If you want to be healthy – harden yourself!
Since childhood, we have been accustomed to the fact that an integral attribute of a healthy lifestyle is hardening. After all, it is the effect of contrasting temperatures on the human body that helps it stay healthy and young for many years. That is why it is worth learning more about this procedure.
Few people know that hardening can be not only cold but also hot. And despite the fact that both options are beneficial for the body, they have significant differences.
Cold hardening not only puts the body into a state of stress and improves the functioning of the heart and blood vessels, but also eliminates fluid stagnation in the body, which activates metabolism. Cold also improves pulmonary ventilation, helps restore endurance of muscle tissue, and can even change the composition of the blood (cold stimulates the production of white blood cells and red blood cells).
In turn, hot hardening also causes a stress state in the body, affects the functioning of the heart and lungs. But, unlike «cold» procedures, exposure to heat improves vision and has a calming effect on the human psyche. Hot hardening has a complex effect on the condition of human skin – cleanses, disinfects, and stimulates metabolic processes in the surface and deep layers of the skin.
However, no matter how beneficial hardening may seem, you should not start doing it too abruptly. If you decide to try it, but have never even taken contrast showers before, start small. The first step could be trying cold or warm compresses (depending on the hardening method you choose). Compresses can be made at home – you will need a terry towel and a basin of water at the desired temperature. During the first procedures, the towel should cover only certain areas of the body – hands, face, feet, and the temperature should differ from body temperature by only a few degrees. The more procedures you do, the larger areas of the body the towel will cover and the more contrasting the temperature will be.
After compresses, you can gradually move on to the first dousing (the temperature should not cause too much stress to the body). After the body gets used to dousing, you can move on to more serious procedures. After all, hardening knows no bounds.
And, of course, it should be remembered that hardening requires regularity and consistency. Only then will the procedures bring the desired result, and with it health and long youth!
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