[michalu]

I've been taking cold showers exclusively for 11 years now.

It doesn't get much easier but you'll get addicted to the great feeling after.

It's similar to running or exercise, it sucks to do but you do it anyway because the benefits far outweigh the temporary discomfort.

The trick for me was to never use warm shower again and never compromise ... only coldest water available counts. First thing in the morning.

It makes everything easier as once you experience that comfort of warmer water you'll have to fight with it again and again.

That's why I don't believe in James Bond showers and similar stuff.

Only last year I started to take warmer showers if I need to take one late at night and want to get a good sleep fast (I took about 4 so far) ... to build this habit, for me personally, it was paramount to leave no other option.

For the first 7 years I haven't been sick at all. At the same time, I don't think it's a miracle practice for your health. You will get sick if you expose yourself to risks of getting sick often enough - it's simple.

In the early days, I used to procrastinate in the bathroom ... a good trick was to start timing my showers. I would leave a timer set for 5 min and paper to log time, I tried to get in and out beating 5 min time-frame. In less than couple of weeks it became a habit that I enjoy for some 8 years now.

Other than health, energy and willpower, I suspect it has some solid psychological benefits ... you get out in the morning you feel like a superhuman, imagine starting your day in such way and how that compounds over the years.

It's great habit to start.

[bregma]

If you lived where I live and did this you would be dead.

In winter the temperature of my water at the well-head is about 4 C, but if it's sitting in the pipes over night it can hit 0 C (which means no shower until it thaws, of course). The ambient air temperature in my bathroom is often below 10 C in the morning before I rouse the fire when it's -20 C or below outside, and that happens for weeks at a time. A 4 C shower followed by standing wet in 10 C air means a fairly quick excursion into hypothermialand.

I guess if you live in, say, an apartment in Saudi Arabia or Florida a "cold shower" might have a completely different meaning than if you live in a cabin in the Canadian back woods.

[autoconfig]

You won't die even in those temperatures if you take the time to build up tolerance. That's key. Wim Hof has trained his body to survive longer than one hour with his entire body submerged in ice. Similar feats have been replicated by people using his method of cold therapy to build resistance. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/science-explai...

[kyuudou]

I was waiting for someone to bring up Wim Hof. I think he's amazing and pioneering but I think there may also be a genetic component to his work since NW European DNA already gives him a headstart IMO plus probably has neanderthal DNA which was probably well-attenuated with extreme cold.

[autoconfig]

I wouldn't be surprised at all if there is a genetic component but that's why I mentioned that these attributes have been replicated in his students. But then again the fact that your body can acclimatize to cold or heat is not exactly groundbreaking news. We've known that for a long time.

[michalu]

Nope, where I live it gets -25 celsius in winter :) I wish I was in Florida though.

Yes the bathroom is cold and it sucks to get out of warm bed but what motivates me is once you're out of the cold shower it's all over. I prefer short term pain than getting out of warm shower back into cold bathroom and feeling demotivated.

[zaat]

You can heat the bathroom too...

[jackfoxy]

You won't die. I fully immersed myself in the Arctic Ocean at Barrow, Alaska, which was about at 0 C, and the air temperature at the time was about 2 C. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkOVKu7Mvb4

[zhynn]

my well water varies between 4C and 10C from the ground, and I don't full-cold shower, but I do finish my shower cold, with as cold as it can go. It is bracing, but as the parent says, mentally fantastic. I find that it works as a quick meditative reboot (I can't follow any thought threads while the cold water is full on, so it interrupts my main mental loops). It is easier to achieve a "new day" state where it feels like you have permission to begin again. Now, that's just an illusion, just as the particular day of a new year is an illusion, but the "new day" effect is very powerful for behavior modification.

[hi5eyes]

i live in the gta/ontario and take cold showers 🧐

[makapuf]

Offtopic, but thats the first time I remember seeing an emoji on HN. Is that recent ? I assumed it was frivolous and judged kind of bad taste ; is it? (Real question in general, not talking about this specific comment!)

[frosted-flakes]

Most emojis are automatically stripped out. Apparently that one isn't.

Edit: just tested, 🧐 is let through but others are not.

