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What happens to your blood pressure when you take a cold shower?

Main to remember

  • Taking a cold shower causes a temporary increase in blood pressure in the context of the body’s response to cold.
  • Cold showers highlight the cardiovascular system and can be risky for people with heart or traffic problems.
  • Exposure to cold water can provide health benefits by improving blood circulation, concentration, mental health and immunity in healthy individuals.

Cold showers are a type of cold water therapy that has increased in popularity among well-being lovers. Although they can offer a range of health benefits, cold showers may not suit everyone. Exposure to cold water can temporarily increase blood pressure and cause other physiological changes.

Cold showers can increase blood pressure

Cold showers can temporarily increase blood pressure.

Exposure to cold temperatures, such as cold showers, cold diving or swimming with cold water, activates the autonomous nervous system (years). This system regulates the heart, blood vessels and other automatic bodily functions.

In a cold shower, the years react quickly to warm you at a normal temperature. Consequently, the following increase:

  • Blood pressure
  • Traffic
  • Heart rate
  • Breathing rhythm

Although these changes are temporary (it takes about four minutes for blood pressure to return to normal after immersion in cold water), they can be dangerous for some people.

Since cold shock is a response to physiological stress, it can increase the pressure on the heart. People with heart disease, heart failure or other heart conditions should speak of a health care provider before participating regularly in this wellness ritual.

Potential advantages of cold showers

Many people take cold showers like a form of cold therapy of the whole body. This usually involves immersing yourself in cold or icy water up to 10 minutes.

Although more research is needed, this type of cold exposure can offer several health benefits, affecting the following elements:

  • Best traffic: The immediate physical response to cold increases blood circulation, improving circulation in your body.
  • Improved concentration and concentration: In a small study, adults bathed in water at 68 degrees for five minutes were more alert, better capable of concentrating and had more energy.
  • More efficient muscle recovery: Cold therapy is popular among athletes to promote the recovery of exercise, training and competition.
  • Mental health improvement: Researchers found cold therapies effective in improving mood and managing depression and symptoms of anxiety.
  • Benefits of the skin: Cold water diving and therapies can reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, an impact on the appearance and health of the skin.
  • Better sleep: A study of regular runners revealed that those who plunged all their bodies into cold water reduced the movements of the limbs in sleep phases earlier and improved deep sleep.
  • Improvement of immunity: In a study of three months of more than 3,000 adults, those who take daily cold showers for 30 days had 29% of days of less illness. Researchers believe that stress of cold exposure stimulates the immune system, preventing colds or other problems.

Cold shower considerations

Most experts recommend starting cold therapy with approximately five minutes of exposure and working gradually up to 10 minutes to harvest the advantages. In most studies on cold water therapy, researchers have used water between 50 and 59 degrees.

If you have current or past medical problems or heart problems, talk to a health care provider of the risks and the advantages of cold showers.

Watch yourself for any signs of cold shock. If you feel the following symptoms, get out of cold water:

  • Difficulty in breathing, to drop
  • Dizziness, dizziness
  • Feel stressed or frightened
  • Quick or racing heart rate
  • Trembling
  • Numbness in members
Very well health uses only high -quality sources, including studies evaluated by peers, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to find out more about how we check the facts and keep our content precise, reliable and trustworthy.
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  6. Dzidek A, Piotrowska A. The use of cryotherapy in cosmetology and the influence of cryogenic temperatures on certain skin parameters – a review of the literature. Beauty products. 2022; 9 (5): 100. DOI: 10.3390 / Cosmetics9050100

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By Mark Gurarie

Gurarie is a writer and publisher. He is an auxiliary speaker of the writing composition at George Washington University.

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