Scientists have named a simple and effective way to fight stress

He does not need expensive drugs and long conversations with a psychiatrist.

In the popular American magazine for entrepreneurs “Inc.” Anna Meyer's article about the benefits of cold showers appeared recently. According to the author, this hygienic procedure is very useful for health, primarily mental.

“Research by scientists shows that a cold shower taken by you immediately after waking up helps you do more things during day”, – writes Anna Meyer.

She supports her words with the statements of a psychiatrist and professor at Harvard Medical School, Ashwini Nadkarna. He believes that exposure to low temperatures activates the sympathetic nervous system in our body, which controls our involuntary response to dangerous or stressful situations.

“Due to the density of cold receptors on the skin, when taking a cold shower, peripheral nerves send signals to the brain flow of electrical impulses, thereby activating our consciousness and toning the body,” says the psychiatrist.

He is echoed by his colleague Amanda V. Porter from the Research University of Cincinnati (Ohio, USA).

“A cold shower can also reduce anxiety, help focus attention, thereby increasing cognitive abilities and productivity,” she says. she.

The author of the article also states that daily standing under an ice shower strengthens not only the body, but also willpower. “If you set yourself a long-term goal – to stand under ice water for a few minutes – and go to it, no matter how difficult it may be, then in this way you prepare yourself for all kinds of difficulties in life and business that await you outside the shower,” he writes Anna Meyer.

Cardiologist, leading researcher of the National Medical Research Center of Preventive Medicine, expert of the National Health League Olga Molchanova sees a cold morning shower as an excellent way to cope with stress.

“Studies have shown that a cold shower adapts the body to stress, being in its essence a mild form of it. This was confirmed by a comparative blood analysis of a group of fitness enthusiasts and a group of healthy volunteers. There were also studies that showed that a regular cold shower increases the number of leukocytes in the blood, cells that fight against the onset of the disease. Thus, a cold shower accelerates the metabolism and activates the immune system. Of course, not everyone is able to stand under a cold shower right away, so you can get used to it gradually. First, take a cold shower over the lower legs, then the legs as a whole, then move higher, gradually accustoming yourself to cold water,” advises the cardiologist.

She claims that a cold shower is useful in case of atherosclerosis and high blood pressure. Due to the influence of cold water, blood vessels narrow and the blood is forced to move faster, due to this, the blood supply improves and the work of the cardiovascular system is stimulated.

Then, warming up after a short dousing, the vessels expand again. By compressing and expanding in this way, the elasticity of blood vessels increases, which prevents the occurrence of hypertension.