Cold Water Therapy: How to Take Like a Duck to Cold Water

These Aussies made a film about it: Watch Cold Water Therapy on Garage Movies

Words: Nathan Fabiano

As a species, we've long been obsessed with the benefits of cold showers. Whether they're good for your skin or your mental health, there are plenty of reasons to add them into your daily routine. But what if I told you that there's another reason to take cold showers or plunge into the icy waters of your local beach or pool? Cold water therapy is actually beneficial to your physical health in so many ways.

Here are the major benefits of cold water so you can get pumped for Ducktober!

Cold water therapy can give your metabolism a boost

Cold water therapy can help your metabolism in the following ways: 

● Cold water therapy helps to increase metabolism, which means that it can help you to burn more calories and fat. 

● Cold water therapy also increases your muscle tone. If you exercise regularly, this can result in an increase in muscle mass as well as strength training, both of which will lead to an improvement in metabolic rate. 

Faster muscle recovery 

If you’re a regular gym goer, cold showers can be an invaluable tool for speeding up your muscle recovery. When you’re done with your workout, it’s important to give your body time to recover and repair itself so that it can perform at peak capacity next time. The faster you get back in the gym after a workout, the more likely you are to injure yourself or burn out.

Cold showers have been shown to reduce swelling, pain and inflammation following intense exercise by increasing blood circulation and flushing lactic acid out of the muscles. 

Taking a cold shower can increase testosterone levels in men

Testosterone is a hormone responsible for the development of male characteristics. It can also be responsible for increased muscle mass, baldness, and a deep voice. Testosterone production typically begins at puberty and declines with age. 

In addition to diet and exercise, testosterone levels may be affected by exposure to temperature changes (for example, going outside on cold days). There have been numerous studies that show that taking cold showers can increase testosterone levels in men who take them regularly. 

Of course there are mental health benefits too!

According to research, cold water therapy can help treat anxiety and depression. This is because being in cold water changes your mood by releasing endorphins and increasing norepinephrine, which is a chemical that helps with stress reduction. Cold showers can also help lower cortisol levels (the hormone produced during times of stress), which means they may be useful for people who suffer from high stress levels or chronic fatigue syndrome. 

Cold water can also improve energy levels and mental focus. When we are fatigued or stressed out, our bodies tend not to burn calories efficiently when exercising because they are focused on other things such as self-preservation or stress reduction rather than burning off energy stores through exercise activities like running until exhaustion. The opposite is true for people who have been exposed regularly to cold water.

We hope you’re convinced of the benefits of cold water and will start incorporating it into your daily life. It's not something that you need to do every day, but it's a habit well worth adopting if you want to give your mental and physical health a boost.

You can sign up or donate to Ducktober 2022 here.