Hardening: a relic of the Soviet past or the most accessible spa?

Harden yourself if you want to be healthy! Everyone knows the lines from the song, but few dare to try it out. But maybe it’s not all that scary? After all, hardening is the surest way to boost your immunity naturally.

So it’s time to start weaning off warm apartments and warm sweaters for the sake of a more resilient and healthy body.

How useful is hardening for the human body?

Our skin has a huge number of “cold receptors”, irritating them can affect the whole body. Proper quenching procedures help to strengthen immunity and improve thermoregulation. Also hardening stimulates metabolic processes in the body, tones the blood vessels and heart, strengthens the nervous system. Hardening helps to reduce weight, improve skin tone and give a charge of vigor to the body.

Start hardening can only be absolutely healthy person.

Colds and viral diseases (eg, acute respiratory infections, acute respiratory viral infections, influenza), purulent wounds on the skin will have to be treated before the start of hardening procedures. Also, the procedure is contraindicated for those who suffer from high eye pressure – with a temperature change, the pressure can become even higher, which will provoke retinal detachment. Ischemic heart disease, heart failure, tachycardia – diseases in which hardening the body is strictly prohibited.

Hardening should be gradual

To relieve your body of stress, it is best to start hardening with washing with cold water. You can start with water at room temperature (20-22 ° C), lowering it every day by a degree. When the face gets used to cold water, you can start partial dousing (we will come back to them).

Regularly, systematically, without interruptions

The main thing in hardening is not to stop the procedures. Birthday, business trip or vacation should not interrupt what you have started. Sometimes hardening can cause a runny nose – even this is not a reason to stop the procedures. But a rise in temperature can be an exception!

Of course, you can do walrus, dive into the ice-hole, but there are more accessible, but no less effective ways.

Air baths

Air hardening should be started in a well-ventilated room at a temperature not lower than 15-16°C. At the initial stage, the session should last 3 minutes. Undress and do some “warming” exercises. Outdoor bathing can be started after a month of such preparation. In the cold season, outdoor sessions (on the balcony, for example) can only be carried out after a year of preliminary preparation.

Sprays

The simplest way is a partial dousing. The best time for the procedure is in the morning. Dial cold water from the evening, until the morning it will warm up to room temperature. In the morning pour a few times hands, feet and neck and dry them with a towel. After 2 weeks of hourly dousing, you can start dousing the whole body. Every 10 days, lower the water temperature by 5°C.

Rubbing

Rubbing is useful for everyone who has no skin disorders. The procedure consists of vigorously rubbing the body with a towel soaked in water. Within 2 minutes, you should consistently rub the wet towel to redness and heat flush neck, chest and back, then wipe them dry. Start by wetting the towel with 33-34°C water. Every 10 days you should lower the temperature by 5°C.

Contrast shower

The contrasting effect of water strengthens the heart and blood vessels, triggers metabolic processes in the body due to the rapid blood flow to the organs. The simplest and easiest to understand scheme of the procedure: 10-30 seconds – hot shower, 10-30 seconds – cold shower, repeat the cycle three times.

It is recommended to start with 10 seconds, after 2 weeks to increase the time to 20 seconds, after 2 weeks – up to 30 seconds. Water temperature in the first 2-3 weeks: hot – 40-45°C, cold – 28-30°C. Then you can reduce the temperature of cold water to 15-20°C.

Walking in the cold barefoot

Hardening the feet is a method available to everyone. Pour water at room temperature (20-22°C) at the bottom of the bathtub, stand in it for 2-3 minutes and alternately step from foot to foot. Every 2-3 days reduce the water temperature by 1°C. Gradually you will “reach” the temperature of cold tap water. This method of hardening the body not only helps to improve immunity, but also serves as a preventive measure against flat feet and excessive sweating of the feet.

Scientific view: useful or not?

Today, experts have officially recognized the positive effect of hardening. But you should not immediately run to take an ice bath. Before you decide to engage in hardening, it is worth consulting a doctor. He will tell you about the peculiarities of your body and recommend the most suitable method for you!