People have been debating which one is better: hot showers or cold ones? Some prefer taking a hot shower because shivering inside a shower stall feels like experiencing hypothermia. Others prefer cold showers because they’re the only way to jolt them awake completely. But there are pros and cons to each kind of shower, and there is a middle ground where everyone wins.
Advantages of Hot Water
- Helps you relax – Hot water can soothe muscle pain and even relieve stress, which is why a lot of people find it appealing to stand underneath a hot shower after a stressful day at the office. Most people even want to soak in a bathtub filled with warm to hot water for the same reason. As soon as they feel that their pipes aren’t giving them the hot water they need, they immediately look for someone who knows something about water heater replacement.
- Clears your sinuses – Other than that, hot water can also provide some relief from respiratory symptoms. If you’ve been suffering from coughs and colds, shower with hot water because the heat from the shower will loosen your phlegm, open up your airways, and clear your nasal passages. It enables you to get rid of your sticky phlegm more effectively and helps you breathe more easily.
- Cleans your skin – Another advantage of hot showers is that they help you clean your skin more effectively. Your skin has pores that open and close. After a day of moving around outside, your skin would probably have trapped a lot of dirt in it. When you take a hot shower, the heat from the water will open up your pores. It will get rid of the trapped dirt inside and help clean your skin more effectively.
Disadvantages of Hot Water
- Damages your keratin – Hot water can damage your keratin, which will lead to dry skin. When your skin is dry, it cannot hold on to moisture, drying your epidermis even further.
- Worsens eczema – Eczema is a skin condition wherein your epidermis gets inflamed, turns red, and gets very itchy. Hot water can trigger this condition, which is why dermatologists advise people with eczema never to shower with hot water.
- Makes you itch – If you don’t have eczema, you can still experience intense itchiness if you shower with hot water. The heat from the water can trigger mast cells to release a chemical called histamine, which causes your skin to itch.
Advantages of Cold Water
- Soothes itchy skin – The wonderful thing about a cold shower is that if you’re itching, just turn on the cold water. The itch will go away. Itching is a result of inflamed skin. When you wash it with cold water, you’re actually cooling the inflamed areas of your epidermis. It’s like dousing a fire with a fire extinguisher.
- Wakes you up – When you’re feeling groggy in the morning, just use cold water to take a shower to wake you up completely.
- Improves blood circulation – Cold water can make your blood move faster because your body is trying to keep your body temperature at a normal level.
Disadvantages of Cold Water
- Makes you sick – Showering with cold water when your immune system is weak will exacerbate your condition. It will make you more vulnerable to developing a fever.
- Makes it harder to become warm – When you step into the shower already feeling cold and you use cold water, it will be harder for you to warm yourself up. You should shower with warmer water.
Experts advise people to shower with cold water for a minute then turn the knob to have hot water. But shower with hot water only if you can handle it. It also depends on the weather. Make sure to keep the temperature of the water that you can handle.
