Stress relief in the now – an instant stress relief series: Take a shower

While I didn’t get the idea for this post while taking a shower, I did get the idea almost immediately after finishing one.  Showers are a miracle of engineering in their own way, who would have thought that we would move from dipping ourselves in water to having water sprayed onto us? What’s more, who would have thought that not only would it clean us but that we would find it quite enjoyable as well?

I don’t know about you but I always find a nice shower to be very soothing and relaxing, whether it is a hot or cold shower depends upon the weather but for the most part I personally am partial to hot showers. I just love the feeling of the warm water washing over me; it almost feels like a gentle message after a long, long day at work. Another great thing about it is that I get some alone time and am able to sort through my thoughts while I am in the shower. But what is it about a shower that makes it so enjoyable that you can feel the tension slowly leaving your body? Surely I’m not the only one that feels this way?

Thankfully I am not and there are others who talk about how a nice shower can help you when you are stressed. First off, we have an article called, “How To Reduce Stress by Taking a Shower” written by Samantha Thompson and posted on stress.knoji.com.  The article talks how a nice shower feels good after a long stressful day; it also talks about how the hot water from a hot shower can help relax your weary muscles which contribute to making you feel more at ease. They also talk about how the smells of the shampoos and soaps can act as a kind of aroma therapy for you.

Next let us look at this article called, “Hot or Cold? The Benefits of Both Kinds of Showers” written by Heather Dale and posted on popsugar.com. As the name suggests, this one lists the benefits of both cold and hot showers. To summarise, these are the benefits they mention:

Hot showers:

1. Relieves tension and soothes sore muscles
2. Studies show that hot showers can increase oxytocin levels in the body and decrease feelings of anxiety
3. The steam from hot showers helps open up your nasal passages

Cold showers:

1. They wake you up and make you mentally alert
2. Studies show that cold water showers can be used to help against depression
3. Cold showers are good for your hair and skin

All in all a nice shower is a good way to help you deal with stress and anxiety, so the next time you feel stressed out at home try taking a nice shower. Apart from your stress and weariness what have you got to lose?