Cold showers are better than a morning coffee to get the brain awake and the body prepared for the day. Here’s how.
Do you rely on a steaming hot cup of tea or coffee to beat the morning fatigue or a quick workout to feel more alert after waking up? While this could help ease your morning blues, there may be another powerful stimulant that could help you give an energetic start to your day in a matter of few minutes which is taking a cold shower. Not many of us like the feeling of cold water on our body especially early in the morning, but that is the quickest way to feel alert, energetic, boost metabolism and promote mental health, says expert.
“Cold showers are better than a morning coffee to get the brain awake and the body prepared for the day. They’re are an absolute game changer for health and should become a crucial part of most people’s morning routine. It’s a completely free life hack that can seriously crank up your A game,” says Tim Gray, Health Optimising Biohacker, Psychology Specialist in his recent Instagram post.
While many people may prefer a nice warm bath over a freezing cold shower, especially during colder months, it is the discomfort of cold water that could help improve circulation, immunity and mental resilience.
“Trust me, the short-lived discomfort is totally worth the feelings of euphoria, alertness and increased concentration that follow,” says Gray. He also lists some amazing benefits of cold water showers.
Here’s what cold showers can do for you:
– Increase energy in the morning
– Recover faster from workouts
– Improve circulation and reduce inflammation
– Boost metabolism. Boost lymphatic cleansing
– Improve mood & mental resilience
– Reduce chronic pain
– Increases the amount of brown fat (having more brown fat is associated with lower body fat percentage)
– Reduce levels of stress
– Increase willpower
– Experience a higher level of alertness
The perfect morning booster
Move over coffee and other tricks to feel awake and energetic in the morning. If you are someone who struggles to wake up in the morning and not exactly a morning person, you should follow this simple trick.
“Jumping in a cold shower is much more powerful than 300mg of caffeine and will get you from sleeping to fully awake in less than 5 minutes. Simply turn your shower on from hot to cold for ten seconds each day and then build up to a minute or two. Each time the temperature drops you should feel uncomfortable, then comfortable again, relatively quickly. The goal is to get to the temperature where the uncomfortable feeling lasts and doesn’t subside. This is where the magic happens,” Tim Gray elaborates on the right way to take cold shower to feel energetic.
“Learn how to manage your breath to calm your mind. Before long, you’ll be up to 5 minutes before realising how cold the water is,” he adds.
