The Benefits Of Hydrotherapy

The Scandinavians have been doing it for centuries, the Romans and Ottomans were famous for their dry saunas followed by a jump in a cold lake or roll in the snow. Some of us may cringe at the thought of even taking a cold shower, but the therapeutic qualities of hot and cold immersions, also known as Nordic Spas, have been around in North America for years now.

The benefits are endless and the tradition is timeless, cold water plunges have been known to provide excellent health benefits.  In conjunction with heat, the dry sauna or hot baths are used to bring blood to the skins surface to improve healing, creating an artificial fever in the body to detoxify the organs. The sweaty results also remove toxins from the body’s tissues.

The effects of finishing off with cold water following the heat acts as a stimulus and a shock to the system to flush the organs, cools down the body and closes the pores. The trick is, can you handle the recommended 30-45 seconds under the cold? Then repeat the process 2-3 times? It takes some getting used to, but the feeling after will put you right to sleep, the body is so relaxed.

The hot and cold combination has been around for thousands of years. While we may use hot water to shower normally, the logic to take a dip in the pool on a hot day is the same intuition to cool off the body.  The immersion into cold increases circulation by bringing fresh blood to the capillaries, strengthens the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. The contraction of the muscles you do when the body is enduring ice cold water acts as a simulated massage. It helps eliminate toxins and strengthens mucous membranes that help resist hay fever, allergies, colds and coughs.

The effects on stress are incredible as well. And all it takes is 30-45 seconds under the freezing cold water. The skin receptors on the body are firing messages to the nervous system, the heart rate increases and you feel as if you can hardly catch your breath, the water is like ice. Once completed, the muscles and parasympathetic nervous (the system that regulates rest and digestion) are at greater rest than before the treatment, and so are your muscles.  The cold acts as a shock to the system and definitely not recommended for people who have heart problems.  The trick is to endure it, whatever it takes, hop up and down, take in deep breaths as difficult as it may seem, some even curse or laugh. Let it out.

The great part is, you don’t need to spend a day at the spa to do this either. Simply spending 10-15 minute intervals at your local gym’s sauna then jumping into a freezing cold shower can do the trick as well, but nothing beats a complete immersion for the full effect. Check your local area for cold water plunges or Nordic spas. See for yourself why cold hydrotherapy is quickly becoming the new hottest trend.

Photo source: www.spanordiques.ca