So… you now know that you can cover your body in hot water for nocturnal restfulness.
But did you know that cold water can also do the trick?
I mean – if applied primarily to the face?
The idea’s similar between these two approaches in that they both sucker punch your nervous system. But, whereas a nice, nightly cleaning – compliments of a quick power shower – affects you by recalibrating your thermostat (you cool off after stepping from steam into chilly air), a glacial facial does something a little bit different. See, when you cover your mug in cold water, something nifty happens. It’s this phenomenon called the “mammalian dive reflex”. And what is an MDR exactly? Essentially, it’s this involuntary somatic sorcery we endure when we do an aqueous frosty faceplant.
And how’s that exactly affect sleep?
Well, presumably, if you can’t sleep, it’s often times ’cause you’re still wired from the momentum of the day. The cerebral snowball of thoughts still hasn’t stopped moving. So, though your exhausted body may be ready to rest, your internal systems are all schizophrenic and tearing shreds in the belt of your mental treadmill. If you have the wherewithal to be aware of how your body’s behaving during times like these, you might notice a couple things. Like, the fact that your blood pumper’s practically popping out’ve your chest. Or you’re breathing like a giant grizzly’s after you. This’s all associated with high anxiety. To counteract that madness, you can do a couple’ve things. There’s meditation. Or yoga. There’s even deep breathing exercises. Yes, all of that “internal work” stuff is super effective (provided you’re willing to actually do it). It definitely aids in lessening bedtime stress.
But, then, for those unwilling to take the time to Zen-ify themselves, you can work externally. And that could include the aforementioned hot shower, any number of teas that bring serenity, or – of course – the star of this article: a self-delivered, chilly sink swirly. Because when you do, you activate a mammalian reflex that forces all of those symptoms associated with anxiety to abate.
Many believe this’s the body’s response system to the belief that possible death’s impending. By downshifting your frenetic levels, energy can then be saved for saving yourself from the icy situation at hand – or face in this case. And that’s an interesting thing about this anti-panic reaction, too: it only works on the face.
Researchers’ve tried mimicking it with limbs and got nada on the observation front.
“Scholander found that a person need submerge only his face in water to activate these life-lengthening (and lifesaving) reflexes. Other researchers tried sticking a hand or a leg in the water in an attempt to trigger the reflex, but to no avail. One researcher even put volunteers into a compression chamber to see if pressure alone would trigger a similar diving reflex. No dice. Only water could trigger these reflexes, and the water had to be cooler than the surrounding air. As it turns out, the tradition of splashing cold water on your face to refresh yourself isn’t just an empty ritual; it provokes a physical change within us.”
So, there you go, my friends who’re feeling too hot-headed for bed.
Next time you’re stressed and can’t rest… try some gelid cephalic face scuba.