How I boosted my immune system and reduced morning anxiety

Okay, I didn’t think in a million years I’d be recommending this tip, and yet here I am. But I can tell you now, this one habit has made a huge difference to my daily life—in a variety of crucial areas.

I suppose it started back in September, eighteen months ago, just as term-time started up, and the summer’s outdoor activities began to dwindle. My girls returned to their autumn clubs again—dance classes, sports clubs, orchestra—lots of hand-holding, high fives and heavy breathing indoors. That’s right: we were entering the dreaded bug and germ season.

When my daughters pick up a cold, they shake it off within three days, and are off, bounding back to their usual routines. But when I inevitably contract their illness, it really unpacks and makes itself at home. It spreads to my lungs and becomes a cough, I ooze interminably from nostril and eye, I get headaches and a sore throat. I’m the primary carer, so I can’t slack off, but I can look forward to three weeks of misery nonetheless.

My patience ran thin at the beginning of October, when, just after getting over one cold, I contracted the next one. By Halloween, the third wave of bugs hit. this pattern went on until December, where I was beginning to lose my sanity. It was then that my wife, armed with Professor Rose Anne Kenny book Age Proof: The New Science of Living a Longer and Healthier Life, proceeded to bombard me with science. And, as she well knows, I can resist many things, but a well-evidenced piece of research makes me swoon me every time.

“Why don’t you try cold showers?” she asked, innocently, as if she were suggesting a new TV show or brand of muesli.

“You’ve got to be joking,” I replied. “You know how I hate cold water.” Back then, it took me an age to eke my way into a cold stream to paddle with my daughters. But my wife read out an extract from the book.

A Dutch study published in PLOS ONE into immune strength, separated participants into three groups. Group A were the control, and were asked to go about life as normal. Group B were asked to take cold showers every day (from 30 to 90 seconds, say at the end of a hot shower) for one month. Group C were asked to do the same, but also participate in some exercise every day for a month.

It is theorized that early humans were regularly exposed to cold conditions and cold water on a daily basis, and that the body’s cold-shock response boosts the effectiveness of our natural immune system. Modern lifestyle, with their creature comforts often protect us from the shock of the cold, and consequently weaken our ability to fight off infection.

At the end of the study, Group B, those that took cold showers only, experienced a 30% drop in the amount of sick-days they took, compared with Group A. More than this, they felt better generally, with most bugs producing only mild symptoms. For Group C, combining cold showers with exercise, they experienced a 54% reduction in sick days.

More than this, people taking cold showers experienced a strange phenomena–for the first week, they really struggled with taking a cold shower, finding it unpleasant (to say the least). But after the month-long study, the majority of them said they wished to continue with them. Their cold reflex had now kicked in and cold showers were now a pleasant, invigorating way to start the day, leaving them with a happy glow afterward.

Feeling desperate, and persuaded by the science, I decided to give it a go. Like the participants, I found the first week difficult, but I was determined to complete the full month trial without missing a day. I had to rub myself briskly and make all kinds of noises in the shower. However, I soon got used to the process, and found the perfect routine (I’ll get onto this).

Over the course of the month, I too grew to love my cold showers. I now looked forward to them. As my family crawled out of bed hugging themselves as they tried to cling onto that bed-warmth, I could not leap into the shower fast enough. And afterward, I was left with such a pleasant warm glow that I could wander around in a towel completely happy—even in December.

The shower itself is invigorating, and sets off all kinds of feel-good hormones. One of the most beneficial side-effects of my routine was that it seemed to nip morning-anxiety in the bud. It was like a great reset button that set me off in a positive direction for the day. I’ve always suffered with a kind of general background anxiety, that often manifests as a kind of dread first thing in the morning. It’s something that I’ve always had to deal with and it can really sour a day. But my cold showers completely wash that away. I come downstairs with a spring in my step, riding this wave of positivity. This was, perhaps one of the biggest reasons why I decided to keep going after my first month.

And sure enough, as my daughters and wife spluttered through the Christmas period catching more colds, I managed—for the first time ever—to evade getting ill. As the the months moved on, there were more bugs that crossed our threshold. I wasn’t impervious to them all, but those I did get, I shook off in a day or two. I could not believe my luck. Something that had such a positive effect on my day-to-day living had been staring me in the face all these years. A simple cold shower.

Yes, I generally combined by cold showers with some moderate exercise. I do a few press-ups and pull-ups two or three times a week, but no more than 15 mins per day. And I also go out for lots of walks. But now, after eighteen months, I’m still looking forward to jumping in that shower and starting the day with some refreshing cold.

Disclaimer:
One word of warning: don’t stay in a cold shower for too long! Hyperthermia is not the goal here, just a brief wash. The study in PLOS ONE recommended between 30 and 90 seconds. So don’t linger long enough that your core temperature begins to drop. If you’ve started shivering, you’ve already stayed in too long. The benefit to your body comes from it’s response to cold, not to it’s core temperature dropping drastically. Remember to wrap up warmly afterwards. And perhaps it’s a good idea to start off during the summer months.

So to sum up, here are the benefits that could be awaiting you, should you decide to take the plunge:

• Boosted immune system, to keep you healthy.
• Lower anxiety levels, to cope better cope with challenges.
• Invigorating – you feel alert and wide awake (no more morning zombie!)
• A rush of feel-good hormones, to start the day well.

But I bet you’re thinking “There’s no way I can do a cold shower. The very thought is horrendous!”

Well, luckily for you I’ve perfected the ideal routine for a cold shower, that allows you to cope with the cold without any discomfort. It’s taken a while, but I think you’ll find it a godsend, if you try to start cold-shower therapy yourself.