What are the benefits of alternating hot and cold water baths?

Many people choose to take a bath to relax their tired bodies after a hard day's work. Especially in summer, when the temperature is high and people sweat a lot, taking a shower becomes an indispensable daily routine for many people. Using hot water at this time would be too hot, while using cold water would be too irritating and may even cause a cold, so many people choose to take a bath alternating between hot and cold water. So is it good to take a shower with alternating hot and cold water? Let me give you a detailed introduction below.

1. Hot and cold water baths exercise blood vessels

The method of bathing and soaking the body with alternating hot and cold water is called hot and cold water bath. Hot and cold water baths have strong physical exercise value. The difference between cold water baths and winter swimming is that the body is exposed to cold and hot water alternately, so that the body undergoes alternating stimulation of cold and hot, rather than simply exercising the ability to withstand cold. The alternating stimulation of hot and cold causes the blood vessels to expand and contract, thereby increasing their elasticity and tolerance to stimulation, improving the body's blood circulation and nutritional status, and allowing metabolic products, pain factors, inflammatory mediators, and harmful components that are easily deposited on the blood vessel walls and endothelium to form atherosclerotic plaques to be discharged with blood perfusion. Hot and cold water baths have the same effect as the alternating hot and cold compress therapy commonly used in clinical practice.

Hot and cold water bath:

Two large buckets are used, one for cold water at 10 to 20 degrees Celsius, and the other for hot water at 40 to 50 degrees Celsius. After exercising, soak your body in a bucket of hot water for a few minutes, then in a bucket of cold water for a few minutes. Alternate several times and finally finish in the hot water bucket. Dry your body with a towel. Of course, if the conditions do not permit, you can also use alternating hot and cold water showers instead.

Theoretically, hot and cold baths should be started from a young age, as they are not suitable for people whose blood vessels have hardened or even become blocked. Just as most people who do winter swimming exercises are elderly people, hot and cold water baths can also be tried by "feeling the stones" and middle-aged and elderly people can also try it. People who rely on lipid-lowering drugs and aspirin to prevent arteriosclerosis may wish to take a hot or cold water bath, a purely physical and natural therapy.

2. Alternating hot and cold water bath: the best choice for sexual function training

Bathing is the time when a person's body and mind are most relaxed, but if you can take advantage of this opportunity and appropriately use alternating hot and cold water baths, or warm water showers on the penis and groin, it will help enhance a man's sexual function.

Alternating hot and cold water bath is a simple and ancient "vascular exercise". Proper physical exercise through alternating hot and cold water stimulation can improve the elasticity of penile blood vessels and promote blood circulation. Alternating hot and cold water baths is a very old exercise method to enhance men's sexual function.

The specific method is:

First soak your body in hot or warm water in the bathtub or take a shower. Get out of the bathtub after it is fully warmed up, and rinse your genitals with cold water for about 3 minutes. After the penis and scrotum shrink, rinse again with warm water or get back into the bathtub. Repeat this 3 to 5 times. The general procedure is hot first and then cold. If you are weak, it is recommended to alternate between hot and cold and then end with a warm water bath.

If men after middle age can insist on taking alternating hot and cold water baths every day, they can be more energetic, have enhanced sexual function and reduce fatigue. If you use alternating hot and cold water in the shower, the effect remains the same. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that showering can stimulate the body's acupuncture points and help improve sexual function. Common acupoints include Qi Hai (navel), Guan Yuan (in the lower abdomen below the navel), Hui Yin (perineum), etc. When taking a shower, you can increase the water pressure appropriately for targeted stimulation, which will have a better effect.

The above is the little knowledge I introduced to you about alternating cold and hot water baths. When taking a bath with alternating hot and cold water, be careful not to make the water temperature difference too large. Generally, it is most appropriate to control it within 20 degrees. Dry your body promptly after bathing to prevent colds. In addition, when taking a bath alternating between hot and cold water, you should control the time and not take too long to avoid the cold air invading the body. It is recommended that female friends should not take a bath with cold water.