Are you tough enough for cold showers?

ELEANOR BLACK Last updated 07:59, August 25 2017

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I sense this woman is making that cold shower look more fun than it really is.

In a trend sweeping the world, cold showers are being touted as a near-magical life-enhancement tool.

Spend five minutes under cold running water each morning, fans say, and you will burn fat, enhance alertness and productivity, boost your immune system, reduce stress, slow the ageing process, improve the appearance of your skin and hair, even reduce feelings of depression.

But what is it like, really? Besides cold, obviously.

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I don't want to take cold showers for 30 days.

Humans have been experimenting with ice baths and polar bear plunges forever, but the new craze for the cold shower is credited to Dutch fitness guru Wim Hof, aka the Iceman.

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He features in the book What Doesn't Kill Us, in which he encourages writer Scott Carney to stand in the snow in shorts and bare feet, and to climb Mt Kilimanjaro shirtless. 

Now business executives, athletes and the curious are taking the 30-Day Cold Shower Challenge: Five Minutes to Mental Toughness! which is lovingly detailed in various blogs and Reddit threads. 

They point to scientific papers that link cold water immersion to improved sleep, mood and energy, but are far from conclusive. 

The method couldn't be any simpler: turn your shower on to cold, set a timer and jump in. After five minutes, get outta there and celebrate. Repeat for 30 days.

Aly Siefert, engineering director at Yale University's Centre for Biomedical and Interventional Technology, who blogs as the Sociable Scientist, says she reduced her coffee intake as a result of invigorating daily cold showers, and believes the practice improved her mental toughness.

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She completed the 30-day challenge a year ago and told Stuff she still occasionally takes cold showers "when I want to reverse a dull mood or be extra energised for the day".

"Knowing that I completed a difficult task in the morning makes my day's difficult tasks much easier to tackle," she says. "I also think I've been calmer and more compassionate in various situations."

Some proponents of the cold shower recommend just two minutes per day, and some suggest taking a warm shower first, then switching to cold water at the end. 

COLD SHOWER TEST

I am not new to cold-water experiences. When I was in high school I read that a cold rinse at the end of your shower would leave your hair shiny, so I tried that a few times. 

When I was travelling in my 20s, I swam in the Arctic Circle with a bunch of other tourists. Afterwards I felt oddly hot, and pleased with myself.

But taking a cold shower on a late winter's day is not so fun. 

For my trial, I take the easier option of having my usual warm-water shower and switching to cold briefly at the end. It is shocking and unpleasant, frankly.

The breath is sucked out of me, and I start to dance around the small space. Well before two minutes is up, I turn the water off.

Yes, it jolts me fully awake in an instant. Yes, I feel more alive than before my shower. Yes, my skin feels firmer for the 10 minutes it takes me to thaw out afterwards.

No, I won't be rushing to do it again. This trend is not for me.

 - Stuff