Contrast Showers – A simple & quick whole body boost

What are Contrast Showers?

Contrast showers are also known as alternating hot and cold showers. It is simply a shower that involves alternating cycles of hot to cold water. Contrast showers are great treatments that can be done at home easily to achieve great results in the healing of injuries and infections, as well as in the maintenance of overall health.

Benefits of Contrast Showers

The contrast of the hot and cold water on the skin stimulates blood vessels to contract and dilate. This in turn increases circulation throughout the body’s tissues, allowing more nutrients carried in the blood to circulate as well as moving out the wastes from the tissues.

For this reason, contrast showers are great for:

• boosting immunity
• increasing circulation and circulatory tone
• improving tissue recovery and healing
• improving mood
• improving cold tolerance
• stimulating detoxification
• decreasing water retention and swelling

Contrast showers can be recommended as a part of your lifestyle to improve lymphatic and circulatory health. Ask your health professional to see if it’s right for your health goals!

You will need:

• a working shower
  • that’s all!
• optional: dry body brush

Instructions:

1. After going through with your regular shower routine of soaping and washing, you may begin the contrast shower procedure.
2. Start showering with 2 minutes of hot water followed by 30 seconds of cold or cool water (as cold as tolerable). Repeat this cycle of 2 min:30 sec 3 times.
3. A time ratio of 4:1, 3:1, or 2:1 hot to cold may be suitable for you.

To make the contrast less intense, use warm and cool water alterations instead. To make the contrast more intense, use hot and very cold water alternations.

Mastering the Art of the Contrast Shower

Getting into contrast showers may be challenging for some individuals. For many, “the first cold is the worst cold”! Your skin’s nervous system is used to a certain temperature stimulus and may have a narrow tolerance window. This can be part of the problem, but getting to the solution takes some practice.

the first cold is the worst cold

Here are some helpful tricks to get over the cold phases:

• try ending the shower with tepid or cool water for about 10 seconds for the first few times that you shower
• gradually go from cool to cold water, at a tolerable temperature and pace
• start with an arm or a leg under the cold water before moving onto the torso and neck areas which are more reactive
• combine with underwater brush massages to keep yourself busy and maximize benefits
• keep moving under the cold water however possible to take the focus off of the temperature sensation

Good luck!