3 ms·
> ... experiments have shown that low temperature neither increases the likelihood of catching a cold, nor the severity of symptoms. > Adults suffer an average
by maga 9y ago
> ... experiments have shown that low temperature neither increases the likelihood of catching a cold, nor the severity of symptoms.
> Adults suffer an average of between two and four colds each year, and children up to 10, and we have come to accept this as an inevitable part of life.
I live in Europe and go through one or two flu seasons a year on average. I don't recall catching cold/flu ever since I started using cold water exclusive year-round, as I wrote previously[1]. I was pessimistic about this practice at the beginning, and truth be told this enhanced immune system is the only benefit I'd attribute to cold showers, yet there it is, no cold for quite a few winters despite people around me getting it on schedule.
[1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8808859 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8808859
- amelius 9y agoA few years back, I tried finishing my showers with a minute of cold water. But after a few days I got a cold, and I'm not normally very susceptible to the cold. My experiment stopped there. Perhaps I should try it again.
- maga 9y agoTry gradually lowering the temperature of your water over say a month or two. What helped me, perhaps, is that I started during hot summer and the tap water got cold gradually till winter allowing me to adopt to it.
- interfixus 9y agoMileages vary. I indulge in hot showers - and full blast heating in winters. I haven't had a cold or any other infectious malaise since 2004. I am also in Europe. Mind you, I am probably more mindful about disease vectors than most. Avoid shopping-trolleys and -baskets, keep my fingers clear of mouth, nose, and eyes at all unwashed times.
- maga 9y agoI agree, avoiding catching it is a better strategy than putting the immune system to test every time. I didn't do much to avoid it, though, a few times I even had to nurse close ones through their colds fully expecting to catch it from them, yet nothing.
- Kluny 9y agoI got a similar result from quitting dairy, for a couple years at least, but correlation =/= causation.
- maga 9y agoAbsolutely! The correlation is strong in my case, though, I was on alert waiting to get cold for quite some time at first, and I also didn't change anything else in my routines at the time, so I attributed the results to cold showers. I must say that I didn't notice other benefits that people expect from the practice: no weight loss, no boost in testosterone, etc.
- albertzeyer 9y agoWell, that's an anecdote, and so maybe I add mine: Whenever I go more frequently to the sauna (e.g. like 2-3 times per week), and do more sport (like about 7-10h/week), I don't really feel ill at all, for years. When I reduced it (no sauna at all anymore, maybe only sport for 3-5h/week), what I did 3 years ago or so for a few month, I got a mild cold soon after. But not sure how useful such anecdotes are. My memories are also not perfect. It depends on many factors, such as age, your immune system condition, stress, general health, etc.
- dingaling 9y agoI've been doing cold showers year-round outdoors for two years and for the past three days have been laid-up in bed with a cold.