathing routine. You could also take an alternating shower by simply switching your water temperature from hot to cold every 10-20 seconds. When you’re feeling brave and have the mental toughness you need to survive the shivering, try a full blast cold shower on for size. 

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

12 Unexpected Benefits of Drinking Hot Water

BY TEGAN JONES

I think that most of us know by now that water is essential to our survival. We’ve probably also all heard doctors say that drinking roughly eight glasses a day is ideal. However, what most people don’t know is that warm water and hot water have some exclusive benefits of their own that you just can’t get when you drink water cold. Here are 12 benefits of drinking hot water:

1. Weight Loss

Hot water is great for maintaining a healthy metabolism, which is what you want if you’re trying to shed a few kilos. The best way to do this is to kick start your metabolism early in the morning with a glass of hot water and lemon. As an added bonus, hot water will help to break down the adipose tissue (aka body fat) in your body.

2. Assists with Nasal and Throat Congestion

Drinking hot water is an excellent natural remedy for colds, coughs and a sore throat. It dissolves phlegm and also helps to remove it from your respiratory tract. As such, it can provide relief from a sore throat. It also helps in clearing nasal congestion.

3. Menstrual Cramps

Hot water can also aid in diminishing menstrual cramps. The heat of the water has a calming and soothing effect on the abdominal muscles, which eventually can help to cure cramps and spasms.

4. Body Detoxification

Hot water is fantastic for helping your body to detox. When you drink hot water, your body temperature begins to rise, which results in sweat. You want this to happen because it helps to release toxins from your body and cleanse it properly. For optimal results, add a squeeze of lemon before drinking.

5. Prevents Premature Aging

There’s a reason you should want to clear your body of toxins: they make you age faster. Also, drinking hot water helps to repair the skin cells that increase the elasticity of your skin and are affected by harmful free radicals. Subsequently, your damaged skin becomes smoother.

6. Prevents Acne and Pimples

The benefits for your skin just keep on coming. Hot water deep cleanses your body and eliminates the root causes of acne-related infections.

7. Hair Health and Vitality

Drinking hot water is also good for obtaining soft, shiny hair. It energizes the nerve endings in your hair roots and makes them active. This is beneficial for getting back the natural vitality of your hair and keeping it healthy.

8. Promotes Hair Growth

Activating the roots of your hair has another added benefit—growth! The hot water promotes the regular activity of the roots and subsequently accelerates the growth of your hair.

9. Prevents Dandruff

Hot water keeps your scalp hydrated and helps fight against dry scalp or dandruff.

10. Enhances Blood Circulation and Promotes A Healthy Nervous System

Another important benefit of drinking hot water is that it enhances your blood circulation, which is important for proper muscle and nerve activity. In addition, it keeps your nervous system healthy by breaking down the fat deposits around it.

11. Digestion

Hot water is particularly beneficial for digestion. Studies have shown that drinking cold water during or after a meal can harden the oil present in the consumed foods. This can create a fat deposit on the inner wall of your intestine, which can eventually result in intestinal cancer. However, if you replace the glass of cold water with hot, you can avoid this problem. In addition, hot water is beneficial to digestion, which is what you want after a meal.

12. Bowel Movements

Speaking of digestion, hot water can help to keep you regular, as well as make your bowel movements healthy and pain free. Dehydration can result in chronic problems with constipation. As the stool gets accumulated inside your intestine, the movement of the bowel becomes slower. It is always recommended that you consume a glassful of hot or warm water every morning when your stomach is empty. It decomposes any remnant foodstuffs and makes the movement of the particles smooth and less painful through the intestine.