How to temper the body at home. Hardening the body with cold water for beginners

The question of how to properly temper is asked by almost every person. The main problem is that many people have heard about certain methods of healing the body, but, unfortunately, few people know how to apply them correctly. Of course, with the right approach, hardening is very useful, but with the wrong training, it can cause serious harm. That is why we will dedicate this publication to the consideration of the following points: how to start hardening, what training methods can be used, what fundamental principles should be observed and what precautions should be taken.

Useful properties of hardening training

Before proceeding directly to the methods, you must first understand what is meant by hardening and how such procedures are useful. Hardening itself is a set of measures aimed at improving health. By doing this, a person trains the protective properties of his body, and also teaches him to mobilize all available resources in the event of critical situations. The basis of any hardening procedure is periodic exposure to heat and cold. A large role in such training is played by the sun's rays and the wind. The main result of successful hardening is the rapid adaptation of the body to all kinds of environmental conditions. Thanks to this, a person begins to get sick much less.

However, the general strengthening of the protective properties of the body is far from the only benefit of hardening. Through these training procedures, you can achieve the following goals:

• improve functioning nervous system;
• increase muscle tone;
• normalize the processes of blood circulation;
• stabilize blood pressure;
• improve metabolism;
• increase work capacity;
• noticeably improve mood.

Speaking in a more scientific language, the benefit of hardening is that the human body begins to maintain the temperature of the internal organs at almost the same level. As a result, a hardened person endures sudden warming and cooling without any problems.

However, it is worth remembering that such training in most cases is aimed at preventing the disease, and not at fighting it. Of course, there are exceptions, but we will talk about them a little later. Both an adult and a child can carry out such prevention (although this process is somewhat specific in children).

So, we found out what hardening is for. Now let's find out what fundamental principles must be followed in such training.

The main rules of hardening

There are only 8 principles that everyone who decides to temper should know. Compliance with them is mandatory if you want classes to be beneficial, not harmful. These principles look like this.

1. It is necessary to undergo hardening procedures only in the absence of concomitant diseases.
2. The whole hardening process must be properly understood and carried out consciously. The effectiveness of any technique depends primarily on the proper morale. If we talk about adults, then they should not have problems with this. But if you need to teach children to harden, then complications are not uncommon. This is easily explained, because children are unlikely to enjoy exposing themselves to cold water or air. In such cases, the parents should set up the child. It should be as tactful as possible to tell children about the benefits of hardening.
3. Consistency is an important criterion for success. Any program should be carried out according to the schedule without long breaks.
4. Regardless of which method you prefer, the sequence must always be followed. For example, if you are going through a hardening of the body with cold water, start with water at a moderately low temperature. Gradually lower it over time.
5. Always Consider individual characteristics of your body.
6. When you start to harden, do not forget to control your well-being.
7. Try to combine different methods hardening of the body.
8. When performing procedures, it is recommended to perform auxiliary actions.

Understand the principles. Now let's find out how to start hardening correctly and how to improve the result.

Effective hardening techniques

So, we found out why you need to train your body with low temperatures. Now we need to find out how exactly the hardening of the body can take place and where it is best to start. There are such hardening methods:

• taking air baths;
• wiping with a damp towel;
• washing with cool and cold water;
• contrast procedures;
• visiting baths and saunas;
• swimming in the hole.

It may seem to inexperienced people that hardening can be started with any of the methods mentioned. However, it is not. One of the listed principles mentioned that the impact low temperatures should be gradual. Otherwise, hardening will only bring harm. The basic rule of hardening is that the body gradually prepares for extreme conditions.

By and large, strengthening the protective functions of the body is similar to exercising in the gym. You will not immediately take a huge weight, because the muscles simply will not be ready to withstand it. A similar principle should apply in the hardening process. You should start small, and then slowly complicate the conditions. Extreme care must be taken when training children. Too extreme temperature conditions will cause serious harm to a fragile body.

What is the best place to start?

Air baths are ideal for starting hardening. Take them in the morning on the street at a relatively low temperature. For adult men and women, the optimal temperature is 14-16 Cº, for children - 20-22 Cº. This means that adults can start such training in the middle of spring or autumn, and children in late spring, summer or early autumn.

For the procedure, special places should be selected, because. you have to take off your clothes. In addition, the hardening effect will be fully achieved only when performing light physical exercises. The first time the procedure should last 2-3 minutes. Then the duration can be increased to half an hour. Despite the fact that this technique is initial, it can bring both benefit and harm. In particular, you should not go outside at very low temperatures so as not to freeze. In addition, the exercises must be performed without excessive fanaticism, so as not to sweat.