[rntksi]

🧐 I'm sorry, I just had to try that.

[baroomba]

I went about seven years without ever getting more than my “annual cold”—about 12-36hrs of very light sniffles with no fever or sore throat, about once a year. I was was also trim and looked and felt awesome. It’s far and away the healthiest period of my life.

... for the whole time I took extremely long hot showers, lived on 3000+ calories of junk food per day, and probably averaged not more than 6hrs of sleep per night, with no regular schedule. What kept me super-healthy was “being a teenager”.

[Moru]

How cold is cold for you normally? Our water is about four degrees celcius never mind what season it is. It just hurts, never really managed to stay more than a few seconds.

Some people around here are hacking a hole in the ice and swimming for a while...

Edit: Seems the test assumed 10-12 degrees average temperature in Netherlands.

[smileypete]

There is a world of difference between 4°C and say 14-18°C, at 4°C you just don't get used to it really!

A good method may be to use a fine spray and start with legs, then arms then working up from the bottom to top of the torso. That way the blood gets more time to withdraw from the limbs into the torso to maintain the core temperature.

[DBYCZ]

The best way I've found (cold showering only for muscle recovery) is to get your face/head wet first. Every other way seems less comfortable to me. It's similar to jumping into a pool versus stepping in slowly.

[darkFunction]

That's called the mammalian diving response!

[xur17]

That's a good point. I've lived in places where my "cold" water was likely ~20 degrees Celsius in the summer. Warm enough that I honestly wished it were a bit cooler at times after exercising. Other places it's been pretty close to freezing.

[michalu]

As cold as it gets. I am from Eastern Europe but now staying in south of France for couple months. When I am home it can be as cold as couple degrees above 0, especially in winter on the countryside.

Now in the south it's not so cold which bothers me, but I use the coldest possible out of the principle, as to keep the principle is the key.

[zhynn]

One of my favorite things is to sauna, then cold shower, then brief sauna again, and my nerves get totally reset such that I can go sit in a -20C chair outside and will not be cold for a surprisingly long time. It feels great.

If the water is not cold enough, it is disappointing.

[pgt]

I've been doing reverse Bond showers for the past two weeks, where I start off with cold water and gradually switch to warm water. During the initial rush I can feel the "mammalian dive response" kick in as my eyes open wider and something in my brain goes, "Ohh shit, Dorothy! This ain't Kansas no more," then after ~20 seconds I switch over to warm water so I can wash.

Would switching from cold to warm water still have benefits?

[travisporter]

I usually do this after a workout, because you're still warm. Cannot imagine doing it in the morning though. How do you motivate yourself?

[pgt]

Short answer: I don't.

Luckily, it becomes habit. Perhaps doing it unwillingly is part of the rush.

[zhynn]

I do warm-cold-as-possible-warm. It is my favorite thing mentally.

The best is sauna-cold-sauna-cold...etc, but the shower is a close second if the water is under 10C. If the water is warmer than that, it doesn't trigger the cold-water reset.

[vijucat]

Thanks for sharing this! I'm addicted to ending with cold showers now, but your comment on not starting with hot water at all is very interesting. It took me a week before I realized that rather than being a chore, this was addictive! 15 minutes after a bath, I often find myself missing the buzz. Also, FYI to those reading: it helps you sleep sooner. I was under the impression that a nice, warm shower is best before bed, but a cold shower makes me drowsy like nothing else and you hit the pillow asleep.

By the way, where do you live? For me, in Hong Kong, cold showers are not really that difficult at 15 degrees celsius (59 degrees fahrenheit).

[spodek]

I take cold showers every 5th day, timed with my cardio workouts so I get in the cold shower after working up a sweat. I used to take them every 4th day. I agree on the benefits you describe, though not up for only cold showers.

I haven't been able to communicate the benefits to people who don't get it or won't try, but to people who get it, few things match the benefit, given zero cost in time, money, or other resource. Actually, more like negative cost in time, money, power, and emissions relative to

We're getting into the most difficult time of year. My record low cold shower temperature was 39.9F (4.4C), when I was taking them minimum 5 minutes.

