I Took A Freezing Cold Shower Every Morning For A Month

Skip navigation!

Begin Slideshow

Photographed by Brayden Olson.

Over the past few years, people have been going out of their way to turn themselves into human icicles in the name of wellness. Whether it's wild swimming in your nearest body of (clean) outdoor water or something altogether more intense like following the teachings of Wim Hof, a Dutch man who absolutely loves wearing nothing but Speedos in Arctic conditions, people are really leaning in to being cold in the name of health right now.

With the mercury rising as we head into spring and summer, and for those of you who are city dwellers and therefore a little short on Arctic tundras to roll around on or chilly seas to take a dip in, take your cue from Miranda Kerr and Fearne Cotton, who start their day with a freezing cold shower.

The supposed benefits do sound pretty good; improved immunity and circulation, stress relief, better mood, and relief of muscle soreness. Seems simple enough.

To find out if making myself really, really cold every day could help me through my fusty pandemic mentality, I decided to take a freezing cold shower each morning for an entire month. Did it make that much of a difference? Read on to find out.

More from Body

Trump’s Victory Poses A Very Real Threat To Abortion Access In Th...

Kamala Harris won’t be the first woman president of the US. The US election result that women — especially Black women and women of colour — around t

by Tanyel Mustafa

How To Tell If You Have A Yeast Infection & Get Rid Of It

Yeast infections are the most common type of vaginal infection and up to three out of four people with vaginas will get a yeast infecti

“Being Told I’m Infertile Broke Me”: 3 Women On Primary Ovarian I...

by Tanyel Mustafa

5 Women On The Effect Of Having A Good First Period

by Elizabeth Gulino

My Heavy Periods Make Me Feel Like A Social Burden

My Period: We’re getting personal about our periods. The path to menstrual equity starts with talking about it. My heavy, abnormal periods make life

The News About Tampons Is Scary, Let Us Break It Down

Arsenic, lead and other metals have been found in tampons by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. In the study, 30 tampons from 14 brands

by Tanyel Mustafa

Reproductive Health

Endometriosis Patients Are Fighting For Surgery — But Is It The H...

During the wait time for an endometriosis diagnosis — nearly nine years on average — people often have to take pain management and researching treatmen

by Tanyel Mustafa

For Black Fat Women, Is The Body Positivity Movement Dead?

Get your obituaries in order folks, because the body positivity movement as we knew it, is dead and gone. Sure, that declaration may be a bit extreme, but

by Stephanie Yeboah

I’ve Lived With A Chronic UTI For 13 Years – & It’s D...

Trigger warning: This story mentions suicidal thoughts. Dannii Haughton knows that her life looks good from the outside. At 31, she lives in a four-bedroom

by Moya Crockett

Abortion In England & Wales Is Under Attack, Yet Again

Abortion is essential healthcare according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). It’s the difference between a woman or person with a uterus having aut

by Victoria Spratt

My Miscarriage Was “Common” — For Black Women That Is...

Content warning: This article contains graphic details of miscarriage, pregnancy loss, and the Black Maternal Health crisis. When I was 11, I was convinced

by Kathleen Newman-B...

The Zoe App Changed How I Think About Fats

I had seen the Instagram videos showing people popping the Zoe app’s glucose monitor onto their upper arms and promising that “it doesn’t hurt”. Re

by Vicky Spratt