5 Proven Tricks to Make Cold Showers More Bearable

Embrace and get used to the chill with practical strategies for a cozier cold shower experience three minutes daily and reap many health benefits.

For over three decades, I’ve diligently included cold showers in my daily routine. I read hundreds of papers on their benefits and reviewed many case studies from cognitive science labs, including clinical studies. I collected substantial data and even devised some hypotheses, which I will cover in another story.

Surprisingly, despite years of intense experience, my body still strongly reacts each time I start cold showers. However, I’ve devised effective tricks to make the experience more manageable over the years. Our bodies never fully accept cold exposure. But we can lower the reaction's intensity and make it doable. I helped many people to achieve this goal.

These techniques have been so successful for me that I’ve even applied them to more intense cold exposures like ice baths and walking in snowy mountains wearing nothing but shorts and going barefoot like Wim Hoff.

When I dive into more extreme cold experiences, like icy baths or walking in the snow-covered mountains wearing just shorts, some of my relatives, friends, and colleagues brand me as crazy affectionately.

My mother-in-law, in particular, got very concerned in the earlier years of my marriage and has even attempted to prevent me from snowy adventures, convinced that I’d freeze or worse.

However, when I shared Wim Hof’s incredible journey and showcased his achievements far surpassing my own, she started to understand my resilience.

Interestingly, since I began using cold showers and ice baths in my routine, I haven’t experienced the typical flu or cold symptoms except for a brief encounter with COVID-19 in 2022. Even then, my cold exposure practices seemed to accelerate my recovery in six days.

I’ve assisted hundreds of people in starting cold showers. Many beginners playfully called me names like “arsehole” during their initial days, but interestingly, after about a month, their tune changed to “angel” or “saint.”

So, if a few choice words slip on your first day after reading this story, don’t worry — I won’t be offended. I deeply understand and empathize with the challenge, especially in the heart of winter in some parts of the globe.

In this quick story, I’ll share five simple techniques I’ve developed to make cold showers much more manageable and less intimidating.

These tricks are easy to do and can help even if you’re new to the idea of cold exposure. However, I’ll save the topic of ice baths for another time since this story is about starting with the basics for beginners.

Incorporating these five simple tricks into your cold shower routine can transform what might seem like a daunting experience into something manageable and even enjoyable.

Well-Known Benefits of Cold Exposure

I wrote about the benefits of cold showers a few years ago in a story titled A Cold Shower a Day Might Keep the Doctor Away. Many subscribers found those stories helpful, and they informed me of their progress and shared the benefits they gained.

I will not explore those details from my findings, research, and experience here. However, in summary, cold exposure can boost the immune system, improve circulation and skin health, reduce stress, and enhance our moods. It might also help us become more resilient to stress. Let me break them down quickly for new readers.

Improved circulation and reduced toxins: It can improve circulation by constricting and dilating blood vessels. This can help to flush out toxins and improve blood flow throughout the body.

Reduced stress and improved sleep: It can reduce stress by activating the body’s relaxation response. This response releases hormones such as endorphins, which have mood-boosting effects. At night mixed cold and hot showers can improve sleep.

Better energy levels and mood: It can boost energy levels by stimulating the production of adrenaline and noradrenaline. These hormones can wake us up and improve alertness. It can also increase endorphins which can boost mood

Improved skin health: It can improve skin health by reducing inflammation and increasing collagen production. This can help to make our skin look younger and healthier.

Fat loss: It can help with weight loss by increasing our metabolism. This is because cold water can help to burn calories and reduce body fat. In addition, cold exposure can change the fat color from white to brown.

Due to these well-known benefits, cold showers are in my mental health first aid kit, which I don’t see as a luxury for anyone.

How to Make Cold Showers More Bearable

Trick 1 — Start Laughing and Making Sounds

When we start a cold shower, our bodies will react with a sudden shock. It is a natural reaction. This is because the cold water triggers our body’s stress response.

This stress response can release hormones like cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline. Depending on their intensity, these hormones can make us feel anxious, tense, and even scared.

So, the first trick is to start laughing or making funny sounds. Keep laughing or making sounds for at least one minute or until you start to feel more relaxed.

If you’re unsure what to say or do, just make something up silly. The important thing is to get your body laughing.

The laughing trick is a great way to make cold showers more bearable. It’s also a fun way to start your day and boost your mood.