When the temperature outside is too low, air baths can be replaced by rubbing with a damp towel. This technique is also recommended to be used in the morning. It can be an initial training point for children who have weak immune systems. With this procedure, it is necessary to moisten a towel with cool water (23-25 ​​Cº) and wipe the entire body. Every week you need to lower the water temperature by 1-2 Cº.

Hardening with water procedures

Water hardening is the basis of training your body. It includes several techniques at once, but it is better to start in the recommended order. So, inexperienced people are best to choose cold and hot shower. It must be taken according to the following rules:

• 14 days you need to bathe under a moderately warm shower;
• then start turning on cold water in the shower and stand under it for 10 seconds;
• gradually increase the duration of exposure to cold water (up to a maximum of 1 minute).

When the initial hardening with water is over, you can proceed to dousing. They will subject your body to more serious tests, but thanks to the soul, it will already be ready for them. A natural question arises: how to douse with cold water.

You should start with dousing with warm water. It is necessary to carry out the procedure every morning, but if you want to achieve the desired result faster, you can repeat it in the evenings. Before dousing yourself, you need to slightly warm up your body. This is good for light exercise. Engage in preliminary physical education without fanaticism, so as not to sweat. When your body is warm, pour a bucket of warm water over yourself. You do not need to wipe yourself after the procedure. When the body's resistance is at its maximum, you can switch to dousing with ice water.

Another in a good way hardening is a visit to the sauna, which has a pool of cold water. The effect will be similar to taking a contrast shower, but the contrast itself will be higher. Bathing in cold water after staying in a hot room will have a beneficial effect on immunity, give strength and vigor.

If you properly harden with cold water, then over time you can try the toughest hardening method - swimming in an ice hole. Such a water test will force the body to experience the most extreme conditions that neither dousing nor swimming in the pool can provide.

Learn more about these methods

If you answer the question regarding whether pouring water is useful, then the answer will definitely be yes. The benefits of dousing with cold water are many. In particular, thanks to this procedure, you can:

• relieve nervous tension;
• eliminate fatigue;
• increase efficiency;
• strengthen immunity.

But that's not all. Under certain conditions, doctors allow dousing with cold water for hypertension. If you follow all these recommendations (start pouring warm water over it, and then gradually cool it), you can achieve amazing results. In particular, improve blood circulation, normalize metabolism and, most importantly, stabilize blood pressure. In the absence of additional complications, cold water treatment will pass relatively quickly.

People suffering from high blood pressure, one more point may be of interest: is it possible to visit baths with hypertension. In principle, doctors allow visiting saunas, because. baths have more humid air, and patients may develop a hypertensive crisis.

How to temper at home? This is a difficult question for those who are used to cozy heated apartments, warm sweaters and jackets.

On the one hand, why do we need hardening at all?Specially cool yourself, test for strength, torment the body, over and over again lowering the temperature?

On the other hand, look at street animals. Their standard of living is not the best, but they do not know what a cold or bronchitis is.

Now look at yourself again.A little draft - snot, - temperature. Somehow it doesn't work well.

The effect of controlled exposure to cold on the human body

Scientists have long proven that temperature changes cause the activation of the body's defenses.

Maintaining the influence of this irritant always leads to an improvement in disease resistance.

Such activation, regulated by the person himself, with a competent approach, leads to a favorable state of the internal organs. Simply put, tempering is useful.

And you will experience the following positive changes:

1. Vessels. From the temperature drop, their walls are sharply compressed and relaxed, this strengthens them. Capillaries and skin maintain elasticity and youth. And we have them, for a moment, there are 100 thousand kilometers!
2. Heart. If you measure the level of the pulse after dousing, you will notice how much it has become more frequent. Hardening affects the speed of heart rate, the strength of each push and is able to heal and increase the tone of the main human muscle.
3. Blood. Improves the number of leukocytes and blood cells. Healthy blood circulation is accelerated, congestion is destroyed, internal organs are washed with blood, which contributes to the delivery of nutrients.
4. muscles. Many "walruses" note that after a certain period of dousing and diving into the hole, their physical strength increased. Here, the increase in regeneration in the body, the constant enrichment of cells with blood, the alternation of "strong tension-complete relaxation" play a role.
5. Metabolism. It increases, toxic elements are removed from the body, nitrogen from food is better absorbed.
6. Psyche. After such procedures, a person feels completely relaxed. His sleep is strong, and he wakes up cheerful and fresh.

Who can be tempered

In addition to medical contraindications (tumors, inflammation, blood diseases), it is worth considering your type of psyche personally.

Hardening is ideal for calm,. People with increased nervous excitability should think twice before starting hardening.

This is especially true for children, who may be suitable for completely different health hobbies, for example, sports.

Tip: carefully analyze your health before.