I got into the habit through HN, in particular from Joel Runyon's video and page on cold showers, which I recommend, especially his TEDx talk, which is on this link:

https://impossiblehq.com/cold-shower-therapy-guide

(My notes on cold showers: http://joshuaspodek.com/cold-showers-rock)

[samatman]

I had to look up the James Bond shower: it's when you take a warm shower, and finish with cold water.

I've been doing that since I was a young lad, it's how my father taught me.

I grant that it might make it more difficult to establish the habit, but I wouldn't know. To my taste it's the best of both worlds.

[zhynn]

This is what I have been doing for about a decade. It doesn't work as well if the water can't get below 15C.

Typically I count slowly to 60 while under the cold water, and try to focus on the count. It is easy to get lost at around 40s. Then I put the warm back on, and finish with ~20s hot/warm. I have come to think of it as a "cold water reboot" for my brain.

[samatman]

Strike me as a good approach!

Something I learned from a Twitter thread, which would be impossible to find (sadly), is the following:

With the water cold, close your eyes, point your face at the water stream, and hold your breath as long as you can.

This apparently triggers some kind of mammalian response involving dive reflexes, that's good for cortisol levels. All I know is that I feel great afterwards.

I don't do this consistently, but I should.

[bilekas]

I feel heart palputations just reading this..

You sir, are a person with more will power than .. Well anyone.

[intellix]

Would you rather take cold showers every day for a year or catch the common cold a couple of times a year? I'd rather catch the common cold...

[OnACoffeeBreak]

Obviously you don't feel that using cold water negatively impacts how effectively you can clean yourself otherwise you wouldn't do this, but I was interested to know because I assumed hot water is better. So, I did some searching, and results appear inconclusive [1]:

> The impact of handwashing techniques on infectious diseases among the general public in community settings has not been extensively studied.Hot water for handwashing has not been proven to have an added anti-microbial effect.

1: https://www.academia.edu/20383485/Hot_Water_for_Handwashing_...

[a2tech]

It certainly discourages lingering in the shower. When I was doing it (cold tap open, no hot water at all, Michigan, winter) when that water hit you you definitely moved quickly. With hot showers 20 minutes isn't uncommon if I'm tired and enjoying the hot water in the winter. With cold showers...5 minutes from turning on the faucet to hopping out. I never noticed any reduction in my cleanliness, but what I absolutely noticed was an improvement in my skin. Hot showers in a dry environment like a Michigan winter leads to very dry and cracked skin. With cold showers my skin was in much better shape. No cracking, no flaking.

[michalu]

Yes, good to know as it's quite a usual counter-point I get. The differences are trivial in my opinion.

I take about two showers a day, mainly because I do sports, so I think I make up with the volume ... even training in sometimes dodgy gyms around the world or doing jiu-jitsu for a long time basically rolling on the ground with sweaty dudes, I was able to keep myself clean of any infections, fungal or viral ... I'm just taking regular shower clean myself properly, the the body should fend off easily.

It's anecdotal but I think doing hygiene properly and regularly makes bigger impact than temperature of a water.

[yonaguska]

Cold showers after jiu jitsu on a hot day are like being in heaven for a moment.

[jfengel]

I wouldn't expect hot water to have a significant effect. In cooking, you need to hit 140F to kill bacteria, which would be extremely unpleasant. It's literally scalding; you can get second and even third degree burns in seconds. Pleasantly-hot shower temperature is in the "danger zone" for food handling, where bacteria grow faster.

Using soap will kill bacteria, and as long as the water is warm enough for the soap to foam up, that's going to do all of the work. Adding more heat will just make things easier on bacteria.

[nmstoker]

Interesting. Pure speculation but if the shower were very cold could that lead to shorter cleaning times too (not that I ever left "unwashed", but I recall when my boiler failed I was super-speedy showering!)

[blunte]

Heat means more energy which means more movement of particles. More movement of particles, especially where soap has decreased surface tension of water, means water touches and helps carry away more dirt and other removable particles.

[eequah9L]

I was doing this for several months. I remember the biggest drawback was that cold water does not dissolve soap and shampoo as well as warm does, so it takes more effort to wash yourself well.

