A cold morning shower hadn't crossed my mind until my AC broke this week. Hot summer nights make it almost impossible to keep cool. Awhile back my dad reminded me that a cold shower is a great way to cool off from the summer heat. I decided to try it in the morning. It was an invigorating experience. I cooled off, felt more alert and energized too which I didn't expect!

The water is cold, but here's my advice to make the experience more pleasant. Take it slow. When you're in the shower let the water hit your feet first and get used to the temperature. Get your favorite soap, mine is Green Tea Glee because it has peppermint in it and I like the smell. I feel that it helps me to wake up too.

"lather...and rinse"

Get your soap and create a lather. Start at your feet and quickly lather up. You'll start to warm-up your feet.  The water will feel warmer by now because you're massaging your feet by washing and increasing the blood flow. Continue to lather upwards using more and more cold water as you need it. Finally, walk under the shower head and let cold water rinse yourself clean. Green Tea Glee rinses fast and you'll be done quickly. The water should feel warmer at this point and you can stay there a little longer if you want.

"feel good"

After I did this I felt more alert. This definitely helped me to feel good, get cooled off and take away morning grog. I seemed to breathe deeper and my mood felt more elevated. As a bonus, this also helped with post workout recovery pain from leg day exercises earlier in the week. A cold morning shower was not the plan this week, but neither was a broken AC.

Now I'm glad it broke because I was able to remember helpful advice that I can now share with you. I recommend that you plan to take a cold morning shower this summer and whenever you need to cool off, get rid of morning grog and feel more energized!