Do you start your morning with a bracing shower?

December 1, 2010 3:22 AM

After your morning warm/hot shower, you crank the water to cold and shower, albeit quickly, in cold water. Why on earth do you do that?

I've been told it will help you not get colds, sleep better at night, close your pores, improve digestion and etc. and etc. Is there any method behind this madness? Why do you do it? Did you learn about this anecdotally or was there some 'science' that prompted you to it? Have you ever 'stopped' and then back-slid into whatever negative thing it had pulled you out of? Thanks for any insights into this (to me) incomprehensible behavior.

posted by From Bklyn to Health & Fitness (42 answers total)

I was told it was to stop limescale blocking the showerhead (hot water has more dissolved limescale in than cold water or something?).

Personally I used to like the invigoratingness of it. Don't bother with it now.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:25 AM on December 1, 2010

I only do it on mornings where I have a Really Important Meeting first thing that I need to be super awake for. I don't find it at all pleasant but I do find it forces me one or two more "hours" into a state of being awake and/or less groggy if there was some alcohol in the evening before. I'm pretty sure all the other things people are saying are old wives' tales, although the pore one makes sense because usually I will re-soak my face in hot water from the sink again before shaving, because you get a much better shave with hot water than you do cold.
posted by allkindsoftime at 3:27 AM on December 1, 2010

I would do this because otherwise you get out of the shower and freeze in a room of an otherwise pleasant temperature. Finishing a shower cold means you get out and feel warm immediately. (Also keep in mind that in some cultures it is typial to shower cold. In Ghana, people kept telling me and my roommate we would get sick because we were taking showers in hot water. Yes, they had hot water at home.)
posted by whatzit at 3:40 AM on December 1, 2010

I've never done this for pleasure. The only time I do it is if I'm going through a bad time with eczema; showering the affected area with very cold water for a minute or so is a good way to numb the itching so I can get some sleep.

I'd consider doing it if I lived somewhere hot, though.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 3:46 AM on December 1, 2010

I'll occasionally end a hot shower with cool water to get some extra shine in my hair.
posted by platinum at 4:00 AM on December 1, 2010

The Germans I know that do it swear that it improves blood circulation. This was in fact part of the therapy I took part in at a cardio-center a few years back. It involved taking a warm bath or shower, scraping your skin with a really rough brush to get the nerves all tingly and then finally blasting yourself with a short shower of icy cold water.
posted by chillmost at 4:07 AM on December 1, 2010

I've read more than once that French women use cold water hydrotherapy on their breasts to keep them firm. I'm pretty sure I didn't hear this from an actual French woman though, so I don't know if it's true.

The only time I've ever deliberately finished my shower with cold water was for the hair shine benefits platinum mentioned above. This has happened very rarely, however. I'd rather put up with droopy tits and dull hair than take a miserable blast of cold water at the end of an otherwise pleasant and relaxing hot shower.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 4:41 AM on December 1, 2010

Search for 'Kneipp water therapy' and/or 'hydrotherapy' and you'll get a lot of hits explaining some of the ideas.
posted by koahiatamadl at 4:45 AM on December 1, 2010

I do it occasionally for the hair shiny thing too, and always find it very invigorating. But I've never been able to convince myself to do it when I actually need to be invigorated...
posted by chelseagirl at 4:46 AM on December 1, 2010

My ex did this. I think partially because he liked to make me jump. I learned to make sure to get out of the shower before him, maybe he liked that too.

(I think the main real reason was to feel invigorated. Personally, it just made me mad.)
posted by nat at 4:56 AM on December 1, 2010

I'd heard that it was "good for your hair," which might refer to the boosted shine mentioned above. I used to do it when I had longer hair, but it's not worth it so much with my current cut.
posted by Terriniski at 5:30 AM on December 1, 2010

It's been proposed as a treatment for depression.
posted by djb at 5:40 AM on December 1, 2010

I do it to keep my hair from being so frizzy and to help quell the inevitable razor burn I'm about to experience.
posted by elpea at 6:07 AM on December 1, 2010

For me it's the same reason I sometimes slide my legs over to the cold bit of the bed when I've had the electric blanket on - sometimes I'm just too scaldingly hot!
posted by citands at 6:20 AM on December 1, 2010

You're going to laugh, but I do this because I wash my face last and I can't stand to run super hot water directly over my face.

