A shower isn’t just a shower anymore… People often use them for a variety of reasons from relaxation and perking up, to just getting the sweat and grime off after a long day at work.
But when your shower actually does matter as a health choice – and while people are pretty evenly divided between “night showering” and “morning showering”, there is pretty good evidence mounting that taking a shower at the beginning of the day is actually better for you!
Let’s take a look at eight separate signs that suggest you should be ‘rub-a-dub-dubbing‘ in the morning.
1. Cold Hands and Feet
Coldness (or numbness) in the hands or feet can be a sign of poor circulation. But it’s not just your hands and feet that suffer: sluggish circulation of the blood can cause a whole variety of issues, from heart problems to slow wound healing after an accident. A morning shower, especially a cold one, can actually help with this problem because it causes the blood to rush to the surface of the skin, helping improve overall blood flow.
2. Anxiety and Worry
The signs you should be looking for aren’t just physical, there are emotional symptoms too, that can be addressed by showering in the morning. Anxiety and worry about work, relationships or money can really take its toll on your health in the long run. Fortunately, there are small lifestyle changes you can make, like taking a shower in the morning, that can help alleviate these feelings naturally. This is because the increased flow of blood to the brain helps with the overall function of the neurons, and also seems to have a protective effect against stress.
3. Fatigue
If you just can’t seem to get a move on in the morning, no matter how much you have slept the previous night, this is an another sign that a morning shower is right for you. Studies have shown that having cold showers early in the day help boost the central nervous system and to stimulate the adrenal glands, both of which mean higher energy levels and more pep in your step as you start your day.
4. Frequent Infections
If you seem to catch every cold, cough and sniffle that’s going around even when you are washing your hands constantly and living off vitamin C, you should also consider taking a shower in the morning. Studies have shown that this can actually help your body produce more white blood cells, which are vital to your immune system, and help to fight off bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms that cause illness or disease.
5. Acne and Oily Skin or Scalp
If you suffer from acne and have oily skin or scalp, this problem is often a little worse in the morning, to begin with. However, cool showers in the morning help balance and regulate the natural oils in the skin, and help to reduce excess oiliness, and problems like acne, that can make it worse. It is a ridiculously easy beauty tip!
6. Nasal and Chest Congestion
Allergies or a viral infection like a cold or the flu can leave you with a miserable, with a stuffy feeling in the morning, as the mucous tends to build up at night and leads to pain and discomfort the next day. However, the steam from a warm shower taken early in the morning can help with this problem naturally. Steam is great for loosening up accumulated mucous, which otherwise causes discomfort in breathing naturally.
7. Low Fertility
If you are a man trying to father a child and need tips to make it easier to conceive, you should also consider a cold shower in the morning. Research has found that cold showers can help not just to spike up testosterone levels but also to increase the production of sperm, giving you a better chance at being able to start a family.
8. Toxic Build-Up
People are exposed to a variety of toxins through the food they eat, the water they drink, medications, and just in the air that they breathe each day of their lives. However, there are everyday ways to help reduce the possibility of these unwanted substances building up in your system, cold shower in the morning is a good remedy. Cold showers not only help stimulate the blood but also stimulate the flow of lymphatic fluids that help to cleanse the body of toxins and keep it healthy.
So make the effort to get up fifteen minutes early and jump into that shower! It is a great way to get your day started and apart from making you just feel better also has an array of health benefits to offer you.
