After a couple of weeks of Raya food and open houses, some may feel their waistband getting a little tight and are thinking about losing some of those holiday kilos. Of course, that is easier said than done for many of us, or is it? Some claim that a cold shower can help you lose weight. Is this true?
VERDICT:
FALSE
While many "health" articles and Reddit posts certainly think so, there is very little research and evidence to conclusively say that cold showers help a person meaningfully lose weight.
The misconception that it does can be based on actual credible science that prolonged exposure to cold temperatures does help the body activate its brown fat (yes, there are different types of fat) that burns more energy. But that is not the same as having a quick icy blast of water every day, no matter how frigid the water feels in the morning.
However, that isn't to say that a cold shower has no benefits.
It is known to improve moods, help regulate body temperatures, insulin levels and more. It even helps to soothe sore muscles, like after a workout, which you and I should be doing after all that festive feasting, instead of looking for easy shortcuts to lose weight online.
References
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9518606/
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0810780
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3726172/
https://www.goodrx.com/conditions/weight-loss/cold-showers-weight-loss
