THE MAGIC COLD BATH.
I am sometimes accused of being a bit of a faddist about the use of the
cold bath, and possibly the heading of this chapter may give strength
to that opinion. But its exhilarating and health-giving effects really
justify the use of the adjective. The longer I live, and the greater my
experience, the more am I convinced of its virtues. Let me advise every
pupil after exercising, while the body is still hot, to take a cold
bath. It does not matter how much he may be perspiring; the cold bath
will prove exceedingly beneficial. He must be careful, however, not to
take his bath if he is out of breath. The exercises will, no doubt,
quicken the heart’s action; but in from three to five minutes after the
series is completed, the heart should be beating normally again. For
persons who suffer from weak heart I should not advise a cold bath.
As a general rule there is no need to ask the question, “Is my heart
weak?” For if it is weak you should know it beyond a doubt. After every
little exertion, though the assertion may appear paradoxical, you will
feel it beating in your head.
In advising cold baths, I speak, of course, for persons in the
enjoyment of ordinary health. The bath should be begun in the summer
and continued every morning throughout the year. In the winter, if the
room is cold, light the gas and close the window. If your hair is not
injuriously affected by cold water--and in many cases, I believe, cold
water will be found to strengthen it--begin, as you stand over the
bath, by splashing the water five and twenty times over your head. In
any case, if you are averse to wetting the hair, be careful to begin by
sponging the temples and nape of the neck. Next, whilst still standing
over the bath, splash the water fifteen times against the chest and
ten times against the heart. Then jump into the bath, going right down
under the water. In the summer you may remain in the water from ten to
fifteen seconds, but in the winter let it be just a jump in and out
again.
The subsequent rub down with towels is popularly supposed to produce
half the benefits that result from a cold bath. I have no hesitation
in saying that this is a great mistake. Let me explain the reason: As
you get out of the bath you rub down first one part of the body and
then the other, and thus, whilst the one part is being warmed by the
friction, the other is getting cold. Many people who take cold baths
in this way complain of touches of rheumatism, and the whole trouble
arises, I believe, from different parts of the body being alternately
warmed and chilled.
In order to overcome the risk of this ill-effect my advice is this:
Do not spend any time over rubbing yourself down. If you do not like
the idea of getting into your clothes wet, just take the water off the
body as quickly as you possibly can with a dry towel, jump into your
clothes, and let Nature restore your circulation in her own way. You
will get quite as warm by this method as by vigorously rubbing down,
with the added advantage that the heat of the body will be more evenly
distributed. If, owing to poor health or other exceptional causes, the
circulation is not fully and promptly restored, walk briskly up and
down the room. If you should still feel cold in any part of the body
probably the bath is not suited to your constitution, and in that case
it is not advised. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, however, the
cold bath, taken as I have described, will have nothing but the most
beneficial effects; and, if taken every morning throughout the year,
it is the surest preventive that I know against catching cold. On the
other hand, irregularity is liable to produce cold. In short, having
once begun the cold bath, make a rule, summer and winter, never to
leave it off.
Personally, I find the very best form of the cold bath is to get
into your clothes after it without drying the body at all. For the
first moment or two the sensation may not be perfectly agreeable, but
afterwards you feel better and warmer for adopting this method. The
damp is carried away through the clothes and no particle of wet is left.
For pupils who have not the convenience of a bathroom a cold sponging
down may be recommended as a substitute. In this case let two towels
be taken and soaked with water. Rub the front of the body down with
one, and the back with the other. This method prevents the towel
from absorbing the heat from the body, and the cold sponging is thus
distributed evenly over its surface. Afterwards dry the body quickly as
before, letting no time be lost in getting into your clothes.
I have often been asked whether in the event of exercising at night it
is advisable to take a cold bath afterwards. My reply is:—“certainly.”
_Always_ have a cold bath or sponge down after exercising. It will
make you feel “as fresh as paint,” improve your appetite, and make
the skin clean and firm, and be generally conducive to happiness and
good health. Some people tell me that a cold bath immediately before
retiring keeps them awake; if that be so, I should advise them to
exercise earlier in the day. But the exercise and the cold bath ought
to be regarded as inseparable.