Hot Showers are harmful for you

Both cold and hot showers have pros and cons for your health. Cold showers may help prevent dry skin while hot showers can help your muscles feel relaxed.

Let’s take a minute and appreciate a cold shower before we delve into today’s topic. The obvious benefits of taking a cold shower include calming itchy skin as I have eluded above and it helps in waking you up by increasing circulation. It reduces muscle soreness post-workout which can potentially boost weight loss and it gives your hair and skin a wonderful glow. When that cold spray hits your body, there’s a bit of shock which triggers oxygen intake and the heart rate and alertness. The mechanism at which all this happens is quit interesting, and it happens the second the cold water hits your body, whereby a global constriction of circulation on the surface of your body occurs. This causes blood in your deeper tissues to circulate at faster rates to maintain ideal body temperature. In that sense, since exposure to cold temperatures triggers the circulatory system to reduce inflammation and can help prevent cardiovascular disease.

This is all well and good but remember cold showers might not be a good idea if you’re already cold, since the cooler temperature isn’t going to help warm you up by any means. It could actually make you even colder and increase the amount of time it will take for your body to warm back up. It will not be a good idea if you’re sick, either. Initially, the cold temperature might be too hard on your immune system, so it’s best to ease into the cooler temperatures.

With that being said, let’s get into the main event: Hot Showers are harmful for you. If a hot shower is what your body craves in the morning, you’re not alone. The majority of people crank the handle all the way up in order to feel the warm water all over their body.

Regardless of how you feel about either type of shower, but as of today I just want you to know that the temperature of water you shower with matters more than you can fathom.

Many people prefer hot water showers as it help them shake the laziness away, especially in the winter, when one usually lacks the motivation to get into the shower, the thought of hot water running over the body is a rather enticing one because hot showers definitely promise relaxation as they are a warm embrace, especially in the winter months. They help the body to relieve muscle tension and get rid of fatigue and while rendering some extra benefits to the skin. In a nutshell, taking a hot water shower brings along the following benefits:

• It induces a relaxed sleep if taken at night.

• Offers comfort to muscles and joints.

• The soothing effect on a blocked nose helps clear nasal passages.

• It enhances mobility and maybe your only reason to even shower in the first place.

I hate to play the devils advocate but I’m here to tell you that you need to-limit the amount of hot showers you take, for more than one reason. If you prefer taking a hot shower over a cold one or you are someone who needs to quickly hop into a hot shower to help you sleep well at night, then you are overdoing it. Showering with very hot water does more harm than good. Hot showers are known to activate the parasympathetic part of the nervous system that makes you feel tired and want relaxation, often sleep-induced. But, its far-reaching effects are hardly restricted to just the physical and internal. If you find yourself looking into the mirror and and seeing a pale corpse and asking yourself, is this hot water damaging your facial skin and hair? Then the answer is in the affirmative. Some other side effects which most might overlook are:

• It tends to increase blood pressure, and this can be problematic for those suffering from cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure.

• It rids the skin cells of their natural moisture causing itchy skin and scaly appearance.

• For people with skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, etc., hot water showers are a really bad idea as they make such conditions worse.

• It can cause redness and inflammation of the skin.

• It damages the keratin in the skin and hair, preventing moisture from locking in and making them dry and brittle.

At this point you are probably thinking to yourself and saying; ok! Sakhile, you have made your point I am scared now. What can I do then going forward? I might have a solution, keep reading.

So, it turns out that using lukewarm water is the answer! Proven by science, using lukewarm water on the body while washing the hair with normal temperature water does wonders for you, and not just in the winter.

What is lukewarm water manje Sakhile? Eish nawe. (For most people, a lukewarm temperature falls within the range of 98 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit (36.7 to 40.6 degrees Celsius). Individual preferences can vary, and what feels lukewarm to one person may feel slightly different to another. Keep in mind that the concept of lukewarm can also be subjective, as it can be influenced by factors such as the ambient temperature, personal comfort levels, and cultural differences.)

Using lukewarm water for your shower serves the purpose of taking a shower without any need to worry about its detrimental impact. It cools and balances the body temperature. Enhances blood circulation. Helps the skin to retain its natural oils and moisture. It enhances the effectiveness of skincare and haircare products being used without taking away from their intended action and effects.

Having taken a look at hot water shower side effects and having established the viability of a lukewarm shower instead as a best-case scenario. Here is a curve ball, scientists actually advise against using the same lukewarm water on your head but instead use cold water to wash your head. It helps preserve the natural oils without damaging the keratin in the hair. It retains moisture, making the hair shiny and the scalp smooth.

It helps reduce cuticle damage, leading to better hair texture.

Let’s conclude, we have spoken too much and we are in the know through Ndlalane Health 😊. Showering with excessively hot or cold water yields differing effects and are best when avoided. Since the only purpose of taking a shower is not just washing off the dirt and grime, it is important to give the deserved impetus to the right temperature of water. Using lukewarm water does not only serve the purpose of a shower, but also helps you to eliminate the worry that comes with using hot or cold water.

Another approach to try is what Keferstein describes as a contrast shower, which is an age-old technique Dr. Sebastian Kneipp developed.

Basically, you get the water as cold as possible and stand in it for one minute. When the minute is up, you then change the water to as hot as you can handle for an additional minute.

Alternate between one minute each of cold and hot for three to five cycles.

He said the health benefits come from the cold water constricting the blood vessels. This means all the blood will go to the middle of the body.

The hot water will open the blood vessels and all the blood comes rushing out again. This can pump the blood completely through the muscles and organs and is great for helping with regeneration and detoxification.

I’ll leave you here for today .. until next time. . ✌🏽