Introduction: The human body will be more positive and optimistic after being exposed to cold water, which can not only improve physiological functions, but also help relieve and treat anxiety and depression------ Dr. Tong
The development of human medicine to today, can not be described as not advanced, in fact, from the increase in human average life expectancy we can see the basic clues, but physical health does not represent real health.
Psychological problems are diseases that need more attention in today's society, which is different from physical diseases, because it cannot be seen, touched, and can even be said to be thousands of people, and there are no rules to follow.
Therefore, mental illness is more complex in the treatment and process, so in addition to psychological induction and drug treatment, it is very important to be able to effectively prevent mental diseases, such as anxiety and depression.
Humans are inherently inclined to be warm, for example, most people prefer sunny days to rainy days, for example, humans prefer and find flames rather than stay away from it.
This kind of people's instinctive reactions are manifested in all aspects of our lives, such as liking to bask in the sun, like to use hot water when bathing, etc., because these things can make our body temperature rise, thereby promoting the body's blood circulation, making the limbs more active and comfortable.
But in many places, among many different people, there is a seemingly counterintuitive activity, that is, winter swimming or taking cold showers.
It stands to reason that winter is cold enough, how does the human body withstand the cold water temperature, will it really not freeze the body?
Winter
The truth may not be what we think, because whether it is winter swimming or a cold bath in winter, it seems that not only harmless to the human body, but also bring us unexpected benefits.
In this regard, the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom, together with Bournemouth University and Dorset University Hospital, conducted a joint observational study, they believe that winter swimming or taking a cold shower will improve the body's immune, digestive and circulatory systems, and can also enhance people's positive emotions, making people feel more optimistic and excited.
The paper, published in the journal Biology, is titled "Short-Term Head-Out Whole-Body Cold-Water Immersion Facilitates Positive Affect and Increases Interaction between Large-Scale Brain Networks."
In fact, a lot of evidence shows that regular swimming in cold water will improve human health, including reducing fatigue and reducing depressive symptoms, but most of these conditions come from people's experience records, and there is no exact experimental data and proof.
The University of Portsmouth team explored the effects of winter swimming on the human brain by examining the brains of participants in the 10-week swim program by performing MRIs.
It was found that when the human body is immersed in cold water, many different parts of the brain will interact with each other, which will have a positive impact on the person's mood.
For the reasons for this positive effect, the researchers explained that our body will produce an instinctive shock response after contact with cold water, which will improve our body's sensitivity and vigilance, while humans will feel more positive and focused in a state of vigilance, thereby driving away the impact of negative emotions and reducing the feeling of tension and pain caused by mental stress.
In this regard, Dr. Tong believes that people's mental state is very important, and the so-called depression and anxiety, most of them are related to mental distraction or aimlessness, in a phrase that I have always felt very philosophical, "When you are hungry, you have only one trouble, and when you are full of food and drink, there will be countless troubles."
This is the same for the stimulation of cold showers or winter swimming, when the body is cold, people's attention will be focused on how to survive, so as to no longer think cranky, then the mental pressure is naturally reduced a lot.
This reminds Dr Tong of another research team in the UK on "Why humans feel troubled more often".
The researchers' answer to this study is that humans seem to be good at adding, not subtracting, on one thing, so it complicates something very simple until it can't be solved.
Cold shower
In short, the changes in human emotions are mainly controlled by the brain, and winter swimming and cold showers are related to the parts of the brain that control emotions in both direct and indirect aspects, mainly the medial prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex.
Therefore, for this study, Dr. Tong recommends that you try a cold shower when you are under too much pressure, of course, according to your physical condition, do not force it.
Perhaps this seemingly ordinary behavior can bring unexpected happiness to our lives, not only improve our immunity, but also improve psychological pressure, have a more optimistic attitude and a healthy life.