Bathing in lukewarm water? Here's WHY you should take a dip in cold water instead

A lot of us prefer lukewarm water for a cozy and comfortable shower. Bathing in lukewarm water feels good due to a combination of physical and psychological factors. The warmth helps relax muscles, improve circulation, and can even aid in sleep. Additionally, the sensation of warmth is often associated with comfort and safety.

Showering with lukewarm water is beneficial because it promotes good blood circulation, maintains the skin's natural oils, and avoids the potential negative impacts of hot water on skin and blood pressure. Hot water can strip the skin of its natural oils, potentially leading to dryness, inflammation, and even increased blood pressure. Lukewarm water balances temperature, controls blood pressure, and keeps essential oils intact, contributing to healthier skin and overall well-being.


However, according to a new study, cold water swimming can actually turn out to be quite beneficial. As per the research published in Advanced Biology, those short, sharp shocks a cold water swim gives your senses as you plunge in, quickly changes the stress response of your cells, and in a potentially positive way.


Read on to know more.


What does the study say?

The study researchers, from the University of Ottawa in Canada, got 10 healthy young male adults to take a daily cold water dip in their lab for an hour at a time, while using blood samples to measure how their bodies were reacting on a cellular level.

After a week, the volunteers showed signs of improved autophagy, a healthy cell recycling process that clears waste. In addition, signs of apoptosis (programmed cell death) and inflammation reduced over the week, after initially spiking.



Now, what is autophagy?

Autophagy is the natural, conserved degradation of the cell that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components through a lysosome-dependent, regulated mechanism. It allows the orderly degradation and recycling of cellular components.

In simpler words, autophagy allows your body to break down and reuse old cell parts so your cells can operate more efficiently. It's a natural cleaning-out process that begins when your cells are stressed or deprived of nutrients.


What is apoptosis?

Apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms and in some eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms such as yeast. Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes and death.

Apoptosis is the process of programmed cell death. It is used during early development to eliminate unwanted cells; for example, those between the fingers of a developing hand.

Apoptosis can be divided into four stages: induction, early phase, mid phase, and late phase.

In adults, apoptosis is used to rid the body of cells that have been damaged beyond repair. Apoptosis also plays a role in preventing cancer.


What does the study find?

For the new research, the thinking is that consistent cold water submersion may improve our body's fundamental reaction to environmental stress – in this case – chilly temperatures. Here, it made the key stress response of autophagy more protective.


Physiologist Glen Kenny, from the University of Ottawa, remarked, "We were amazed to see how quickly the body adapted!" He added, "Cold exposure might help prevent diseases and potentially even slow down aging at a cellular level. It's like a tune-up for your body's microscopic machinery."

The researchers also noted that the initial exposure to cold water – chilled to 14 °C (57.2 °F) – was more chaotic, with "dysfunction" in autophagy processes and increased apoptosis. It settled down and became more beneficial as the week went on.

This suggests the body does need time to adapt, but that the adaptation doesn't take long. The body seemed to switch from killing off cells in response to the cold conditions to repairing cells instead.

As per physiologist Kelli King, from the University of Ottawa, "By the end of the acclimation, we noted a marked improvement in the participants' cellular cold tolerance."

He added, "This suggests that cold acclimation may help the body effectively cope with extreme environmental conditions."


Time to take a dip in the cold water?

Although the new research looks promising in regard to steering people in the direction of a cold water swim, there are some significant limitations to the same as well.


First, the study only involved 10 people, who were all young men. Researchers are going to need to test this out on bigger groups of participants, including women, to see if the findings apply more generally.

The research was also carried out in a very controlled lab setting. There was none of the cold air exposure and variations in temperature that you'd get with cold water swimming for example. Previous studies have shown the way our bodies respond to cold air is different to cold water. These factors may also influence the results.

Scientists have now found both potential benefits and drawbacks to cold water exposure, but this new discovery could have long-term implications for our bodies: the recycling and cleaning that autophagy takes care of is crucial in preventing disease and limiting some of the wear-and-tear effects of aging.

As per Kenny, "Our findings indicate that repeated cold exposure significantly improves autophagic function, a critical cellular protective mechanism.” He added, "This enhancement allows cells to better manage stress and could have important implications for health and longevity."
Video