Alternating cold and hot showers - the healthiest way to shower

Half of all Germans say they take a shower every day, and most of them turn on the hot water tap. From a medical point of view, this is doubly wrong - because two cool showers a week are sufficient for several benefits, according to medical experts.

What water temperature you choose for your shower after exercise can have very specific effects. When to take a hot or cold shower and what the advantages of an alternating shower are, are explained below.

In the survey mentioned above, many candidates said that warm water has a better cleansing effect. At first glance, this sounds logical - after all, water is also heated for washing dishes or laundry.

However, when it comes to cleaning pots or towels, hot water serves a specific purpose. In both the dishwasher and the washing machine, it is supposed to dissolve grease and kill bacteria. An effect that does more harm than good to your skin when showering after a workout - because heat dries out your skin and makes it more susceptible to injury or infection.

In addition, the low-temperature programmes of fully automatic appliances show that dishes and laundry get clean even without heat. Modern dishwashing and washing products make heating the water almost superfluous or reduce it to a minimum.

Therefore, the cleaning effect of a shower does not depend on the temperature - but on what kind of dirt it has to remove and whether you use soap, a syndet or something similar. For people in urban occupations with average physical exertion, taking cold or hot showers is purely a comfort decision and not a question of necessity.

Regardless of this, however, warm water also has benefits for body and soul. As long as the temperature does not exceed 43 degrees Celsius, medical experts see many positive effects in it. For example....

After a physically strenuous or emotionally upsetting day, a warm shower is really good for you. The reason for this is that heat dilates the blood vessels - and thus helps to relax the muscles. However, taking a hot shower after a workout is not a permanent anti-stress remedy. The longer and more often hot water is applied to the body, the more likely it is to damage your skin.

If you have a cold or are coming down with one, hot water has two effects: it heats up your shivering body, and it produces a lot of steam in the shower, which helps to loosen mucus build-up in the throat and nasopharynx. You can support this effect with shower baths containing menthol or thyme, in the form of bath additives.

If you have trouble falling asleep, a warm shower in the evening can work wonders. The temperature stimulus causes your body heat to drop a little, whereupon your organism produces the messenger substance melatonin. It acts as a natural sedative and promotes tiredness. Cleansing and care products with lavender or lemon balm have an intensifying effect. The scent of these plants relaxes you and lets you unwind in the shower after training.

There are also many good arguments for colder showers. However, you should never place yourself directly under cold water. Instead, gradually lower the temperature. Otherwise, your body is at risk of cold shock, especially if it is heated, for example, when taking showers in the summer or when freshening up after a workout. Besides the invigorating kick, however, cold water also acts as a...

As mentioned above, heat acts as a grease remover - not only on pots and pans, but also on your skin. A hot shower dries out the skin faster and can lead to flaking, itching or strawy hair. Cold water counteracts these problems - and is therefore particularly recommended for people who suffer from dry skin, feelings of tension or neurodermatitis.

Your hair also benefits from a cool shower: because the pores of the scalp contract, the hair does not become greasy as quickly, and because the cuticle layer of the ends closes, they shine more.

If you want to lose weight, you should also take cold showers. They activate the brown fat cells, which are not normally very active. Unlike their white counterparts, they don't store calories, they burn them. From that point of view, cold showers after a workout are doubly effective.

Hard to believe, but true: cold water puts you in a good mood! By boosting the production of endorphins and adrenaline, it has a positive effect on your mood. If you occasionally suffer from the blues, your condition could improve in this way. However, shower baths do not solve serious problems. Therefore, taking cold or hot showers is not an alternative to serious therapy.

So far, so good, so interesting. However, the proven best choice is not to take a cold or a hot shower - but a combination of both. Numerous studies show that alternating showers has the greatest effect. Provided you use this simple remedy correctly: starting with warm and ending with cold water, you should change the temperature at least three times during a shower: i.e. warm/cold - warm/cold shower. In this way, alternating showers have benefits for...

The best-known effect of alternating baths is an increase in the immune system. It is based on the great difference in temperature of the water. Cold or warm water constricts or dilates the blood vessels, which trains them like a muscle and enables them to adapt to environmental conditions when necessary.

Researchers at Jena University Hospital have demonstrated this in patients with chronic bronchitis. After several weeks of regular alternating showers, the patients had the advantage that their vein system was able to react better to cold stimuli and transported more lymphocytes. As a result, the susceptibility to the condition studied lowered by 13 percent - a remarkable effect on the blood vessels that the participants could demonstrate just by showering after a workout.

The widening and narrowing of the veins affect all parts of the body - and therefore also the muscles. Exposing them to heat and cold stimuli after exercise reduces the risk of subsequent muscle soreness.

This was proven in a study of cyclists who experienced significantly less muscle soreness after exercising by taking hot and cold showers. Perfect, if you want to continue your workout the next day or if your body has been exposed to unusual stress.

Last but not least, alternating showers also have benefits for the circulation. The heat-cold stimulus lowers blood pressure a little - which helps people with recurring dizzy spells or headaches in particular. To effectively regulate the flow in the veins, it is recommended to start with the legs: first warm, to dilate the vessels; then cold, to restrict them again.

You see or read: both cold, warm, and alternating showers have their advantages. Depending on the effect you want to achieve, different temperature showers are recommended. Warm, cold, or alternating water has no influence on the cleansing effect - but other effects on bodily functions can be immense.

Decide on cold, warm, or alternating showers and their advantages depending on your mood, physical strain, and skin condition. You're sure to quickly find your personal favourite among the shower types and soon know when which temperature is particularly good for you.