Rules for any hardening procedures

Perhaps this is not the first time you ask yourself the question, how to start tempering yourself at home, and think that you are fully prepared for the method.

However, do not forget about the psychological side of the issue.

Yes, we tend to be afraid. It seems that it is already in the human genes - to run from the cold to your warm nest.

But as practice shows, comfort in large quantities does not bring anything but laziness and excessive relaxation of the body. As a result, we get illness, apathy and.

1. Always warm up before the procedure. Insufficient preparation of the body before dosed cooling is a common mistake.
2. It is ideal to do this with simple warm-up exercises: turn your arms, legs, pelvis, rub your body until it feels hot and take a moderately hot shower. You must not sweat.
3. Please note that different parts of the body have their own temperature: the stomach is hot, the feet and legs, on the contrary, are cool, etc.
4. When you heat the surface of the skin, it will fill with blood and the vessels will respond more readily to the cold.
5. If you harden on a cool body, vasospasm will occur, there will be no correct reaction to your actions.

How to temper at home with cold water?

1. Warm up, squat, walk, dry naturally.
2. After that, you can even crawl under the covers to restore blood circulation. After 20 minutes you will feel that it is getting hot - get up and get dressed.
3. So you will not get sick, even if you are new to this business. It is also important to keep your head cool in parallel to avoid blood stasis or even vascular disturbances.
4. Start at the top of your head, then your shoulders, chest, and the rest of your body. If you do not plan to douse your head, wash your face and moisten the cervical region.
5. This is especially true for people with diseased, inelastic vessels.
6. Increase the duration and strength of tempering procedures gradually.
7. Hardening increases only if this mandatory rule is followed.
8. At the same time, it is important not to get stuck in one place and constantly move forward, lowering the degrees.
9. Try not to dry yourself with a towel afterwards.

Also consider the following:

1. Invigorating procedures such as hardening with cold water are best done in the morning, immediately after waking up. At this time, the body is still evenly warm, the response of the body will appear much more readily.
2. Hardening with hot water is possible before going to bed. This will make it easier to fall asleep.
3. Use not only controlled cooling, but also body heating. Porfiry Ivanov, the creator of the notorious health system, argued that the sauna or bath cleanses, and the cold removes mucus and toxins.
4. Pay special attention to the neck, feet and palms as areas equipped with a large number of reflex points. They have a significant impact on many internal systems.
5. During menstrual cycle you can continue the padding, but exclude procedures that can cause an influx or outflow of blood from the pelvic area.

Advice: start to harden, moving from sunbathing in summer to air - in autumn and - in winter.

How to temper at home from scratch?

You should start small, the first step can be partial rubdowns.

Warm up as indicated earlier, and take water in the palm of your hand. Forcefully splash it on yourself, then rub the skin until completely dry.

Start with the largest areas and work your way down to the smallest.For example, chest, abdomen and ending with arms.

Treat your back with a wet towel.

Start at room temperature at 20°C and lower this line by a few points with each subsequent time.

Achieve the state when the skin quickly turns red. This means that the body has responded to your efforts. It is incredibly beneficial for circulation.

Dip it in water and tie it around your body the way you tie a bath towel after a shower.

Intensively rub the body through it until you feel the heat. This rubdown is ideal for the elderly and debilitated people.

If possible, ask for help. The temperature limit starts around 15°C and decreases, gradually reaching 10–12°C.

After mastering this point, you can move on to more serious ones:

1. Preferably choose for douches early morning, 6-7 hours is the ideal time. If it is more convenient for you to exercise in the evening, make sure that it takes place 3 hours before bedtime, otherwise you will toss and turn in bed until midnight.
2. Warm up the body with rubbing and exercise.
3. Fill with water at the selected temperature (below 10°C) plastic basin or bucket. The main thing is to keep it comfortable.
4. Get on your knees, between your heels or on them, gently pour water on yourself, starting at the top of your head, and go down. The procedure lasts a few seconds, no more. If you don't want to get your head wet, wash your face and pour it over your neck.
5. You can also plunge into the bath with your head. Water should completely cover the body, and the duration of exposure should not exceed 15 seconds.
6. After a bath or douche, run, jump, shake the press.
7. An excellent solution would be charging with dumbbells. This further activates the bodily response to the action. You will be better cleansed and energized for the whole day.

How to temper at home from scratch for children?

Raising a healthy child

How to temper at home for children? Sometimes it’s even scary to talk about this topic.

How is it possible to take a warm favorite lump and pour a tub of cold water on it?

Even thinking about this is scary, but this is an important condition for health. For example, the Yakuts dipped a newly born baby in snow and water and immediately wrapped it in skins.

D The children grew up and were in excellent health! In Siberia, people with poor immunity do not live long. What do we have?

