Let me just get it out there that I hate cold showers. There is nothing enjoyable about them for me, it's just plain old miserable. Despite how unappealing though, I tend to end my showers on a cold note. This is due to all the benefits that come from cold water. I should say that by "cold showers" I don't mean that the entire time is col, instead I mean switching it back and forth from hot to cold sometimes during the shower . There's also the option of just taking an all straight cold one or just ending, like me, on a cold burst. To each there own on how to incorporate cold water. However, here are a some reasons why you should start taking cold showers.

1. Reduces Stress

Stress effects body in many ways that lead up to 75-90 percent of all doctor visits. Stress can mess with sleep, produce headaches, raise blood pressure, create chest pain, depression, anxiety, etc. Unfortunately stress is not something people can just choose not to have. College students especially, become effected by stress, according to Anxiety and Depression Association of America, "Forty million U.S. adults suffer from an anxiety disorder, and 75 percent of them experience their first episode of anxiety by age 22."

So how does the cold water help? A study in 1994 noticed that swimmers that swam during the winter in cold water had a substantial decrease in Uric Acid levels, which if your body produces too much of, can cause gout, a form of arthritis with severe pain, redness, and tenderness in joints. All of that is from an increase in stress in your body. The study also noted that there was an increase in gluthathione, an antioxidant that keeps the other antioxidants performing at their optimal levels. The more cold showers taken, build up a resistance to stress and stress related aliments including depression.

2. Increases Alertness

Anyone who's ever jumped into a cold pool or the ocean knows there's a gasp as your nerves are assaulted by the drastic change in temperature. That gasp is a natural energy boost with the increase of oxygen that your body gets. Cold showers keeps the oxygen flowing from all of the deep breaths taken and increases your heart rate as well which rushes the blood throughout the body.

3. Increases Fertility for Men

Interesting fact, according to HowStuffWorks, "The temperature in the scrotum is a degree or two lower than the usual body temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit." This is so there are viable sperm which need to be kept at a lower temperature. By taking cold showers, the cold temperature increases sperm count. Male Contraception Information Project shows studies done in the 1950's concluded that men who took hot baths for a half hour every other day for 3 weeks were rendered infertile for up to the next 6 months!

4. Weight Loss

Just like there is good and bad cholesterol, there's also good and bad fats. There are 2 kinds of fat that the body stores, brown fat, the good one that which helps retain heat and burns calories, and white fat known as the bad one as it stores up calories and is builds up around the waistline and thighs. By taking cold showers it activates the brown fat in the body which then goes to work on burning energy. The New England Journal of Medicine published a study done in 2009 that found those who took regular cold showers activated brown fat in 23 and 24 participants by a 15-fold increase, meaning someone could lose up to nine pounds in a year.

5. Improves Circulation

Expounding on what was mentioned in the increase of alertness by the blood rushing throughout the body, this helps vastly on improving circulation as well. When your body gets the shock of the cold water, it sends the blood rushing to surround the organs to keep them warm. From the blood rushing everywhere, it can help clear blocked arteries, lower blood pressure and is just all around great for cardiovascular health.

6. Improves Immunity

During a cold shower the body fights to keep itself warm which increases the metabolic rate, this activates the immune system which releases disease fighting white blood cells throughout the body. This can help fight off sickness, such as colds and the flu among other illnesses, overall boosting your immune system.

7. Reduces Muscle Soreness

Believe it or not, cold baths alleviate sore muscles better than hot baths do. It's not going to be as relaxing as a hot bath but the cold water lowers your heart rate while increasing circulation, which minimizes inflammation in the muscles. Alternating between hot and cold water in the shower as well can help delay muscle soreness if you're not all in for a cold bath.

8. Great for Skin and Hair

There are a lot of benefits from cold water towards skin and hair. Hot water says dermatologist Jessica Krant, "strips healthy natural oils from your skin too quickly.” Hot water also has the tendency to dry out skin while cold water helps seal pores on the face and scalp to keep out dirt and other particles. Not only is the cold water great for the skin. it also improves hair follicles as well so they are stronger and less likely to break.

With that, hopefully there will be less college students who are stressed by taking cold showers. Another bonus is that it lowers the water bill too!