Cold showers have become a trending practice amongst those in the biohacking, athletic and NoFap community in recent years. Many practitioners claim that this practice reduces inflammation caused by exercising, improves mental clarity and creates discipline? But does this really work and can it help me with NoFap?
Absolutely… here are the top 3 reasons why
1. Reduced Stress and Anxiety
Every morning, your alarm clock goes off and you hit snooze… 15 minutes later you hit snooze again and again until you have 5 minutes to get ready and rush to work. This was my daily routine until I was 26 and I was always unprepared and anxious throughout the day. Then I started to take cold showers every morning to start my day. Why did this reduce my anxiety? Getting out of my warm, soft bed every morning to hop into a frigid shower was the last thing I wanted to do and it was extremely difficult at first but if you can start your day with something as uncomfortable as a cold shower.. how difficult could the rest of your day be?
I noticed stress related to work, relationships and long term goals did not bother me as much. One of the hardest parts of the day was accomplished already. The immediate relief you feel after taking a cold shower is a rush of
2. Build Self Discipline
Similar to practicing NoFap, not succumbing to instant gratification and practicing self-discipline will build upon itself. The first week was brutal but as anything in life, practice becomes habit and eventually became something I enjoyed… not the cold shower but the feeling of elation and accomplishment after. Think of it this way, facing extreme discomfort instead of lying comfortably in bed will bring a new perspective to your day and improves how you manage stress in your daily life. While 99% of you fellow humans choose to lie in bed, embrace the warmth and frantically rush out of bed because they snoozed for an extra 30 minutes, gives you the mental edge knowing you will do what others will not to accomplish your goals. This daily practice was instrumental in fast tracking my NoFap practice and made relapse less likely because I was self awareness and in control because of the self-discipline I was able to build through cold showers.
Highly recommend everyone this practice… even if you do not struggle with addiction or NoFap, you will feel refreshed, alert and ready to conquer the day.
3. Health Benefits
Personally, the health benefits are a nice bonus that I want to call out but not the primary reason I began this practice. If you have heart or health issues, I recommend consulting a doctor before taking cold showers. Here are some of the health benefits of cold showers
- Improves circulation and reduces muscle pain: Contraction of your muscles acts as a mechanism to wring out toxin buildup that can accumulate of workouts. Circulation improves and bring oxygenated blood when the body experiences cold and warm environments quickly.
- Increases Metabolic Rate: Your putting your body in an environment where it has to work harder to keep everything working normally (homeostasis) and increases your metabolic rate which burns fat quicker generates more white blood cells which improves your immune system.
- Better Hair and Skin: Struggling with acne at various points in my life, I did notice less breakouts and improved skin quality (less oily). My skin and hair were doing well before taking cold showers so the affects I noticed were minimal but something I wanted to call out. Acne or hair issues are something you’ve struggled with, I’m curious to find out if you noticed drastic improvements after taking cold showers consistently.. Comment below if you have.
Conclusion
I highly recommend cold showers to everyone. The mental stamina and self discipline I’ve built through this practice has permeated other aspects of my personal and professional life for the better. Especially those who are struggling with porn addiction (or any kind of addiction) and beginning their NoFap journey, this is a major mental booster that will alleviate some of the depressive phases that come with this journey and build self discipline to abstain from PMO (Porn Masturbation Orgasm). I listened to Joe Rogan and Wim Hof when I began to learn cold showers and the benefits, highly recommend their podcasts and videos on youtube.
Thank you for reading and I look forward to hearing about your future successes everyone
