Cold Exposure
Dopamine is responsible for motivation, memory/learning, and attention/focus and promotes healthy social behavior. Sex, cocaine, chocolate, and exercise are four things that increase dopamine levels by at least two times your usual amount. However, the increase is fleeting, returning to normal after minutes. Unhealthy methods such as cocaine and other recreational drugs will even lower the body’s ability to produce dopamine independently.
Taking cold showers can boost our dopamine levels by up to 2.5 times our baseline with a gradual increase that takes up to three hours to return, with no crash or dependency. Easier said than done, cold showers are hard, but just like anything else in life, when you have a plan, the goal is far more achievable or tolerable in this case.
Step 1: Reinforce your “why”.
Why am I doing this? I am going to sustain short-term discomfort for a potential long-term happiness increase. The more you read up on the benefits, science, and testimonials, the stronger your resolve will be to endure.
Step 2: Baby steps.
I failed the first time I tried cold showers years ago because of a machismo/tough guy attitude, thinking, “I’ll just put the shower on cold and go about my business like a man”—a true bozo’s approach. Our bodies are designed to go into self-preservation mode when we feel the cold—it will not be ignored. Start with just finishing your shower with five deep belly breaths, as cold as you can tolerate the water. Before switching the water to cold begin taking big belly breaths; get lost in your breath. Keep adding five more breaths until you can tolerate the entire shower. Another fun way is to switch to the cold during your favorite part of a song to sign to. Avoid timing yourself; focusing on time is external. We want to tap into our nature internally.
Step 3: Forgive yourself.
If humans never attempted tasks, there would never be progression. Trying difficult things opens the door to failure. Fall in love with the journey, not the results. Comparison is a thief of joy. Your friend may have an easy time with the cold exposure. Jokes on them, the harder perceived, the more measurable benefits can attain.
Step 4: Measure your results.
This stuff works, but everybody is different. Journaling is a beautiful way to record this, but many people don’t have the time or motivation to do so. Make yourself a checklist and fill it out, recording how you feel on cold shower days instead of when you do not. Simply grade the following on a scale of one to five.
Energy (1 is tired, and 5 is full of energy)
Mood (1 is sad, and 5 is jovial)
Efficiency (1 was I got nothing I wanted to get done today, and 5 is I got everything I wanted to get done today)