12/06/2022
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Have you ever wondered why cold water seems to make you feel better? When I was a kid in primary school, I remember that whenever a child approached a teacher feeling unwell or upset, the teacher would say "Do you want to go and splash your face with cold water?" I used to think "How is that going to help? Surely the teacher is just trying to get rid of this kid..."⠀
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Well, research actually shows that cold-water face immersion produces physiological changes that help us to relax. It does this by switching off the sympathetic nervous system (responsible for the fight or flight response) and stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system (the part which controls bodily functions). It instantaneously brings down your heart rate to make you feel more calm.⠀
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The specific part of the parasympathetic nervous system that's stimulated is the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is a branching nerve that connects most of the major organs between the brain and colon. It has been described as a mediator between thinking and feeling, so it is frequently referred to when discussing relaxation techniques, in particular, for anxiety.⠀
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Next time you (or your child) are feeling anxious or stressed, try a splash of cold water on your face, a cool shower or bath, or a dip in the ocean. For kids at school, I recommend splashing their face, a cold drink, sucking on ice, or placing an icepack/cold flannel on the back of their neck.⠀
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