Will a contrast shower help to be energetic and less likely to get sick

What is a contrast shower and how does it affect the body

A contrast shower is a procedure with alternating hot and cold water at short intervals. In this case, the dousing time can be anything - from a few seconds to minutes.

Countsb. Shadgan, A. H. Pakravan, A. Hoens. Contrast Baths, Intramuscular Hemodynamics, and Oxygenation as Monitored by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy / Journal of Athletic Trainingthat the use of water contrasting in temperature provides the effect of a pump due to the expansion and narrowing of blood vessels. This improves blood flow and saturates tissues with oxygen, promotes the removal of metabolic products, reduces swelling and accelerates the healing of injured tissues.

On Russian-language sites, you can find statements that a contrast shower promotes weight loss, improves skin condition and trains the cardiovascular system. At the same time, in evidence-based medicine, the influence of the method is poorly studied, so it is impossible to recommend the procedure with confidence for anything. And yet, the contrast shower has its advantages.

What can a contrast shower be useful for?

Basically, scientific works concern the influence of contrast water therapy (CBT), that is, alternate immersion of a limb or the whole body in a hot and cold liquid. It can be assumed that a shower will provide similar benefits, but the effect will be less due to the exposure time.

Getting rid of drowsiness

There are many receptors in the skin responsibleN. A. Shevchuk. Adapted cold shower as a potential treatment for depression / Medical hypotheses for the perception of cold, and therefore during a contrast shower, a whole storm of electrical signals is sent to the brain.

Such a load increases the synthesis of norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter that is involved in the response to stress, and beta-endorphins, designed to fight pain. The heartbeat becomes more frequent, blood pressure rises, vigilance and attention increase, mood improves.

However, over time, as you get used to it, this effect decreases. So after a week or a month, you are unlikely to feel the same surge of strength and energy from a familiar procedure.

Reducing the risk of colds

This, perhaps, is most often expected from a contrast shower. At the same time, there is only one study confirming its similar effect.

Scientists recruited more than three thousand people from 18 to 65 years old and askedG. A. Buijze, I. N. Siervelt, C. J. M. van der Heijde. The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work: A Randomized Controlled Trial / Plos One their month to take a contrast shower as follows: wash at any temperature, but at the end be sure to rinse with cold water 10-12 ° C for 30, 60 or 90 seconds. There was also a control group in the experiment, the participants from which took a normal shower.

After 30 days, scientists allowed to stop mandatory procedures and observed people for another 60 days, counting cases diseaseswhich prevented them from going to work.

People who took contrast showers had 29% fewer sick days than participants in the control group.

But at the same time, scientists noted that water procedures did not speed up recovery if the disease still overcame a person. In addition, one study is not enough to boldly declare an increase in immunity and recommend a technique for strengthening it.

 Recovery after exercise

Intense physical activity can cause delayed muscle soreness for the next 24-72 hours after exercise. In order to recover faster, many athletes use water contrast therapy, although it is difficult to say how much this actually helps.

In two studies discovered1. v. Coffee, M. Leveritt, N. Gill. Effect of recovery modality on 4-hour repeated treadmill running performance and changes in physiological variables / Journal of science and medicine in sport
2. R. H. Morton. Contrast water immersion hastens plasma lactate decrease after intense anaerobic exercise / Journal of science and medicine in sportthat this procedure after training helps to reduce the level lactate - a by-product of metabolism that accumulates in the muscles during intense work.

In a meta-analysis of 13 scientific papers on the effect of contrast temperatures on recovery, figured outF. Bieuzen, C. M. Blackley, J. T. Costello. Contrast Water Therapy and Exercise Induced Muscle Damage: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis / PLoS Onethat this type of therapy improves the condition of the muscles after exercise, but only when compared with passive rest. At the same time, KBT works no better than immersion in cold or warm water separately, stretching, compression and active recovery.

Another meta-analysis showedT. Higgins, D. Greene, M. Baker. Effects of Cold Water Immersion and Contrast Water Therapy for Recovery From Team Sport: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis / Journal of Strength and Conditioningthat water procedures with different temperatures only relieve subjective fatigue well, but do not save from delayed muscle pain and do not help to quickly restore physical qualities.

The same was noted in researchL. E. Juliff, S. L. Halson, D. L. Bonetti. Influence of contrast shower and water immersion on recovery in elite netballers / Journal of strength and conditioning research with elite athletes. After the contrast shower, the girls felt better, but the physical recovery parameters did not change.