This may seem silly, but it works. When you laugh or make sounds, your body releases positive neurochemicals like endorphins, reducing the stress response caused by cold exposure.

It’s like distracting our bodies with humor so it doesn’t focus as much on the cold. This can make the whole experience feel less intense and more manageable.

If you don’t want to make silly sounds for some reason, you may repeat positive affirmations or motivational phrases under cold water. This can shift your focus from discomfort to a more positive mindset.

Trick 2 — Start with Legs and Arms

You may begin the cold shower by exposing only a small portion of your body to the cold water. Slowly increase the exposure area as your body adjusts to the cold.

It is a good idea to start with your legs and arms first because our bodies are more sensitive to cold in certain areas, like the shoulders and back. Here’s how to do the legs and arms trick.

Step into the cold shower. Turn the water to the coldest setting. Start by splashing the cold water on your legs and arms. Once you’ve gotten used to the cold water on your legs and arms, you can gradually move up to your torso and head.

So, starting with your legs and arms can allow your body to adjust more gently to the cold water, making the overall experience less extreme.

Trick 3 — Watch Your Breath Like Meditating

Breathing slowly and deeply can help our body relax and adapt to the cold. It also reduces the stress response that cold water can trigger.

Focusing on our breath tells our body that everything is okay and there’s no need to panic. This can help calm your nerves and make the cold shower feel less shocking and more under control.

Take slow, deep breaths as you step into the cold water. Deep breathing helps calm the nervous system and can reduce the initial shock of cold exposure.

If you’re unsure how to breathe slowly and deeply, many resources are available online and in books. You can also practice mindful breathing exercises in other contexts, such as when you’re sitting still or meditating.

The breathing trick is a great way to make cold showers more bearable. It’s also a good way to reduce stress and improve your overall mental and physical health.

Trick 4 — Visualization and Musical Distraction

As the cold water flows, consider closing your eyes and transporting yourself to a serene and beautiful place in your mind.

Visualizing such a setting can effectively divert your focus from the cold sensation, making the experience more bearable and enjoyable.

Music and singing are other fantastic ways to enhance your cold shower journey. Allow your favorite tunes to fill the air, or even sing along to them.

Music has the remarkable power to uplift your mood and draw your attention away from the chilliness of the water, turning your shower into an engaging and invigorating experience.

Trick 5 — Gradual Temperature Shift for Enhanced Comfort

Despite the previous four techniques, should you be uncertain about diving into icy water, fret not. Start your shower with comfortably warm water.

Then, gently transition by trying cold water for 20 seconds, and slowly transition to cooler water.

This gradual approach, coupled with the wisdom from the previous four techniques, will allow your body to acclimate and make the cold water less of a shock, gradually transforming it into an invigorating routine.

Conclusions and Takeaways

These tricks work for many people because they allow us to influence our bodies using the strength of our minds.

Methods like laughter, vocalizing, singing, deep breathing, and visualization can alter the chemical balance in the brain and the nervous system. There is significant scientific evidence on these points.

It’s important to recall that the body and mind are intricately interconnected, each impacting the other in significant ways.

These tricks can make cold showers more bearable and enjoyable. Using them makes us more likely to stick to our cold shower routine, which has various benefits. With a bit of practice, you may be able to enjoy the benefits of cold showers without feeling the shock.

You may aim to embrace a daily cold shower routine lasting at least three minutes, as it tends to deliver optimal outcomes for numerous people in my circles. The average in my data analysis is between 3 and 5 minutes.

This 3–5-minute practice tends to yield increasingly positive effects over time. On particularly scorching summer days, I’ve even extended my cold showers to 20 minutes, which has proven to be an effective strategy for managing the heat in hot countries like Singapore, where I visited and worked.

As a fun, you may remember post-shower warmth in winter. When you leave the cold shower, you may keep warm towels or a warm robe ready. The promise of warmth after the shower can psychologically make the experience more tolerable.

In addition, you may wrap up your cold shower with a soothing, warm rinse. It brings additional benefits to the lymphatic system, detoxifying the body.

Additionally, consider experimenting with alternating 30-second cold showers followed by 20-second warm showers, repeated five to six times around half an hour before bedtime.

This practice aids in resetting our circadian rhythm, enhancing our sleep quality. Having personally employed this method successfully for over 30 years, it has become an integral part of my daily routine.

Thank you for engaging with my insights. My best wishes for your journey towards a healthy and joyful life.

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