With us, the baby is wrapped up as warmly as they can, put in diapers in a heated room, and God forbid an open window somewhere!

But the truth is that from the first minute of life, a child is ready for the most severe trials of a new reality for him.

His immunity works to its fullest and if this connection with nature is not interrupted, he will work like this all his life.

And it’s worth starting not with hardening, but with organizing for the child’s existence.

Such “natural upbringing” is often at odds with pediatrics, but those parents who are seriously concerned with the health of their child are surprised how they “worked for a pharmacy” for so long, because the process itself is simple, and the result will not keep you waiting.

Rules to how to properly temper at home for a child:

1. Start by increasing your physical activity. Let him finally learn what long walks on the street are.
2. Do not be afraid of light rain or wind. This is nature: both you and your child are part of it. In almost any kindergarten or school, sports are clearly not enough.
3. Give the baby to the section or circle. Believe me, the sooner you start, the stronger your immunity will be in the future.
4. Clothing should protect, but not restrict movement. If you are going to walk, remember that the baby should not sweat, but he will move actively. It would be reasonable to gradually reduce the number and thickness of clothing, observing the well-being of the child.
5. Nutrition is another "pillar" on which health is based. Never force a child to eat if he does not want to. Does not eat - did not spend enough energy. Force-feeding will lead to another problem in the future - eating disorders.

If you are sure that you have fulfilled all the previous conditions, you can proceed to direct hardening:

1. In infancy, start with air baths, gradually increasing the amount of time spent on this from 5 minutes and above at 20°C then move on to walking barefoot around the house.
2. Hot and cold wipes are good: dip a towel in water and quickly wipe the baby. You can start at room temperature and gradually lower it.
3. In case of hot rubdown - use 40°C and duration about 4 minutes. This is an evaporative technique according to K.V. Plekhanov.
4. Douching is carried out according to the type of adults, but with milder temperatures.

Advice: practice the child on the street, it tempers.

How to properly and safely temper at home with cold water, will help to understand video on this topic:

Hardening is an opportunity to train the body with the help of some natural factors. This is a whole complex of preventive procedures that strengthen the immune system, increase resistance to adverse effects. environment, improve thermoregulation and the ability to adapt to different environmental conditions.

Of course, this is a very healthy procedure. But you need to know exactly how to properly temper at home.

HOW TO CORRECTLY HARDEN AT HOME: THE MAIN TYPES OF HARDENING

Tempering can be done in different ways, depending on which natural element helps to heal the body. There are 4 main types of procedures.

Aerotherapy, or air procedures. This is the easiest way to harden, suitable for everyone and has no contraindications. It means air baths and walks in the fresh air. Aerotherapy helps to saturate the blood with oxygen, strengthen the immune system, and improve the general condition of the body.

Heliotherapy, or exposure to the sun's rays on the body. Such procedures should be carried out with caution - excess sun can lead to overheating, burns and sunstroke. But the moderate effect of solar heat relieves tension and stress, tones the body, speeds up metabolism, increases resistance to negative environmental factors.

Walking barefoot. This procedure, known since childhood, is used in various methods as effective remedy hardening. When walking barefoot, biologically active points on the feet of a person are activated, which affect the work of all body systems. The result is increased immunity and resistance to colds.

HOW TO CORRECTLY STEP AT HOME: TYPES OF WATER TREATMENTS

According to the degree of impact on the body, water procedures for hardening at home can be divided into 4 types.

Rubdown - the most sparing water procedure, it can be carried out even for small children. It consists in rubbing the body with a towel moistened with cold water.

Pouring can be general and local, affecting only certain parts of the body. But in any case, this is a more effective hardening procedure than rubdown.

Cold or contrast shower gives an even greater effect, since cold water acts on the body for quite a long time.

Winter swimming - the most extreme hardening procedure. It requires mandatory consultation with a doctor and strict adherence to all his prescriptions. But the result of such a procedure will be the most noticeable: the work of the cardiovascular and respiratory system, the body will be resistant to all colds. You do not have to swallow tablets and.

HOW TO START HARDENING AT HOME CONDITIONS FOR ADULT: BASIC RULES OF HARDENING

There is a proverb: if you do not know the ford, do not go into the water. In order for hardening procedures to bring the maximum benefit to the body, it is necessary to follow a number of basic rules and recommendations. Otherwise, you can only harm your health. Therefore, you need to know how to properly temper at home.

THIS IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW:

You can start hardening at home only when the body is completely healthy. In the presence of chronic diseases you must definitely consult a doctor and start hardening with the most gentle and gentle procedures. If you have, then be careful.

It is necessary to increase the intensity of hardening procedures at home gradually. It is recommended to start with a comfortable temperature, every day lowering it by 1-2 degrees. The duration of the procedure can be increased over time, but also little by little.

