Think Cold Showers Cool You Down? Science Says You’re Doing It Wrong
Think Cold Showers Cool You Down? Science Says You’re Doing It Wrong
On a hot day, many people think taking a cold shower is the best way to cool down. It feels nice at first, but it may not actually help your body lower its temperature. In some cases, it might even make things worse.
Our body likes to stay at a temperature of around 37°C. When our core temperature rises too high, the brain starts telling the body to cool down. This is done through different ways, like sweating and sending more blood to the skin’s surface. These are the body’s natural cooling systems.
If the core temperature stays too high for too long, around 39°C to 40°C, it can be dangerous. It can even damage body organs. So, the body uses certain methods to release heat. One way is by giving off heat to the air around us, this accounts for about 60% of the heat loss. Sweating is another way, which helps lose about 22% of body heat.
To help with this, blood vessels near the skin open up and allow more blood to flow through. This helps move the heat from inside the body to the outside. The blood near the skin gets cooled down by the air, which helps lower the body’s temperature.
But when you suddenly take a cold shower, your skin feels cold and your body reacts quickly. The blood vessels near your skin get smaller. This cuts down the blood flow to the skin. When this happens, your body holds the heat inside rather than letting it go.
So, even if your skin feels cool after a cold shower, your body’s core stays hot. This can be risky, especially if your body is already overheated. It stops the natural process of cooling and can make it harder for the body to release heat.
Instead of helping your body, the cold shower may make your body hold on to the heat longer. This is the opposite of what you want on a hot day. While the cold water feels good for a short time, it does not support the body’s system to cool down properly.
Experts say it’s better to help the body cool down in ways that allow the blood to keep flowing to the skin and support sweating, rather than stopping those systems. So, next time it’s very hot, think twice before jumping into a cold shower.
