How to shower when it’s hot: cold or warm?

If the thermometer climbs to over 30 degrees, the longing for a cool shower is great. But is the cold shower really recommended when it’s hot?

On hot days, you’ve probably often found yourself longing for a cold shower to refresh yourself. After all, it promises a quick cool down in hot temperatures, similar to a dip in a refreshing lake. But unfortunately it is a fallacy that a cold shower cools you down.

Taking a proper shower when it’s hot: That’s the best way

Even if cold showers are good for the immune system and many people can probably not imagine anything more tempting than a sweaty shower with ice-cold water, this is not recommended on hot summer days. The refreshing effect doesn’t last long, “because the body’s temperature increases again,” explains sports scientist Ingo Froboese from the German Sports University in Cologne.

Although the cold shower initially cools the body temperature down, it makes you sweat even more easily afterwards. Because the cold causes blood vessels and sweat pores to contract. This is an endogenous defense reaction to keep the heat in the body. The body then tries to get back to its core temperature of 36 to 37 degrees Celsius. He expends a lot of energy to do this. The result: You sweat even more than before.

So the cool shower only served its purpose for a brief moment. In addition, taking a cold shower when it’s hot can also be quite detrimental to the circulation, because the rapid cooling and subsequent warming up means stress for the organism.

You shouldn’t take a hot shower either. Not only is this uncomfortable in the summer, it can also dry out your skin. According to sports scientist Froboese, it is better to first take a lukewarm shower and then gradually turn the water a little colder. This prevents the backlash to the cold shower.

Taking a proper shower when it’s hot: It cools you down

If you want to cool off when it’s really hot, a cold shower isn’t a good idea. As is drinking ice-cold beverages, which is another one of some common mistakes made when it’s hot. The following tips are more suitable for cooling down in hot temperatures:

• Run cold water over your wrists. This cools you down gently without your body having to heat up again.
• Place cold compresses on the back of the neck.
• Avoid exercise during your lunch break and mostly stay in the shade.
• Wear light and light clothing. This prevents you from sweating quickly. Incidentally, this is only one of five tips against the heat from southern Europe.
• Avoid drinking alcohol or coffee on hot summer days. Caffeine puts a strain on the circulatory system in summer and alcohol deprives us of fluids and minerals. This only makes the heat more difficult for us.

Read more on Techzle.com:

• How often do you shower? Daily or rather non-bathing
• Showering during a thunderstorm and 6 other thunderstorm myths questioned
• Heat stroke: symptoms, first aid and protection