3 Benefits of the Wim Hof Method

Exposure to cold and breathing exercises.

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It’s been 4 years since I first discovered cold showers.

You probably have heard of it, I’ve written about it a while ago and it came around the media because of this guy called Wim Hof — he even wrote a book about it: The Wim Hof Method.

It’s to connect with your body again.

This grabbed my attention a couple of years ago during the pandemic. We were all trying to avoid getting sick and to improve our immune system, including me.

But it’s not just physical training, Hof also focuses on mental strength by applying his methods.

Mostly by breathing.

The Science Behind Cold Showers and Breathing Exercises

Why would you get a cold shower when you could have a warm one?

Well…

It must be very healthy to swap something comfortable for something that’s not comfortable at all.

And that’s the case.

Getting exposed to cold and doing cold showers have many health benefits, such as the following:

• Improved mood

• Improved focus

• Improved metabolic system

• Improved blood circulation

Or a better immune system.

But why?

That’s because of your body’s reaction to cold. It’s not used to getting cold all the time so it thinks something’s up.

Your body thinks you’re dying and tries to save you.

It injects adrenaline into your body and that’s the thing that makes you feel so good afterward — where you get the energy from.

I’ll explain this later.

Because breathing is a very important component of this as well. You need to do this to experience all the benefits of it, such as relieved stress, and better also better focus.

It’s like meditation but better.

1 — Reduce Your Stress

What is stress?

It feels like your heart is beating faster, and that’s true.

So what if we can reduce the pace of your heartbeat somehow? That’s possible with the Wim Hof Method. You lower your average heartbeat and reduce stress.

By taking cold showers you train your body.

You teach your body to get used to stressful situations until it can handle it like a pro.

And then there’s the breathing part.

By meditation, you calm yourself down. That’s logically reducing your average heartbeat.

You feel calmer after meditation and that’s what it does.

So if you combine these two tricks you will reduce the amount of stress in your life.

2 — Better Focus and More Energy

When I wake up I’m almost always still tired.

Cold showers fix this. They activate something called brown adipose tissue, this is the process that burns you calories — and then you get your energy.

But that’s not the only thing.

Cold showers activate all the hormones that make you “feel good”, or endorphins.

So by getting exposed to cold in the morning, you’re waking up more easily and much faster. You get more energy and most importantly, you improve your focus and feel better.

3 — You’re Resistant to Cold

When you go outside in the winter, do you feel cold?

I’ve never been a shivery type when it’s cold, but doing the Wim Hof Method or taking cold showers has really increased my cold resistance a lot.

You’re training your body for cold.

If your body isn’t used to getting cold exposure, of course, you’re going to be cold in winter, even when your body is in fact perfectly capable of handling the cold weather.

Do you remember what I said about brown adipose tissue? That’s burning your calories and producing energy, or heat.

It’s all about adaptation.

So try to expose your body to cold more regularly and you’ll start to notice a difference.

Final Thoughts

It’s not easy to start doing cold showers.

It’s uncomfortable and at first, you don’t want to do it all. But it’s not about standing in the cold for hours and hours.

No.

That’s the point.

It’s supposed to be difficult because you’re training yourself, you’re building a new habit.

Start with a cold shower of 30 seconds.

Next day: 45 seconds, at your own pace but increase it day by day.

Within a couple of weeks, you’ll have no problems with standing in the cold for 3 — 5 entire minutes.

Good luck!