Cold showers offer many benefits, including increasing endorphins, improving metabolism, and enhancing circulation. They may also help fight off common illnesses, like colds and flus.
Cold showers are any showers with a water temperature below 70°F. They may have health benefits. Water therapy (also called hydrotherapy) has been used for centuries to take advantage of our body’s tendency to adapt to harsher conditions.
Cold showers are not a main source of treatment for any condition, but they may help improve symptom relief and general well-being. Check out the benefits of a cold shower below.
Depression and pain management
Depression affects about 16 millionTrusted Source Americans every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Many drugs treat depression, depending on the severity or duration of symptoms. One holistic method of treatment that’s gaining popularity is hydrotherapy. A 2023 study noted that after a 5 minute cold bath, participants self-reported feeling increased alertness, feeling more inspired, active, attentive, and proud.
There is strong evidence for the use of hydrotherapy in the management of fibromyalgia. Pool therapy is recommended in clinical practice. Though, keep in mind that not everyone can tolerate cold water. Some people benefit from warm pool therapy.
Helps improve metabolism
White fat is the fat we associate with conditions such as obesity and heart disease, but we are all born with brown fat. Researchers have found that brown fat plays an important role in health. Healthy levels of brown fat also indicate that white fat will be at a healthy level. And brown fat is activated by exposure to cold temperature.
The researchTrusted Source about how exactly cold showers help people lose weight is unclear. Still, it does show that cold water may support keeping certain hormone levels steady and also help the gastrointestinal system. These effects may add to the cold shower’s ability to lead to weight loss.
Improves circulation
It can feel uncomfortable to immerse our bodies in cold water, but it can also be invigorating. That’s because water that’s colder than our natural body temperature causes the body to work slightly harder to maintain its core temperature. When taken regularly, cold showers may make our circulatory system more efficient and improve immunityTrusted Source.
By bringing the temperature of an area of the body down, we speed up the delivery of warmer, freshly oxygenated blood to that area. And that speeds up recovery time. Some people may benefit from cold showers as a way to help their blood move through their body more quickly.
Helps fight off common illnesses
Our bodies are designed to become resistant to the elements we are exposed to. For example, leukocytes help fight infection in the body.
The shock of cold water in the bloodstream stimulates leukocytes. This means that taking cold showers may support your body’s resistance to common illnesses, like colds and the flu.
Limits and risks
Cold showers are not a magical cure-all for any condition. They should be used as a supplement to traditional treatments, but not as a replacement.
Please remember that people taking medication for their mental health should not stop their drugs abruptly in favor of any alternative treatment. People with long-term clinical depression or a diagnosis of bipolar or borderline personality conditions should not use cold showers as a replacement for what their doctor has prescribed under any circumstances.
If you’re feeling sick, have recently been released from the hospital, or are otherwise immune-compromised, wait to try out cold showers. While the cold shower habit is beneficial for most people, the habit takes some getting used to. The body may be taxed by the process of getting used to it.
The takeaway
The ideal way to take a cold shower is to ease in to the habit.
Start by slowly lowering the temperature at the end of a usual shower. Get the water cold enough that you start to feel uncomfortable. Then, stay underneath the water for 2 or 3 minutes. Breathing deeply will help decrease your discomfort in your mind.
The next time you try this exercise, make the water slightly colder. Try to last for another minute or two in the colder water. After performing this activity 7 to 10 times, you’ll find that you might even look forward to turning the hot water down.
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Medically reviewed by Angelica Balingit, MD — Written by Kathryn Watson — Updated on March 31, 2025
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