Is it okay to take a cold shower?

Many people like to take a cold shower after exercise because it can bring a refreshing and stimulating feeling to the exerciser. Although taking cold showers can be good for your health in general, if you don't take them correctly or if your constitution is not suitable for them, then taking cold showers can be harmful rather than beneficial. Next, I will introduce to you some relevant knowledge about taking cold showers!

For most people, taking a cold shower is good for your health if done correctly. This is because, in the first one or two minutes of washing, the skin epidermis will contract and blood will flow to the internal organs, but after two or three minutes, the body adapts to this temperature and the blood will be redistributed and flow back to the skin epidermis. The whole process is like doing "gymnastics" for the blood vessels, which not only enhances resistance, but also enhances blood vessel elasticity and prevents arteriosclerosis. Secondly, taking a cold shower will obviously stimulate the nervous system, causing the heartbeat to increase, breathing to deepen, and blood flow to accelerate, which can not only promote metabolism but also make the skin soft and elastic. In addition, taking a cold shower can help enhance digestive function and has a certain auxiliary therapeutic effect on chronic gastritis, gastroptosis, constipation and other diseases.

However, in order to "enjoy" the benefits of taking cold showers to the maximum extent, scientific and reasonable methods should be adopted. Specifically, there are the following points: start in the summer and keep going step by step; do "warm-up" exercises before each cold shower: rub your skin with your hands for a few minutes until you feel redness and heat; when taking a bath, "pour" water on your limbs first, then rinse your chest and back after a few minutes, so that the body has a gradual adaptation process; the water temperature should not be too low, 5℃-25℃ is appropriate, and the time should not be too long, about 10-15 minutes will be enough, and no longer than half an hour. In addition, it is important to note that you should not take a cold shower after strenuous exercise, because the capillaries on the surface of the body will expand at this time. If you suddenly "encounter" cold water, it will increase the burden on your heart and cause discomfort such as panic, shortness of breath, and dizziness. During the bathing process, if you experience symptoms such as continued whitening of the skin and dizziness, stop immediately to avoid accidents.

Cold showers are not suitable for everyone. The following groups of people should be careful when taking cold showers: infants and people over 60 years old should not take cold showers, women should not take cold showers during menstruation or pregnancy, and the water temperature should not be too low; people with poor immunity due to long-term overtime work or illness can easily be invaded by bacteria and viruses, causing colds, pharyngitis and other diseases; people who are sensitive to cold water should not take cold showers, otherwise they will get rashes; cold showers will increase blood pressure in patients with hypertension, and may even cause cerebral hemorrhage, stroke, coma, etc.; cold showers will increase the burden on the heart for patients with heart disease, and may induce angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction and even sudden death; patients with rheumatism and sciatica will have local pain aggravated by cold water stimulation, so they should not take cold showers.