The Official Cold Shower Therapy™ Guide

Welcome to the Cold Shower Therapy™ Guide. On this page you’ll find everything you need to know about a concept I call Cold Shower Therapy™. Sounds like torture, huh? So what exactly is Cold Shower Therapy?

Cold Shower Therapy™ in 140 Characters

If you can’t do something uncomfortable and difficult for 5 minutes in the shower, how the hell are you going to do something uncomfortable or difficult in real life?

Who Needs Cold Shower Therapy™?

Everyone. I use it as a litmus test for people. I’ve never met anyone who’s tried it and regretted doing it. Literally no one.

Cold Shower Index

Cold Shower Therapy™ Articles

Cold Shower FAQ

Here are the answers to a few frequently asked questions about cold showers and Cold Shower Therapy™.

How cold does my cold shower have to be?

Really cold.

Wow, that sounds cold.

Yup.

So how cold does it really have to be?

As cold as your shower goes.

What if my shower is extra cold? Like really, really cold?

Sucks to be you.

But seriously? I live in Antarctica.

Say “hi” to a penguin for me.

You’re mean.

OK.

How long do my showers have to be?

Five minutes long.

Do they have to be cold for all of those five minutes?

Yes, that’s what five minutes means.

I don’t have time to do this

Bull. You take a shower every day already. All you have to do is turn it to cold instead of hot. It takes exactly ZERO additional time. The only extra time you’re using up is the time it’s taking you to make excuses.

I think you’re stupid

*High five*

Are you crazy?

Yes.

Is this medically safe?

People can survive hypothermia for thirty to sixty minutes. Your shower is not as cold as a frozen lake and you won’t even get close to hypothermia. You can handle five minutes of being cold. If you must, have a space heater waiting for you when you get out.

Are you a doctor? Why should I listen to you?

I’m not a doctor. I don’t even play a doctor on TV (how lame is that?). As a rule, you shouldn’t believe anything you read on the internet. But your life will suck if you’re not willing to test out crazy ideas. Test everything for yourself and figure out what works for you.

Cold Shower Therapy™ Videos

Cold Shower Video Demonstration

What Does Cold Shower Therapy™ Do Anyways?

3 Health Benefits of Cold Showers

TEDxLUC – How Cold Showers Can Change Your Life

Cold Shower Therapy™ Experiences

Here are a few stories and experiences from readers who have taken the Cold Shower Therapy™ (#cst) challenge.

The Official CST App

Testimonials

“Here’s what I learned: Doing things is not nearly as bad as imagining doing things. We build up in our minds that this will be grueling, agonizing, and more painful than anything else, and so we don’t do it. In reality, our imaginations are so powerful that reality pales by comparison. Once you put your imagination out of the equation and just do the thing, you realize it wasn’t as bad as all that, and there really was no good reason for not doing it sooner. Tell your brain that you appreciate it’s help but you’re going to do it anyway, then do it.” – Sharna What I love about cold showers is that if the first thing you do every morning is something you don’t want to do, you set yourself up for success for the rest of the day; doing things you may not want to do, but know you must do. – Christopher I attempted a cold shower yesterday and for some reason DC water was so fricken cold I nearly blacked out. It was awesome. – Patrick Just finished my thirty days, it was amazing. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. – John 4 days to go. Funny that now it’s just about following through. I keep thinking- only five more, no one will know if I take a warm one, but then I think – I will know. So many good things to say about CST! – Kate “My shower in the Philippines isn’t cold enough, so I took a bucket of water, and threw a block of ice into it to chill it while using a dipper to actually take the shower” – Chiara I tried your cold shower therapy thing this morning just because you mentioned it ALL THE TIME….and I gotta say I felt completely hardcore afterwards. It was awesome. Fully intend to do it again tomorrow – Julie Took the first one of 30 days worth of cold showers this morning. Cursed your name for putting this crazy idea in my head when that first blast of frigid water hit me Emerged feeling invincible. Who knows what changes 30 days of this will bring. Thanks! – Rich Totally worth it. If you are wasting your energy on something in your life, and this will help you stop. You will thank yourself for being such a tough motherf*cker afterward! If you’ve lost your battle cry try #coldshowertherapy. You’ll find it. Trust me. #boom – Vic Magary That was awesome! I cannot believe I went from panic to calm acceptance in 28 days. I feel like a different person. Mission accomplished! – Eva I have been taking cold showers for more than a month now. That alone has made me cut the bull sh*t out of my life. Even people say I’m totally different, and I call people out in the moment. It has made some relationships chafe, but I’m no longer the people pleasing push over I used to be, and I’ve lost some weight. – Montserrat I’ve only taken Cold Showers the past 3 days thanks to Joel Runyon. – Maneesh Sethi A great way to get unstuck, a reminder that I am the only one stopping me from reaching my goals. Brrrrrrrrrrrilliant – Melanie



Take The Cold Shower Therapy™ Challenge