Showering is an essential part of a healthy routine, but depending on the temperature, your time spent under the water can offer different benefits. Whether you like it hot or prefer it cold, learn how your showering routine can affect your health. After reading, you might rethink which way you turn the dial.
Some Like It Hot
- Hot showers can relieve tension and soothe stiff muscles. If you have a powerful showerhead, even better! Let the hot water work like a minimassage on your shoulders, neck, and back.
- Studies have shown that taking a hot shower can amp up your oxytocin levels [1] and ease anxiety. Anyone working with stress can use more of the love hormone in their life!
- A hot shower also acts as a natural decongestant to relieve cold symptoms, since the hot steam moisturizes nasal passages.
Some Like It Cold
- Cold showers — as unbearable as they are — are actually really good for our bodies! Turning your shower cold for the last five minutes can help "shock" your body awake. This instant change in temperature [2] relieves your body of fatigue and increases your mental alertness.
- A "cooler" shower (around 68 degrees) for two to three minutes once or twice daily is recommended by researchers as a treatment for depression [3]. Just make sure you check in with your doctor before testing this out!
- On the more vain side of the spectrum, cold showers are better for our hair and skin. Where a hot shower can dry things out, cold showers hydrate and help with split ends and dry skin.