Thus, water treatments can help flush out lactic acid immediately after exercise and improve your sensations. But at the same time, they certainly will not save you from muscle pain and temporary decline in performance.

Speed ​​up recovery after injury

In the long run, contrasting temperatures may aid recovery by boosting blood supply. Just a few studies confirmed1. K.A. Fiscus, T. W. Kaminski, M. E. powers. Changes in lower-leg blood flow during warm-, cold-, and contrast water therapy / Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation
2. J. W. Myrer, D. Oh Draper, E. Durant. Contrast therapy and intramuscular temperature in the human leg / Journal of Athletic Training
3. D. E. Breger Stanton, R. Lazaro, J. C. Macdermid. A systematic review of the effectiveness of contrast baths / Journal of hand therapythat they accelerate blood flow, but it is difficult to say which tissues this effect extends to.

So, in one scientific work discoveredb. Shadgan, A. H. Pakravan, A. Hoens. Contrast Baths, Intramuscular Hemodynamics, and Oxygenation as Monitored by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy / Journal of Athletic Trainingthat 30 minutes of SST increases blood supply, oxygen saturation and hemoglobin levels in the calf muscle. In the other discoveredJ. W. Myrer, D. Oh Draper, E. Durant. Contrast therapy and intramuscular temperature in the human leg / Journal of Athletic Trainingthat the blood flow is increased only superficially - the effect extends no further than 1 cm under the skin and cannot affect the muscles.

Another study found that contrast water therapy helpedR. Weerasekara, S. U. Tennakoon, H. J. Suraweera. Contrast Therapy and Heat Therapy in Subacute Stage of Grade I and II Lateral Ankle Sprains / Foot and ankle specialist remove swelling from sprains ankle ligaments, which in the long term is useful for recovery. At the same time, the method did not affect other indicators of recovery in any way - it did not help the participants experience less pain or better move the injured limb.

Also in systems analysis failedD. E. Breger Stanton, R. Lazaro, J. C. Macdermid. A systematic review of the effectiveness of contrast baths / Journal of hand therapy to confirm that KBT has an anti-edematous effect.

Thus, a contrast shower may have some recovery benefits, but don't rely too much on it.

In what cases will a contrast shower be useless?

We were unable to find scientific studies on the benefits of contrast showers:

• For skin condition. There is no data on its effect on production collagen - the main protein of human skin, which provides its elasticity and density. Cosmetic procedures designed to increase the production of this protein include deep heating or freezing, such as with a laser or radio waves. It is unlikely that 30-90 seconds of rinsing with water would have any effect on this.
• Slimming. When a person freezes under cold jets of water, the body spendsAre Cold Showers Good for You? / Cleveland Clinic extra calories for heating. At the same time, these costs are low, especially given the short duration of the procedure. A regular walk will require a lot more energy, not to mention training.
• Improvement of blood circulation. Contrast water treatments really improve blood circulation. However, the effect extends only to superficial vessels. How notedAre Cold Showers Good for You? / Cleveland Clinic Dr. Zach Carter, going for a 10-minute walk will be much more beneficial for circulation than standing under cold and hot water.

Who should not take a contrast shower

try it do not adviseAre Cold Showers Good for You? / Cleveland Clinic with problems with the cardiovascular system. The stress of cold water can place unnecessary strain on the heart, trigger arrhythmias—irregular heartbeats—and exacerbate existing problems.

Also, do not experiment with water procedures when hypertension, the presence of open wounds on the skin and infections of the respiratory tract.

How to take a contrast shower

If you decide to try this procedure, first decide on the temperature regime. In most scientific works, cold rinsing uses water at about 10-12 ° C, and for hot - from 38 to 40 ° C.

When it comes to spacing, there are several options:

1. Pour hot and cold water over the same time, for example, 30 or 60 seconds, and repeat such series 2-3 times.
2. Take a hot shower for 3 minutes, and then endure cold water for a minute. This option seems to be more acceptable for beginners. As in the previous mode, this series can be repeated again.
3. Wash as much as you like and at any temperature, but be sure to finish with 30-90 seconds under cold jets. To begin with, try to stand for half a minute, and then you can increase the time to 1-1.5 minutes.

Since there is no high-quality scientific evidence of whether this procedure is useful, be guided by your feelings and desire to do it. If a contrast shower provides you with cheerfulness and a great mood, go ahead. And if it makes you suffer - do not torture yourself, it is not justified.