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Jaden Maldonado

Instructor McCann

English 1302.231

9 February 2024

Analyzing the Effects of Cold Showers on a Person

Introduction:

Cold showers have been popularized in recent years because of the positive effects they

have on the human body. A multitude of studies have been made in the past to highlight the best

things about cold showers. Researchers such as Yankouskaya et al. in “Short-Term Head-Out

Whole-Body Cold Water Immersion Facilities Positive Affect and Increases Interaction between

Large-Scale Brain Network” talks about how cold showers decrease the number of negative

effects but increase the positive effects of taking cold showers. The researchers stated that cold

showers have effects on mental, emotional, and physical health (Yankouskaya et al. 1). Some of

the positive effects are an increase in mood, vigor, and self-related activities. The negative

effects that get decreased are drops in mood, less fatigue, and help with depression symptoms.

However, it does not mean it works on everyone. Authors Briganti et al in “Effects of Cold

Water Exposure on Stress, Cardiovascular, and Psychological Variables” stated, “Fatigue

perception and exhaustion perception brought mixed results, as three studies11, 14, 15 did not find

any significative changes against controls. Meanwhile, two studies16, 17 did find significative

results with experimental subjects having lower perceived fatigue” (1). The experiment the

researcher/participant (RP) was doing was taking a cold shower for at least 20 minutes for 5

days. The cold showers were taken in the morning after RP woke up at 6:30 am. RP took cold

showers for five days to increase mental, emotional, and physical health.
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Literature Review:

Researchers have been highlighting the importance of showers for health recently. For

instance, Yankouskaya and colleagues noted that "Cold Water Immersion (CWI) has an impact

on boosting mood and fostering an emotional state" (2). The connection between the article and

the experiment is strong as they both aim for results. It underscores that cold showers do improve

wellbeing and can even affect personality traits. Both the article and the experiment sought to

investigate changes in mental and physical health. As shown, the article presents evidence that

supports the idea that cold showers play a role in enhancing wellbeing.

Moreover Briganti et al. discuss how cold-water triggers effects with studies dedicated to

exploring its benefits (1). While both the experiment and article show results there was a

difference in how long participants were exposed to water in the article. This variation suggests

that with periods outcomes, like those demonstrated by RP could have been further improved.

Methodology:

To begin with, RP is a 17-year-old male that has dual-enrollment classes. The experiment

lasted five days from Thursday to Monday. The RP tried to take a cold shower on Thursday, but

the water was too cold. RP was tired for most of the day while not being able to truly converse

with people. On Friday, RP tried to take a cold shower again and was able to take one that lasted

five minutes. The day went better for RP because he was able to talk to his friend with more

emotion. Also, RP was not feeling as tired as the day before. On Saturday, RP took a cold

shower for 15 minutes and decided to go for a run to start the day. The run was 3 miles and RP

felt stronger while running than he did during the rest of his runs. On Sunday, RP was able to
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take a cold shower for 20 minutes, which reached the set goal. RP went to the gym and was able

to lift stronger weights and felt less sluggish. On the final day, Monday, RP again took the cold

shower for 20 minutes. RP was massively different from the first day to the final day.

Results:

On the first day, Thursday, there was no data since the participant was not able to take the

cold shower due to it being too cold at first, so he settled for a warm shower. This day was

mostly used as a base of their mental, emotional, and physical health on a normal day.

The second day, Friday, the participant took a cold shower for 5 minutes instead of the

allotted 20 minutes and throughout the day noticed a change in emotional wellbeing. RP was

able to be more friendly and sociable when talking to friends. RP also felt noticeably less tired

than they did on Thursday.

The third day, Saturday, RP took a cold shower for 15 minutes and got closer to meeting

the goal of 20 minutes. RP saw a change in schedule by running after taking the cold shower and

saw improvements in their ability to run for longer distances. Also, RP was able to control their

body’s mobility better.

The fourth day, Sunday, the participant was able to meet the goal and take a cold shower

for 20 minutes. RP went to the gym after taking the shower. RP notice physical improvements

such as being able to lift some stronger weights and being able to do cardio for longer.

On the final day, Monday, the participant took a 20-minute cold shower again. The

improvement RP saw over the five days was astronomical. The tiredness was no longer as

prominent. Also, the fatigue that was felt in the body was almost reduced to zero. RP was more

talkative, friendly, and approachable than the first day. The mental health received a huge boost.

RP felt better about himself and was able to feel at peace mentally.
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Analysis:

After the experiment RP finished and all of the research that was compiled, RP was able

to show that cold showers do improve mental, emotional, and physical health. As shown in the

Results section, taking cold showers in the morning can help not only relieve fatigue, but also

improve social and mental abilities. The experiment itself could be changed to meet people’s

needs, which in turn could improve or lessen the effects of the cold showers. For example, RP

took a cold shower for 20 minutes in the morning; however, a person could change how long the

cold showers would take and at what time during the day it would be taken. Such differences in

the experiment could improve or lessen the results overall.

Conclusion:

The results, from the study closely align with what the researchers discussed in their

articles. The findings of the experiment support the thesis and other works in the field. This study

holds significance as it demonstrates that cold showers can indeed enhance an individual’s well

being. If the experiment had continued for a duration the outcomes might have been more

significant. While a 20 minute cold shower in the morning has shown benefits further research is

necessary to explore whether taking showers at night could be more effective and determine the

optimal duration, for yielding maximum results.

Works Cited
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Briganti, Giovanni Leonardo, et al. “Effects of Cold-Water Exposure on Stress, Cardiovascular,

and Psychological Variables.” Acta Physiologica, vol. 239, no. 4, 2023, pp. e14056-n/a,

https://doi.org/10.1111/apha.14056.

Yankouskaya, Ala, et al. “Short-Term Head-Out Whole-Body Cold-Water Immersion Facilitates

Positive Affect and Increases Interaction between Large-Scale Brain Networks.” Biology

(Basel, Switzerland), vol. 12, no. 2, 2023, pp. 211-,

https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12020211.