Cold Showers

Summers in the Valley can be brutal. The temperatures regularly max out at over 100 on the thermometer. For someone like me who works outside in the afternoon during the summer, this can be nightmarish. One has to be careful and a little creative to properly beat the heat. Drink plenty of water, wear sunscreen, wear light-colored clothing...these are all commonplace preventative measures against the deadly summer sun, but I've discovered another tactic which most people never think to try.

Cold showers.

Yeah, I know what your thinking: it's the traditional cure for heightened libido and the hot flush that accompanies it. It does a lot more than that, though.

I started taking cold showers in the summer two years ago when I couldn't stand the heat any longer. Hot showers, I suddenly realized, make no logical sense when the sun is melting the tar on the streets. You never really get used to cold showers physically, but you eventually become less shocked when the cold water hits your skin.

Here's a short guide on how to take a cold shower the right way. First, after you turn the water on and strip, exhale. When you step in the shower and the cold water hits your skin, your first reflexive act will be to gasp. This is the first step in the physical process of going into shock. When water colder than 70 degrees touches the skin of your chest, your heart rate immediately slows down 20%. Your body is tricked into conserving heat by reducing the flow of blood. This will be very helpful later when you have to face the heat because your body will still be recovering from the shock. The heart pumps blood much faster in order to force blood into the capillaries near the skin, dissipating heat.

So, now that you're in the shower and fighting the urge to scream from the shock of the cold, slowly rotate with your arms above your head. Get yourself used to the cold. The shock will slowly settle and a bit of numbness will set in (step two of the shock process). This improves circulation because blood will be drawn to the capillaries in the skin in an attempt to conserve body heat. Taking cold showers regularly will greatly improve circulation and, consequentially, heat dissipation.

Once you've gotten a hang of dealing with the cold, wash up like you regularly would, but be sure to get as much cold water on your face as possible. This will keep your heart rate low, and your core body temperature will drop a degree or two. This means it will take longer for your body to get hot in the summer sun.

After showering, take your time getting ready for the day. After your core temperature drops, you're naturally going to feel shaky and weak. If you feel like you're going to black out, sit down. Trust me, you'll feel better very quickly.

Cold showers aren't for everyone. I myself have a bit of polar bear blood in me: I'd rather be cold than hot any day; on really hot days I'll eat more than a pound of ice, just because. Try it for a week to see if you like the results.

Stay frosty, folks!