The beneficial effect of cold and hot baths has been known since ancient times. Today scientists are discovering more and more benefits of using cold water in the bath, such as strengthening the immune system and improving mental mood.
But experts point out that the most health benefits come from alternating hot and cold water in the bathroom.
This technique, known as 'hot and cold water therapy', involves a twenty-minute shower, using hot water for 3-4 minutes, then cold water for 1 minute and starting over.
According to experts, this hot-cold alternation creates a "pumping mechanism" where more oxygen-rich blood flows to the muscles and tissues near the skin, while at the same time deoxygenated blood, i.e. blood that has lost its oxygen after depositing this in the muscles and tissues, it is pushed back through the veins to the lungs to collect new oxygen.
This has been found to offer multiple benefits, including reduced muscle soreness after exercise and faster muscle recovery.
A study published last year by the Academic Medical Center of Amsterdam highlights another benefit of alternating cold and hot water in the bath. In particular it showed that a "Scotch" shower daily reduces absences from work due to illness by almost 30%.
Scientists attribute this to an increase in the number of white blood cells, the immune system's disease-fighting cells.
Now as for the idea that it prevents skin aging, most scientists consider it dubious. However, Mr George Tzenichristos, a Physiotherapist who specializes in skin care at The Hale Clinic in London, claims that the treatment in question helps increase blood flow to the tiny capillaries near the surface of the skin. skin as a result of which the skin is supplied with the necessary ingredients that keep it elastic and firm.
«Η καλύτερη κυκλοφορία του αίματος βελτιώνει τη λειτουργία των ινοβλαστών, των κυττάρων που παράγουν το collagen, την κύρια δομική πρωτεΐνη στο δέρμα», εξηγεί ο κ. Τζενηχρήστος.
But even if alternating cold and hot water doesn't give your skin a glow, it's certain that it will improve your mood, since according to research by the Commonwealth University in the USA. people who took a daily alternating hot-cold shower saw after two weeks a significant improvement in their mood. The researchers explain that this is due to the increase in levels of the neurotransmitter noradrenaline in the brain, caused by exposure to cold water. Now experts believe this could also work in people with depression.
But even those who are not thrilled with the idea of a cold shower need not despair. A study of 14 men conducted by Loughborough University showed that those who stayed in their bathtubs in 40C water for an hour burned an average of 140 calories, equivalent to half an hour of walking, and had improved control of their sugar levels of their blood.
http://medicalnews.gr
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