I stopped because I got sick, and never got the habit back.

[zhynn]

I do hot-cold-hot, so: stage 1: hot, get clean (soaps) stage 2: cold (focus, empty mind, ~1m) stage3: hot (reset, new day feeling, sometimes I save hair conditioner for this step, ~2m) My showers take ~10m.

[folli]

What's a James Bond shower?

[seren]

It is also called Scottish shower : start the shower with warm water, and finish with cold water

[gambiting]

I feel like it's also the "living with 5 dorm mates and a small water tank"-shower.

[n1000]

I did the same for 3 years, but mostly for environmental reasons. It is a very effective strategy to shave off a fair amount of your personal carbon footprint (next to not flying).

As you say the rush after the shower is amazing! I stopped, because in winter (central European) there were days where I was cold all day and felt like I would never quite warm up again before going to bed. In summer, however, I still do it regularly and it really helped during the recent heat waves.

[adrianN]

I'd like to give this a try: https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2019/10/mist-showers-sustain...

[smcl]

What sort of climate do you live in? Here we have very hot summers and I enjoy my cold showers then. However Winter is long and cold, we don’t like to run the heating too much (bit wasteful if you can just stick on a jumper and thick socks) and warm showers are invaluable to recharge before work after a cold morning walk with the dogs

[balfirevic]

> Other than health, energy and willpower, I suspect it has some solid psychological benefits

Wait, are we just supposed to take it for granted that there are any health benefits (submitted article provides none)? (As for willpower - that's kind of tautological...)

[stronglikedan]

> get in and out beating 5 min

I can't even rinse the soap off with cold water in 5 minutes.

[ses1984]

Did you ever measure the water temp? How cold is cold?

[hanley]

Not OP, but I finish every shower with 2-3 minutes of as cold as the faucet will go. I've been doing this every day for about a year. In the winter my water temp is in the mid-40 degrees F. I love this habit. It's always difficult, but I always feel great after doing it.

[zhynn]

My water is 4-10C at its coldest. For me if it gets above 15C it doesn't have the same effect.

As cold as possible is best.

[ses1984]

Wouldn't it be nice if we could measure this and find if there's a point where colder water doesn't provide a benefit, or rapidly diminishing returns?

Wouldn't it be nice if there was evidence that 14C water conferred the same benefits as 4C water?

I know it would be way easier for me to suggest this as a habit to family if I didn't tell them, "yeah you just use water as cold as it goes, even in winter when your pipes are about to freeze".

[srge]

I would be interested in reading more about your experience with cold showers. If you posted on a blog or something about this please let me know.

[ramblerman]

You could also … try and take a cold shower

[srge]

Already did in fact but not long enough apparently

[jeffwass]

I’m curious, do you stand under the cold water the entire time?

Or kind of get wet quickly and step out of the stream, lather, rinse quickly, etc.

[andygcook]

I regularly take cold showers. The trick for me is to stay under the cold water as much as possible. Swapping in and out means you have to experience the cold rush multiple times, which is the most unpleasant part. Deep, meditative breaths at the beginning help a lot too.

[michalu]

I get under water gradually then stay there until I stop feeling discomfort. The part of the habit is not just the hygiene but the cold shower itself.

[agumonkey]

Gonna start a sunday cold day.

Saving some time, and energy.

It would be fun if all would cut heating tanks one day a week. A global GWh saving...

[amelius]

How do you deal with summers when the water temperature goes up? Do you notice that the benefits are less then?

[veza]

Related, may I ask in what climatic area are you living? Where I live it gets so cold in the winter that I almost can't even wash my hands with cold water. On the other side I feel like in the summer I could take on such a habit. Maybe a solution would be to warm it just slightly in the winter.

[SuoDuanDao]

Hands are also the hardest part of the body to cold-shock, all those little bones and large surface area. People who routinely go into ice baths often keep their hands above the water so they can stay in longer.

[michalu]

Not really, it just more pleasant to take a shower with less of an impact after. Summer is easy, it's the cold winter that counts :)

[hi5eyes]

i live in canada and exclusively take cold showers after workouts so its a good motivator to gym hard