I have also heard the hair thing, though, and think of that as a potential side benefit.
posted by dizziest at 6:27 AM on December 1, 2010

This comment prompted me to try cold showers a few years ago.
posted by DarkForest at 6:50 AM on December 1, 2010

I often do it at the gym. Hot water to wash off, cold water to stop. freaking. sweating. so I can get back to work and not be a mop.

Had no idea it had other "uses."
posted by General Malaise at 6:56 AM on December 1, 2010

Hot and cold are only unpleasant when they're out of your control. But when you control them completely and can alternate hot with cold, you can use them as a drug: to calm yourself, refresh yourself, or just take pleasure in feeling your bodily existence and being aware of it (something lost fast during the day out in cubicle-land).
posted by Paquda at 7:15 AM on December 1, 2010

I also do this to stop sweating after a post-workout shower or on really hot summer days.
posted by brand-gnu at 7:19 AM on December 1, 2010

It is fucking awesome for my curly, frizz-prone hair. It closes the hair's "pores" (like it does the skin's pores, for that matter) and makes it smoother, sleeker, less damage-prone, while not requiring me to use a ton of icky product and letting it keep its natural curl. (Many "de-frizz" products remove the curl along with the frizz!) I also notice my hair is less-dry when I cold-rinse it at the end of my shower.

It's too bad I don't have the intestinal fortitude to do this in the winter, only in the summer. :D
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:25 AM on December 1, 2010

I do it to close my pores when I'm done shaving (my legs). I'm pretty sure I read about it somewhere as opposed to a friend's anecdote.
posted by desjardins at 7:36 AM on December 1, 2010

I have also done it for hair reasons--I heard it makes hair shiny and makes your scalp less oily. I only do it when it's warm out, though; I NEVER cold-rinse in the winter if I can help it.
posted by epj at 7:36 AM on December 1, 2010

I call this "cold rinse" and have generally been teased by all boyfriends (including the current one) about my "cold rinse" at the end of the shower. I typically do this every day, regardless of the season of the year or temperature. Why? Basically, it is a great wake-up. I find it very refreshing. It was something some, but not all, members of my family of origin did. I tried it as a teenager when I started taking showers instead of baths, and I really enjoyed it. I have no science to back it up.
posted by hworth at 7:41 AM on December 1, 2010

I do notice the difference after some experimentation. Quick cold rinse makes me feel much better. I don't like doing it but it's well worth it. It doesn't really have to be cold though, just cooler than main shower.
posted by rainy at 8:20 AM on December 1, 2010

It can actually be quite bad for you to change the temperature. Ask me how I know.

Ok, I'll tell you. It can mess with your blood pressure. In a specific instance when I was a teenager, I went directly from waking up to a hot shower and then cranked it to cold as usual and (IIRC) back to hot. This did something to my blood pressure and I had a feeling of "I am going to faint." And I did. I woke up on the floor of my bathroom after taking down the shower curtain. I wasn't out for very long (my mom had heard the thump when I hit the floor -- even though I was on the upper right side of the house and she was on the lower left, in the laundry room with the machines going -- and was on her way up to investigate) but I had hit the tile floor and cut open my chin and my elbow. I went to emerg to get stitches and the doctor there suggested it was the change in temperature that caused my blood pressure to go wonky and lead to fainting. Cautionary tale.
posted by pised at 8:25 AM on December 1, 2010

I was told it was to stop limescale blocking the showerhead

Looks like I might be right:

In hard water areas, the heating element and shower head can quickly become blocked through the build up of limescale. On a lot of showers, a restricted shower head will cause a pressure relief valve on the unit to 'blow'. So:

* Think about adding a limescale inhibitor device in the water feed line to your shower (after the mains non-return valve).
* After you shower, continue to run the water and turn the temperature setting to 'cold' to flush out any hot water from the heating element and shower head.

From here.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:46 AM on December 1, 2010

I can vouch for it helping me out with hangovers. I prefer to jump in the sea or the pool but when that's not an option I have a cold shower, followed up by plenty of water and a good breakfast.

(My best hangover cure is prevention though: drink as much alcohol as I want as long as I drink one glass of water per serving of alcohol, drink an extra one before I go to bed and don't drink more than two types of alcohol in a night.)

This article at The Art of Manliness has some more info for you.

