Cold showers... Brrr....
I was first introduced to icey cold showers as a little boy living in Iowa, where my family regularly partook in the German tradition of sauna. Now Iowa is a very prudish place and some of our habits occasionally did fall foul with the neighbours. On one occasion, my father accidentally locked himself outside after rolling in the snow. Our resident Lady Fingerbottom (this time a very old woman who never left her house and didn't have a dog. They ended up finding over $40,000 stashed through out her house. We thought she was a witch and were therefore pleasantly surprised that there weren't any lost little boys found in her basement.) was, to say the least, not amused. Not that there was much to see at -10 degrees C anyway.
Anywho, if you are a sauna goer you know that a cold shower is among the more refreshing and healthy things you can do after a session. It gets the blood pumping and is a great contrast to sweaty heat of the sauna. At this point, I must raise an issue about sauna etiquette. You do not wear bathing suits into the sauna! If you are a prude, wrap a towel around yourself, but never bring manmade fibers into a sauna as it is most unhygienic. Secondly, always have a towel in the sauna as people neither want sweat soaked bathing suits or bodyparts leaving behind a pool for the next person to sit in. Now, back to my story...
Actually, cold showers have a much wider application. For instance, if you are the sporting type, you may also be aware that cold showers and baths are a great way to treat muscles after a big sporting session. I used to really enjoy filling the bath with cold water and ice for a long soak after my Sunday long runs during my New York Marathon training. I passed this advice on to a mate of mine who ran this year's London Flora Marathon and it helped him finish in 3 hours, 40 minutes in the hottest conditions ever. I still continue this practice and during a recent ski trip, my post-ski soak was so cold (water came straight from the melting snow on the mountain) I had to yelp like a girl while getting in. Not that that stopped me...
However, you know you are in trouble when you continue cold showers even when there is no sport or sauna involved. Actually, I think 99 out of 100 showers that I take are cold. No, no warm water is mixed in, just the cold tap on its own. I must admit that it does a great job of waking me up in the morning and I find it very refreshing, but don't expect much attention from your partner. For some reason, my love of the cold isn't shared.
Next time you shower, try it cold. If you don't feel refreshed and more awake, not to mention help recover muscles after a long sporting session, you are stranger than I am for having cold showers all the time. Also, in this world of energy consciousness, why save some cash and avoid carbon emissions by not using as much hot water.