Cold water will wake you up
Cold Water Will Wake You Up
Cold water will wake you up unlike anything else. It is an enjoyable moment that is perfect for starting the day as well as for relieving the mind from tiredness during the work day or when burning the midnight oil. If you are thinking that we are looking at cold water splashed on your face, you are only partly correct. For, we are going to be looking at how cold water will wake you up when you drink it right after you wake up. While water is the best thing that you can provide to your body at this early hour, cold water is even more of a great tool when you also want to rouse your body up after a well-deserved sleep.
Through the night, the body has been at work at ridding you of the toxins that have made their way into your system. When you drink water first thing in the morning, you are right away addressing the matter of getting those toxins out. When you drink cold water, it is a value-addition to the water that takes you to the heart of nature like you would if you are drinking water from a natural stream. You can be sure that sweet and chilled water is going to make you feel absolutely raring to go for the day ahead of you.
Your body gets down to work at night
As you sleep, almost every part of the body including facets of the body-mind combination such as memories are all being set right, put in place, weeded out and given the revamp. It is almost as if we are never ever inactive in our lives as the sleep part of our lives can be seen as an idling for the purposes of maintenance. It is just a shift to a different mode of activity. This maintenance activity can be said to be as important if not more than what we accomplish during our waking hours. Imagine if your data store in the brain were to fill up in a few weeks or months. You cannot add new data stores to your brain like you would do with your computer. As a result, daily maintenance is of foremost importance when you have the kind of substances that you are consuming and the memories that are being piled onto your biological system each day. At the end of a busy night of maintenance activity, as you come out of your slumber, it is guaranteed that you need to bring water into the system to replenish the used-up reserves from a full night of full-time work. Cold water will wake you up even better and sync with the lower temperature of your body at the start of the day.
Another important element of the maintenance project of the body at night is that there is no other activity that needs the energy resources of the body. There is no movement, no digestion and no reactions. It is all about getting everything cleaned up and to bring a fully fresh system up for the next brand new day. The only thing that is getting expended in a big way during the night is the reserves of water that permeates your body. At the end of the long night shift, what your body seeks is water and what you seek at the beginning of the new day is a fresh feeling. With the knowledge that cold water will wake you up, you get off to the best possible start to the day as it is a very useful tool in your routine, while the body gets its much-needed refill of water. The more the better it is and you can drink anywhere from 16 to 32 ounces. As we look at the way that water performs various functions, let us focus on the part of the body from where water removes all of the accumulated and gathered toxins in the morning.
Cold water and the colon
The colon is the name of the body part that we know as the large intestine. It is the area where the process of digestion comes to a close. The length of the colon is 1.5 meters. It spans the entire outline of the abdominal cavity. In the colon, the main agents of change are bacteria. They are set upon those parts of the food which have not yet been digested in the previous part of the digestive tract which is the small intestine. All the water that comes into the body makes its way into the colon from where it is removed to be distributed.
When waste material comes into the colon, it is mined for any valuable nutrients which can then be sent to the rest of the body along with the water. The colon is divided into four sections. The third section is where all the faeces are collected after all possible extractions have taken place. The rectum is where the colon ends. Another aspect of drinking cold water at the top of the day is that it contributes to your immune system. Let us now take a look at what the immune system is made up of.
How does the immune system work and what does cold water have to do with it?
This requires that we take a look at the bone marrow. This is the tissue that resides inside your bones. This is where blood cells are produced. What is the main activity of the blood cells? Red blood cells are the transporters of oxygen to all parts of your body. White blood cells are in charge of defending your body. They form your immune system. Among these white blood cells are three types. One of them is a T cell. The other two are natural killer or NK cells and B cells. What these cells of the immune system do is to act against antigens by creating antibodies in response.
When your body has had an infection and it has been cured, the body increases the number of T cells that were involved in fighting the infection. This serves as a flag which makes it possible for the immune system to watch out for a recurrence of the infection. One way in which the body is alerted to a pathogen is by the action of certain molecules which are found the surfaces of cells. These molecules attach to some components of a pathogen and send out the warning signs which are then picked up by the T cells. In looking at the immune system, we also discover the lymphatic system which is a component of the immune system.
The lymphatic system conveys lymph around its network. One of its main roles is to bring plasma, the liquid part of blood, back to blood vessels, from the cells of the body. This liquid that is processed by the lymphatic system is called lymph. It is almost like plasma itself, while containing lymphocytes, which are the white blood cells, and other refuse from the cells. The pathways of lymph are different from the pathways of blood, and constitute the lymphatic system. The bone marrow forms an organ of this system. Another primary organ of the system is the thymus. The B cells that are produced in the bone marrow get into the blood in the lookout for harmful substances. The T cells do not get into the blood immediately but instead go to the thymus where they evolve further.
A whole lot more organs and activities are ongoing all through the night towards the goal of completely ridding you of anything that is not conducive to the proper functioning of the body. Urine and stool are slowly built up with stool getting concentrated as water content is removed consistently through the length of the colon. Older people might need to get up in the middle of the night to urinate. People with such problems will need to avoid intake of fluids a couple of hours before going to sleep. While the body is going through these activities, it needs oxygen all the time which translates to the requirement of smooth and easy breathing while sleeping. Breathing problems while sleeping include snoring and breathing through the mouth. You might even wake up if you are not getting enough air. Other problems that people face during sleep include not being able to get into the deep stage of sleep called REM.
When the morning breaks, your body is in need of water, sunshine and air to shift into the morning mode from the night-long maintenance mode. Cold water will wake you up as well as provide activation to the tongue and the throat. It is a natural way of marking the changeover and is far more effective than any other beverage such as coffee or tea. These represent substances that are just one among the many other ways that you can use to start out the day. But, with water, you are really getting the fundamental elements into the body at a time when it really needs to get some fresh fuel.
With cold water showers, we know that our skin and hair are going to be looking and feeling their very best. When you start your day by drinking cold water and then go in for a cold water shower, you will be giving your body the perfect platform for the day. You can also take it a step further and try out a water therapy that requires you to drink a little more than half a liter of water first thing in the morning and then wait for an hour before drinking or eating. This has been noted as having a very positive effect on the overall immunity of the body.
We all know that practitioners of the martial arts or those involved with the military are put through training regimens that improve their resilience. One of the ways to develop resilience is to drink cold water and shower in cold water. While the latter might seem to be a tough ask, you can be sure that you are making a great investment in your health when you go in for a cold water shower. Of course, you need to have a regular exercise regimen if you are going to try and achieve the fitness levels of a martial art exponent or that of armed forces personnel. Whether you invest the time that is required for a healthy exercise regimen or not, drinking cold water really puts you on a sound footing.
If you create a very comforting routine, one that seeks comfort more than anything else, you will not be adequately equipped to combat the illnesses that you are prone to get in your life time. When you have a healthy physique, it corresponds to a healthy immune system as well. By drinking cold water, you will be taking the initial steps towards a sound immune system, a solid metabolism and of course, it will wake you up well and leave you feeling absolutely ready and refreshed. With a cold water bath, you are even more energetic as well as looking your very best.
With adrenaline getting secreted and blood flow to your brain being boosted, cold water has one of the most profound impacts on you. Cold water will wake you up into a completely fresh state of mind with the least effort. You do not need to make a coffee anymore. All you need to do is to have an insulated cold water bottle made of stainless steel by your bedside and you will have all you need for getting the day started off the right way.