Continuity is the main rule for effective hardening. Procedures should be carried out daily, a break is allowed only in case of health problems.

Hardening brings maximum benefit to the body when used in combination with other recreational activities: physical exercises, rejection bad habits.

It is necessary to control the state of the body during and after the procedures. If you experience any ailments, you should consult a doctor so as not to aggravate the situation.

The main thing is the right mental attitude. Proper hardening at home will bring more benefits to those who perform the procedures consciously and with pleasure.

Hardening at home is one of the most ancient healing methods, the effectiveness of which has been proven by centuries of practice. With proper home hardening procedures, this is the easiest, cheapest and most fast way maintain and improve health

On our skin there is a huge number of so-called "cold receptors", irritating which you can affect the entire body. If you carry out tempering procedures correctly, you will help strengthen the immune system and improve thermoregulation (the body's ability to maintain a constant temperature under various environmental conditions). In addition, hardening stimulates metabolic processes in your body, strengthens the nervous system, tones the heart and blood vessels, eliminates arrhythmia. Finally, hardening promotes weight loss, improves skin tone and gives the body a charge of vivacity.

To begin with, there are simple rules for hardening the body, which everyone should know about. If you decide to douse yourself with cold water (or choose other types of hardening - we'll talk about them below), keep in mind:

1. You can start tempering only when you are absolutely healthy.

Colds and viral diseases(for example, acute respiratory infections, acute respiratory viral infections, influenza), purulent wounds on the skin will have to be cured before the start of hardening procedures. Also, hardening of the body is contraindicated for those who suffer from increased eye pressure- with a temperature difference, the pressure can become even higher, which will provoke retinal detachment. Hypertensive patients, hypotensive patients and those who suffer from kidney diseases should consult a therapist before proceeding with the procedures. Ischemic disease hearts, heart failure, tachycardia - diseases in which hardening of the body is strictly prohibited.

2. Start hardening gradually to relieve the body of stress

If your body is not distinguished by good health, start strengthening it by yourself. in a simple way- accustom yourself to washing with cold water (do it gradually - let the water be at room temperature 20-22 ° C at first, then lower it by about a degree every day). Eventually, you'll get used to washing your face with cold tap water and be able to move on to the next step without negative consequences for the body.

3. Carry out hardening procedures regularly, systematically, without interruptions

If you have already decided, then temper yourself daily, in any weather and in any conditions. Even on a trip or hike, you must continue what you started, and what kind of procedure it will be - walking barefoot or wiping with a towel - decide for yourself. Keep in mind that hardening can cause a runny nose, but this is not a reason to stop the procedure. An exception may be temperature rise.

Varieties of hardening procedures

Let's put aside such extreme procedures as winter swimming and talk about procedures that are easy to perform and accessible to everyone.

1. Air baths

Air hardening should be started in a well-ventilated room at a temperature not lower than 15-16°C. At the initial stage, the session should last 3 minutes (over time, you will increase it to 5 minutes). After undressing, do some vigorous "warming" exercises (walking in place, squats, push-ups - whatever your heart desires). You can start taking baths in the open air after at least a month of such preparation.

If you start to harden now, then by the summer you will be able to switch to air baths on the street - it is recommended to start taking them at a temperature of 20-22 ° C. The first session - no more than 15 minutes (and only if you prepared the body with winter home workouts), subsequent air baths can be longer (add 1-2 minutes every day).

In the cold season, outdoor sessions (on the balcony, for example) can be carried out only after a year of preliminary preparation (start from 1 minute and gradually increase the “dose” to 15 minutes).

2. Rubbing

Rubbing is useful for everyone who has no contraindications and - especially - violations of the skin. The procedure consists in vigorously rubbing the body with a towel dipped in water. Rub the neck, chest and back in succession with a wet towel for 2 minutes until redness and warmth, then pat them dry. Repeat the procedure with the hips and legs.

First moisten the towel with water, the temperature of which is 33-34°C, gradually (every 10 days) lowering the temperature by 5°C, so you bring it to 18-20°C. Having fixed the result within 2-3 months, you can proceed to lower the degree of water to cold - also once every 10 days, continue to lower it by 5 ° C.

3. Pouring

The easiest way for beginners is partial pouring. Best time for the procedure - morning. I recommend preparing water in the evening: take a bucket of cold tap water (it will warm up to room temperature overnight). In the morning, pour several times over your arms, legs and neck and rub them dry with a towel. After 2 weeks of daily dousing, you can start dousing the whole body.

With regard to temperature, the effectiveness of hardening increases as the contrast between body temperature and water temperature increases. Every 10 days, as with rubdowns, lower the water temperature by 5°C. Make sure that the air temperature in the room is not lower than 20 ° C - this way you will avoid hypothermia.

