Cool Your Body, Boost Your Metabolism: How Cold Showers Can Help You Lose Weight

Taking cold showers has been linked to many health benefits, including improved mood and better circulation. In recent times, there have been claims that cold showers can help burn fat and promote weight loss. People who take cold showers find them to be therapeutic. But can cold showers increase fat burning? Exposure to icy temperatures is touted to provide you with various weight-loss effects.

When you plan to lose weight, you can find plenty of weight loss methods that allege to promote weight loss. Finding the one that best suits your goals, health, age, and weight is essential for sustainable weight loss. Studies show that cold showers can have a positive impact on your weight. In this article, we shall look at whether cold showers are good for weight loss and the health benefits of cold showers.

Do Cold Showers Help You Lose Weight?

When your body is exposed to cold temperatures, it triggers the production of brown fat. Unlike other fats, brown fat helps to burn fat through the production of heat. Brown fat, aka adipose tissues, breaks down fat molecules and blood sugar to produce heat, thereby helping your body burn fat. Activation of brown fat is associated with weight reduction. When your body burns fat efficiently, you can lose a lot of weight.

A 2019 study found that cold temperatures activated brown fat in adults. According to this study, brown fat activation causes a reduction in branched-chain amino acids (BCCAs), which are linked to obesity and diabetes. Cold temperatures can thus help you burn fat by activating brown fat. When you lower temperature, your body stimulates brown fat to produce heat and maintain body temperature. This process helps in the reduction of body fat, thus supporting weight loss.

Exposure to icy temperatures can enhance your metabolism and help you burn more calories at rest. Studies reveal that extended exposure to cold temperatures might boost your metabolism and encourage weight loss. Cold showers can help your body utilize stored carbohydrates for excess energy to produce heat. This can lead to increased fat burning in individuals, thus supporting weight loss.

Your body begins to burn more calories to generate heat and maintain a healthy internal temperature. When exposed to cold temperatures, your body enters into the thermogenesis phase, where there is an increase in calorie burning. Shivering as a response to cold temperatures also stimulates the production of brown fat, which is metabolically active and promotes calorie burning. Cold showers can help you lose weight by triggering the production of brown fat.

Health Benefits of Cold Showers

Cold showers can provide you with various health advantages. When you take cold showers, your body can enjoy the following health benefits.

Boosts Immune Health

Studies show that cold showers can trigger the body’s immune system and reduce the risk of several infections. Exposure to cold temperatures can thus boost your immune health and protect your body against various health hazards. 

Improves Your Skin

A cold shower can increase blood flow to the skin because the shock of the icy water hitting the skin can increase circulation. You may notice a healthy glow and a fuller appearance to your skin as your blood circulation increases. Taking a cold shower can improve your skin and help to maintain healthy skin.

Enhances Muscle Recovery

Cold showers help people who engage in workouts rigorously to reduce swelling and inflammation in muscles. Immersion in a cold shower can help to enhance muscle recovery. Cold pre-workout showers can aid in prolonging after-burn calories and reduce muscle soreness and fatigue.

Improve Mood

Cold showers can help to reduce symptoms of depression and improve mood. When you take cold showers, your mood will improve because of the release of endorphins. Starting your day with a cold shower enhances your mood and improves your mental health.

Taking cold showers can also increase your brain function and boost energy levels.   

Potential Downsides

Cold showers can have an adverse effect on your body. When you take cold showers, you are at an increased risk of hypothermia. Exposure to icy temperatures can accelerate your heart rate, which can lead to irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia. Hence, it is best to avoid cold showers for people with heart disease. There is a higher chance for your body’s core temperature to fall into dangerously low levels while taking a cold shower.

Your reflexes may become sluggish, and you may feel fatigued when you are hypothermic. Because of the muscle wasting brought on by hypothermia, this could increase your risk of getting hurt by falling in the shower. When your temperature begins to drop continuously, it might negatively affect your heart function and induce heart conditions.  

Safe Way to Burn Fat

There are many safer alternatives to burn fat and lose weight steadily. The most effective way is to consume fewer calories than your body burns a day. If you reduce your daily calorie intake by 500, you’ll be able to lose one pound per week. Aiming to drop one pound of body weight per week can help you sustain your weight loss in the longer term. You can follow a healthy, low-calorie diet to shed pounds.

Adopting an exercise regimen in addition to a regular diet can help to achieve your weight loss goals without any adverse effects. When you follow these two methods, your irisin levels can get boosted, which triggers brown fat growth and increases fat burning. Regular workouts can aid in burning stored fat and prevent excess fat storage. You can consider natural fat burner supplements for better results.

The Bottom Line

Cold water immersion can help you lose weight in the short run. There is also a chance of weight gain because of the appetite-inducing effect of cold showers. Taking cold showers can provide you with plenty of health advantages, including improved mood and better circulation. Avoid spending prolonged periods of time in frigid showers to lower the chance of hypothermia. 

The amount of fat burned by having a cold shower is not that much; therefore, you might not experience significant weight loss before and after the results. For sustainable weight loss, you can follow a balanced diet and an exercise routine. 

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