Could a Cold Shower Prevent Depression?

Cold Showers Have Amazing Benefits

Cold showers and ice baths? How could those help me? About a month ago, I attended a 5 day workshop with one of the world’s leading personal development coaches and speakers, Brendon Burchard. He coaches Oprah and her team.

In sharing various techniques for maintaining energy and vitality, he explained how he took ice baths every night during the training, to reduce his inflammation and revitalize. He said it made him feel twenty years younger.

Anthony Robbins plunges in a 57 degree pool for one minute every morning.
Famous athletes and performers like Lebron James and Usher use the same technique after events.

A bit horrified and intrigued, I decided to investigate. I must say, I’ve been taking cold showers for a month and they really make a difference. There’s no question that you have to get used to them, and some days, all I want is a hot shower. But even then, I finish with the bracing cold to get my energy up. It works. It takes a while, but it works. Here’s why:

How Cold Showers and Ice Baths Heal Your Body

1. They reduce inflammation. Most all of us have it, believe it or not. Pain, soreness, tense muscles, illness- all of that usually has inflammation associated with it. Just like you put ice on a swollen ankle, cold water and ice baths lower inflammation levels significantly.

2. They get your circulation going, really. Ask anyone who’s done the Polar Bear dip in the middle of winter into freezing water. Cold showers and ice baths boost circulation and reboot your system. They help you be clearer and more alert.

3. They clear out lactic acid and toxins in your body, according to Dr. Ben Kim. LeBron James says his legs feel much better and fresher the day after.

4. And yes- they do relive symptoms of depression. Cryotherapy releases endorphins, the feel good hormones, and creates an analgesic effect.

Check with your doctor before you start a cold water shower or ice bath regimen. Im still not ready for an ice bath, but I do derive great value from my cold showers. Try it yourself. You may well find that it becomes one of the most valuable tools to start your day.

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Your Worst Enemy Could Be You!

“Argue for your limitations and sure enough, they’re yours.”
Richard Bach

75-85% of those most of our daily thoughts are negative. We judge ourselves severely, we think we should do it better, we compare ourselves to others and find fault with ourselves. Oprah said, “Comparison is violence against oneself.” Powerful!
In her book, Your Body Believes Every Word You Say, Barbara Levine shows that a simple statement like “so and so is a pain in the neck” can create shoulder and neck pain quickly. Pay attention to your self-talk and make it positive.

How to Handle Negative Self-Talk

• Awareness is key Ask this question and write down all the answers that show up: “I can’t be totally successful right now because…” Don’t censor yourself. Write down everything that shows up, no matter how silly. Now go back and examine each one of those reasons. Most of them have no basis in reality. None of your reasons are good enough to stop you. Now
draw an X through them right now. Say to yourself “These are not true.”
And when you find yourself thinking them, say “STOP” and put in a positive statement in place instead. You can retrain your brain. Do it.

• Make a strengths inventory. Several great books help you discover your strengths, including Strengths Finder. (And several free surveys on the Internet.) Find out what your unique talents and gifts are and work on developing those. Gallup’s research on millions of professionals shows that those people who develop their strengths and not their weaknesses become the most successful.

• Feed your mind with positive nutrition. Read uplifting books, magazines like Success Magazine, listen to audios, watch inspiring videos on youtube. Ignore the negativity out there; good things happen every day. Change the channel when something disturbs you. Focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want.

You are far more powerful, talented and wise than you think you are.

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Having a Pet Could Save Your Life

Pets Heal on So Many Levels

“Cathy, Eric and their son Michael Keesling had retired early after handling a flooded basement and setting up a gasoline pump to empty it. Their beloved mellow cat, Winnie, sat in the window enjoying the sounds of the evening. All of sudden, Michael passed out in the hallway. Cathy and Eric soon lost consciousness as well, because of a gas leak. The normally gentle Winnie sprang on Cathy, pulled her hair and yowled in her ear to wake her up. Cathy kept blacking out, but Winnie insisted. Finally, Cathy called 911 and the family was rescued. If Winnie had waited 5 more minutes, they would all be dead!”

Pets are amazing healing agents and powerful lifesavers. Trained dogs today can detect bladder cancer by sniffing urine and fire dogs can identify arsonists by smelling gasoline on their hands. Service pets save the lives of their owners every day. They are also great stress relievers.

One study cited on WebMD found that 48 stockbrokers who adopted a pet had lower blood pressure readings under stress than non-pet owners. Another study found that those suffering from serious diseases, such AIDS or cancer, are far less likely to be depressed if they have a strong tie to a pet.

According to the the University of Minnesota’s Stroke Research Center, simply owning a cat can cut the risk of heart attack. After studying subjects for 10 years, those who owned a cat were 40% less likely to die from heart attacks.

Pet ownership:

• lowers blood pressure
• prevents depression
• reduces incidence of stroke
• helps improve physical activity
• helps people be more social
• reduces loneliness.

So if you are battling stress like 80% of Americans, consider adopting a pet at a shelter. It could save two lives- yours and theirs.

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The Surprising Source of Most Pain

Lack of Sleep Causes Many Serious Issues

sleepless

New research out of England shows that lack of sleep is the strongest predictor of pain for those over 50. Pain obviously causes more stress and makes you sleep poorly. It’s a vicious cycle. Restless or insufficient sleep has so many negative consequences and severely impacts wellness:

• the World Health Organization has considered labeling less than 7 hours a night of sleep as a carcinogen- cancer-causing agent
• increased risk of heart disease
• fewer new brain cells created
• premature aging
• excess weight- 20 pounds usually
• 3x more susceptible to colds and flu
• greater stress and less ability to respond well to problems

Three factors influence your ability to get a good night’s sleep:
• timing- try to go to bed at the same time every night
• duration- you need at least 7 hours of sleep
• intensity- which is impacted by whether you got 30 minutes of sunshine during the day and whether your room is nice and dark at night

Be careful not to look at your ipad®, phone screen or computer before bed- leave at last an hour before bed when you shut down exposure to visual stimulants from computer screens. Your overall health and wellness depends so much on good rest. Getting a good night’s sleep every night has a huge impact on your health, your stress levels, your body’s pain and more. Make it priority. Your body will thank you.

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