4. Contrast shower

The contrast effect of water strengthens the heart and blood vessels, starts metabolic processes in the body due to the rapid flow of blood to the organs. Do not linger for a long time on individual parts of the body, successively pour a stream of water from the shower over yourself. The simplest and most understandable scheme of the existing procedure, in my opinion, is this: 10-30 seconds - a hot shower, 10-30 seconds - a cold shower, repeat the cycle three times.

Start with 10 seconds, after 2 weeks increase the time to 20 seconds, after another 2 weeks - bring it to 30 seconds. Water temperature in the first 2-3 weeks: hot - 40-45°C, cold - 28-30°C. You can then lower the temperature of the cold water to 15-20°C.

5. Barefoot in the cold

Stop hardening is a method accessible to everyone. Pour water at room temperature (20-22 ° C) on the bottom of the bath, stand in it for 2-3 minutes and alternately step from foot to foot. Lower the water temperature by 1°C every 2-3 days. Gradually, you "reach" the temperature of cold water from the tap.

A nice bonus - this method of hardening the body not only improves immunity, but also serves as a prevention of flat feet and hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) of the feet.

Hi all! The article “Hardening with cold water for beginners” is about the most important thing for the health of each of us - the development of immunity.

1. Hardening of the body is a strengthening of the immune system

Today we will talk about how to start hardening with cold water. As soon as autumn comes and we start sneezing and coughing, many immediately rush to the pharmacy for antiviral drugs and vitamins. After all, everyone knows that the immune system of our body is responsible for resistance to colds and it must be strengthened.

It's no secret to anyone that immune system a person can be trained in the same way as muscles. You just need to pick working methodology, which include hardening with cold water. Many have heard about dousing and wiping, that the "walruses", swimming in the winter in the hole, almost do not get sick.

And a couple of years ago, a story about a Belarusian kindergarten was broadcast on television, where barefoot preschoolers were engaged in exercises in the snow. It seems that such stories should have reassured those who are afraid of catching a cold from such procedures, but there are no more people who want to become tempered.

In this article I want to talk about my own experience, which helped to improve health, as well as some basic techniques.

Hardening is the effect on our body alternately of cold and heat. The correct start of hardening is the same alternations, but with a slight difference in temperatures.

2. The benefits and harms of hardening

I remember how a friend recommended to her relative for the prevention of colds, to run every day in the snow or dew around the house. She was already afraid of catching a cold, but the authority of the person was so strong that she tried it and almost forgot about the sore throat.

Another friend told how, on the advice of a doctor, she began to harden her throat, eating a portion of ice cream every day - and cured chronic tonsillitis. Such examples suggested that it is worth gathering together information about how hardening is useful and how it can harm a person. But first I want to remind you what are the indications and contraindications for this.

Rule number 1 Most important:

To determine if you can be tempered with water, consult a doctor.

• - purulent chronic otitis, acute inflammation upper respiratory tract;
• — serious illnesses of cardio-vascular system with symptoms of decompensation;
• - inflammation of the central and peripheral nervous system;
• - severe illness endocrine system (diabetes, thyrotoxicosis);
• active tuberculosis, pneumonia bronchial asthma;
• - venereal diseases;
• - severe post-burn scars on the skin;
• - exacerbation of inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract (cholecystitis, peptic ulcer).

But even a completely healthy person should not start water procedures if he has a coronary vascular spasm, there are violations of thermoregulation with vegetative manifestations, cramps in the muscles of the lower leg, cold allergies.

There are no direct indications for hardening of the body, it is carried out only at the request of a person. But in the event that you want to start pouring water on a child, you need to monitor the following indicators:

• - mood (from cheerful to depressed);
• - well-being (from vigorous to general weakness);
• fatigue (normal to constant fatigue);
• appetite (from good to total absence);

- sleep (from calm to constant arousal and sleep disturbances). If the baby does not respond well to procedures for these indicators, you need to reduce their duration or stop completely. Hardening of children can be started almost from birth and the first baths, but this must be done systematically, very slowly increase the duration of exposure to cold and it is better to turn the procedure into a game.

3. A bit of history

For a long time, people have been thinking about how to make their body stronger and more resistant to the harsh conditions of the outside world. Even in ancient Rome and Greece there was a cult of a beautiful body - the whole Lifestyle in these cultures was aimed at educating strong and healthy members of society.

In Sparta, newborns with defects were thrown off a cliff, and boys were forced to always walk barefoot and almost without clothes to make them more resilient.

In ancient India, the hardening of Brahmins was part of their religious upbringing, along with the ability to completely control their bodies, and water was considered a cure for almost all diseases.