There's also the hot/cold treatment for muscle soreness. If I'm feeling stiffness somewhere then I'll alternate hot and cold on that spot while massaging the muscle. (I'm talking about muscles here, nothing else.)
posted by HopStopDon'tShop at 9:02 AM on December 1, 2010

I only shower with cold water when I've dyed my hair a color that runs easily--red or purple, usually--as cold water leads to slower fading than warm.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:12 AM on December 1, 2010

I just think it feels good (at least, in summer).
posted by kataclysm at 9:13 AM on December 1, 2010

Personally, I do it to close my pores and stop me from sweating. I am a sweaty bastard, especially after working out, and that is the only time I take a shower as opposed to a bath ( a far more civilised and enjoyable way of bathing!) Few things feel worse than that nasty feeling of having washed, towelled off and you'[re still slick and moist. Ugh. I never have a really hot shower for that reason (lukewarm at most) and I finish with a fairly long cold blast to stop the unpleasantness.
posted by Decani at 9:52 AM on December 1, 2010

I do it in the summer because as a large guy I retain heat like crazy and am already running a bit hot. If I don't I will literally feel myself radiating heat (and making me crazy sweaty and uncomfortable) for the next 15 or 20 minutes.
posted by utsutsu at 9:54 AM on December 1, 2010

I work, part-time, as a receptionist at a Naturopathy clinic for people with AIDS. Yesterday, one of the doctors here saw me sitting at the desk in my winter coat and asked if I was cold. "I'm always cold," I told him.

He said, "You should try, after your hot shower, running the water cold for a few minutes." He suggested alternating between hot and cold, a few minutes one, a few minutes the other. It's good for raising body temperature overall, apparently.

This morning, in the shower, I forgot to do it, however. But reading all these responses makes me want to try!
posted by PersonAndSalt at 10:52 AM on December 1, 2010

Showering in cold water after hot (or warm) improves your circulation; improved circulation may translate into shiny hair, happy muscles and lots of other things. Here's a pretty simple summary of the basics. Most of the people I know who do this are of Nordic origin, for what it's worth.
posted by Paris Elk at 12:07 PM on December 1, 2010

I've never done this while showering, but I learned to rinse with cool water after washing my face because it closes the pores, theoretically helping keep dirt out (and conversely, to use the warmest water possible to wet my face before washing it because it opens up the pores for deep-cleaning). I imagine that this is the same rationale for doing it in the shower, though I don't know how it would lead to fewer colds (you don't get viruses through your pores!) or better digestion.
posted by rhiannonstone at 12:35 PM on December 1, 2010

I do it because hot water tends to make your hair tangly and cold water fixes that.
posted by biochemist at 9:16 PM on December 1, 2010

FWIW, pores CANNOT open and close. Lots of misinformation in this thread.

I sometimes switch to cold just to kick myself into higher gear.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 9:40 PM on December 1, 2010

I had a friend who was a door-to-door salesman for a while. Part of the culture at this particular company was to start your day with a cold shower as a mental toughening exercise. If you can start every day with a cold shower, you'll think nothing of knocking on strangers' doors for the rest of the day. He later decided that he didn't rinse clean in cold water so he'd take a hot shower then turn it to cold at the end.
posted by zanni at 4:27 AM on December 2, 2010

I do it as a final rinse on my hair because I read a zillion years ago it makes it shinier, reflects the light better. I was skeptical but it really works in my case--there is a noticeable difference; sometimes I don't do it and it's very obvious.

I also like it because it makes it more bearable to hop out of the shower, you don't get the shock after but while the water's still on you, which is weirdly refreshing. TMI: I massage my chest too with the icy water because Mae West once claimed it helps keep you perky. I have no idea if that actually works but it certainly doesn't seem to be hurting and I'm not saggy yet, so.
posted by ifjuly at 7:43 AM on December 2, 2010

MMA fighters end hard training sessions and fights by immersing themselves in ice baths to force blood out of their muscles. Presumably the blood takes built-up lactic acid with it, which reduces stiffness the next day.

I like seeing clips of these athletes in their ice baths, since they often use giant trashcans to hold the ice water, and they look so sad and miserable, shivering and grimacing in garbage cans like sodden musclebound little Oscars.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:40 AM on December 2, 2010

Like, aaawwwww.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:42 AM on December 2, 2010

I do it just to run my feet under the freezing tap. My feet get hot and red standing in the shower, and it's refreshing to cool them down. It also gives a little kick start to my day.
posted by whalebreath at 2:59 PM on December 2, 2010

Thanks for all the insights.

I haven't showered since I posted, but I'm planning on maybe next week and I look forward to trying it then.
God I crack me up
posted by From Bklyn at 3:41 AM on December 4, 2010