the blog about cold showers
Last week I was in the office everyday. Now I know several of you reading this will think…ok…? Nothing interesting about that. Fair. For me it’s out of the ordinary as I am mostly remote/hybrid. I recognize that is a privilege and I am very grateful to the organization I work for that gives me this flexibility. With said flexibility, I have grown used to not needing to worry about timing my morning departure time before the tidal wave of Bay Area traffic starts or needing to check that my car has enough gas/charge to make it to the office. However, last week was different. I was back in the pre-pandemic style of work with daily commutes.
The reason for this in-person week was that we had multiple all-day, in-person, hands-on meetings, all of which myself and members of my team were heavily involved in, from the strategy/planning to the execution. This meant office arrival before anyone was in the office and early evening (or even post-midnight) departures. It was fun and intense and valuable and exhausting and invigorating all the same time.
With the added fun of a daily commute this meant less sleep than usual for me. For context, I am a “below-the-recommended-average” type of sleeper as it is. Not because I can’t or don't want to sleep (I do! I love it! My favorite thing on vacation is to “wake up without setting an alarm) but because I have a lot going on. All. The. Time. Personal, professional, you name it! Not saying it’s good or sustainable but that is the flow of my life right now. (Topics for future blogs, clearly).
So, when a “below-the-average-sleeper” gets even less sleep but still has to function early in the morning…what do they do? Well in my case it’s a few things:
I don’t drink alcohol. I stopped drinking several years ago and I’ve found that my energy levels have significantly increased.
I DO drink a ridiculous amount of coffee (I will not flex with my # of cups, but trust me- it’s high. Too high I know, I know. Being pregnant was hard. Most people miss the booze, I missed the caffeine!)
…the magic ingredient: I TAKE AN ICE COLD SHOWER.
To be clear, I do NOT do this everyday. This is my “special occasion” I’m “extra exhausted” “pull-out-all- the- stops” type of situation. No, I do not do ice baths or own a cold-plunge pool or anything like that. I just take a very cold shower when I’m overly tired.
I cannot take credit for this idea. My brother, the amazing Caspian, introduced me to the concept, or practice of purposefully taking a cold shower several years ago. I had never heard of this, unless of course you count finding yourself in the situation where the all of the hot-water has run out, no matter how hard you turn the faucet to the “H”, inevitably of course while your hair is still full of shampoo.
Caspian, is a cold-plunge kind of guy. Very focused. Very tenacious. Very science-based but also spiritual. He told me about all of the incredible physical benefits of freezing your body early in the morning (didn’t really move me) but then he told me about the emotional ones. That it is about inspiring you to do things you don’t think you can do, to take action instead of waiting for the time to be right or things to be more comfortable (hey, the water’s not getting any warmer!), to be determined, mind over matter, resilience. THAT I found inspiring, and that I could get behind. All that in a shower? Sign me up!
I actually started taking cold showers when I was pregnant, especially the closer I got to the due date. I was (understandably) nervous about giving birth, and it helped me build my confidence that I can do hard things. Yet another small action in my life that really helped on the BIG day of giving birth.
I’ve continued the cold-shower practice on days where I am especially tired, unmotivated, feeling low or just want to challenge myself. Basically I have a deal with myself, if I think about cold-showers in the morning and am like hecccccck no I don’t want to do it- THEN I DO. Taking the opposite action is usually the right thing (for me).
Why do I do this?
Science (I think?): Taking my brother (and ChatGPTs word for it - to be fair, I do have the paid Chat version), the benefits we get from cold showers are:
Improved Circulation
Reduced Muscle Soreness
Enhanced Immunity
Healthier Skin and Hair (hair stylist confirmed this too!)
Boosted Metabolism
It wakes me UP: in a way that not even a triple-shot of espresso can and I feel a little giddy afterward.
I stay on schedule: no dawdling or running late for me! I’m in and out as fast as I can ;-) which is useful especially as I’m likely running on a tight timeline.
It saves water: ok honestly this is a low motivator but as a resident of California which is sadly perpetually in a drought, this IS important.
Doing something early in the day I’m proud of: this is the biggest one. You might think, wow, that is a very very tiny thing to be proud of. And you would be right. It’s very tiny - but it is these tiny things that make all the difference.
So, my tiny action for you today is:
YES, TAKE A COLD SHOWER! Ok, or start small. End your next shower with 10 seconds of ice-cold water. Then, up it to 15, 20, 30 and so on. Soon you’ll see that you can do it! You’re resilient and strong and can do things that feel tough.
And who knows…? Maybe next time you’ve got a really big presentation, or you’ve been up late packing your family for a long move and didn’t get enough rest, or you’re going to sing at your religious place of worship…you decide to take a cold shower that morning to wake you up, give yourself a boost of confidence and you’ll have taken a tiny step so the other big thing feels just a little bit more manageable.
I’ll be back next week with more little things… but I’d love to hear from you! How did it go? Are you a full-blow cold-plunger? Or a proud 10-second ice champion?
See you next week!