Hardening was no less popular among the Jews, Chinese and Egyptians - in any culture you can find descriptions of water procedures to improve health.

And in Russia for a long time they practiced rubbing with snow or swimming in the river in summer or winter. But another equally well-known method has survived to this day - a bathhouse, where hot steam is combined with bathing in cool water. The bath helps to cleanse the body, helping to remove toxins from it through sweat, stimulates the work of internal organs.

At the end of the 20th century, the Ivanov system became popular, which offered to swim twice a day in the nearest river or walk barefoot in the snow. He also told how useful for men and women is not only swimming in the cold, but also giving up bad habits and fasting one day a week. His technique found many followers at that time, but over time it was gradually forgotten.

Although it is believed that dousing according to the Ivanov system is suitable for everyone from any age, no one can swim in cold water twice a day, including in an ice hole in winter, without preparation.

4. Hardening the body with cold water for beginners

4.1 Basic rules for beginners

Beginners need to understand , how to start the procedures correctly, because you can’t just decide that tomorrow you start swimming in the hole every day - and the body will easily accept it. The best time of the year for beginners when you can try to get used to the cold is summer, and start dousing better with simple washing in the morning with cold water. Before you start cold dousing, you need to remember a few simple rules:

- in order for the procedures to be useful, they can only be done healthy people, after a flu or a cold, it is better to wait 2-3 months;

• - you need to repeat them every day, because the whole positive effect can disappear from breaks;
• - the body must be accustomed to cold gradually;
• - a person should be in good health, if weakness or malaise appears - everything must be stopped;
• - consult your doctor in advance about your health and check if the cold will harm him;
• - It is better to engage in some kind of sport to enhance the strengthening effect.

It is better to start with a contrast shower or pouring over certain parts of the body, such as legs. And some experts believe that the correct start of water hardening is rubbing with a wet towel, followed by rubbing the skin dry. I will dwell in more detail on the main methods.

4.2 Dousing with cool water

4.2.1 Basic rules for pouring

The most popular method is dousing with cool water.

But dousing with cold water is not suitable for beginners, it is better to start with wiping.

It is both general and local. For the first, not only the temperature of the water, but also the air in the room is important: it should not be lower than 23-25 ​​° C. water on the first day is heated to 36 ° C, and reduced slowly - by 1 ° C per week, bringing it to cool (18 ° C). Douches can be replaced with the same cool shower, which can be taken 2-3 minutes a day.

Before starting the douche, it is worth remembering the row important rules:

• - do not pour water on your head because of the risk of a sharp vasoconstriction;
• - do not start with a sharp dousing with cold water, you need to get used to the coolness gradually;
• - kids and old people should not lift weights with water above themselves, so they must resort to the help of outsiders;
• - any drafts in the douche room should be avoided;
• - at any temperature of the water, a person should not experience discomfort.

If there are contraindications for general douche, you can do local hardening of the legs.

It has a reflex effect on the whole body. Contrasting douches with a change of warm water (36 C) to cool water (20-25 ° C) are especially useful. You need to finish this effect by rubbing your feet with a dry towel or a good massage.

4.2.2 Pouring children

In this way, it is good to harden children, once a month increasing the temperature gap by one degree, until it is 15-20 ° C. The main thing is to do the procedure regularly and do not forget - if the pause in hardening is very long, you will have to start over.

In children, it is better to turn such hardening into an interesting game in order to cause a positive attitude and an overall good reaction. For the first time, this can be done in the bathroom with warm water from a ladle for half a minute.

Its temperature for the first time should not be lower than 36-37 ° C, and it must be reduced very slowly - by 1 degree in 1-2 weeks, gradually bringing it to 28 ° C.

You can’t start with a liquid even at room temperature, it’s easier to make a contrast shower, in which the difference between warm and cool water will be no more than 4 degrees. For example, if you have a shower comfort zone of 36-38 degrees, and make a contrast zone of 34-32 ° C.

Cold and hot shower

4.3 Wiping with a damp towel

4.3.1 How to wipe yourself

Another method is wiping with a damp towel. First you need to wet a large terry towel in water at a temperature of 35-36 ° C, and then wipe your whole body with it. After that, the skin is rubbed with a dry towel until the capillaries dilate and slightly redden. The temperature is reduced by one degree per day and brought to 10 ° C.

For wiping, in addition to a towel, a damp sponge or a soft flannelette glove, which is soaked in fairly warm water (on the first day - 32 ° C), is suitable. It is better to start by rubbing your hands, then go to your back and stomach and finish with your feet. The body is rubbed for 2 minutes, and then wiped dry to a slight reddening of the skin and a feeling of warmth to it. Subsequently, the temperature is reduced every day by 1°C, bringing to 18°C.

4.3.2 Snow wiping

If you decide to wipe yourself with snow, then you need to bring it into the room in a bucket or basin, and then wipe your body with it for 15 seconds. At the same time, the face is wiped with the first handful, the second - chest and the stomach, the third - the shoulders, the fourth - the arms. Gradually, the time can be brought up to 30 seconds. And in a couple of weeks it will be possible to rub even on the street, if the body's reaction to the procedure is good.

4.3.3 Wiping children

It is recommended to rub small children first with a dry towel so that the baby does not have further fear of the procedure. It is better to start with the legs and arms, and then rub the torso. After a couple of days, you can take a wet towel, the water temperature for which for the first time should be 36 ° C.

Then it is gradually reduced (by 1°C in 5 days), bringing to 28°C. The duration of the procedure cannot exceed 2 minutes, it is recommended to do it for babies, starting from 2-4 months. If a child has rashes, chills, diarrhea, exacerbation of colds, it is better to stop wiping.

4.3.4 Local rubdowns

4.3.4.1 Foot rubdowns

Local rubdowns are usually hardening of the legs, it is recommended for frequent sore throats for a reflex effect. To do this, the legs to the knees are rubbed with a cool, damp towel for 3 minutes, and then wiped dry.

Start with a temperature of 37 ° C, then lower by a degree per week, bring to 28 ° C. This technique is used to prepare for foot baths, in which the first temperature is also 37 ° C, it is done for 6-8 minutes, and then, lowering it by a degree per week, it is brought to 14 ° C.

Rubdown

4.3.4.2 Rubbing feet

You can also start by hardening your feet, which is useful for those who often have a sore throat. I would like to explain what this method gives: cooling the legs causes a reflex narrowing of the vessels of the tonsils of the pharynx, causing a violation of local immunity, and can contribute to its inflammation.

And warming the feet gives blood flow not only to them, but also to the throat, improving its work. lymphatic system. By making our feet more resistant to stress such as cold with contrast douches, we will automatically protect ourselves from colds.

You can start pouring feet with warm water (25-28°C), lowering the temperature by 1°C per month, bringing it to 13-15°C. After each douche, rub the skin on the legs with a towel until it turns red and feels warm.

Stop hardening - pleasant with useful

4.4 What does a cool bath do?

This is a longer, and much more powerful technique, which means that it can only be started by those who have no contraindications. If you do not dare to start with a general bath, you can do a local one, for example for legs , which is useful and no less effective.

To do this, take a bucket or a basin so that you can immerse not only your feet in water, but also your shins to the knees. They start with water at 28-30 ° C, lowering it by a degree per week, for babies under 3 years old it should not be lowered below 20 ° C, for children under 5 years old - 18 ° C. The procedure in children is carried out for 15-30 seconds, adults can be in cool water for 2-4 minutes.

General baths at 38 ° C are recommended even for newborns, if warm water is added, it can be taken up to 12 minutes. With this procedure, not only the temperature is reduced by a degree in 5 days, bringing it to 30 ° C, but also the duration of stay in it is reduced to 6 minutes.

Bathing in a river or lake in the warm season can be equated to a bath. Babies under 3 should not do this, but after reaching this age they are often taken to the beach.

It is worth remembering that letting the child into the water is allowed only when the air temperature is above 25 ° C, and the water is 23 ° C. But even then, children should not be allowed to sit in the water for more than 15-20 minutes, as then they risk catching a cold.

4.5 Gargling

Not quite a traditional local douche is a gargle, which helps to make the body more resistant to many infections. First rinse with warm water - 40 ° C, gradually lowering it by 1 degree every 3 days. For children, it is brought to 15 ° C, and for adults it can be lowered to 10 ° C.

Such rinsing helps to significantly reduce the number of exacerbations of chronic tonsillitis and pharyngitis. To enhance its effect, medicinal herbs with an anti-inflammatory effect (chamomile, nettle, calendula or St. John's wort), as well as sea salt or a few drops of iodine, are added to the water.

Over time, rinsing can be replaced by dissolving ice cubes in the mouth of such a size that one cube is enough for about half a minute. For taste and greater benefits, frozen juice is used instead of ice. I already wrote about the recommendations of some doctors about ice cream, but not every mother risks paying for it regularly.

But after all, you can try with one teaspoon per day, gradually increasing its amount by half a teaspoon per day, until you get one serving. Ice cream and frozen fruit juice even adults are ready to eat all year round, however compotes and yoghurts from the refrigerator are also an option. However, it is necessary to get used to such a cold gradually and not to consume cold foods and drinks after severe overheating.

The body is strengthened not by constant cold, but by contrasts, and therefore the throat must be accustomed to changing temperature regimes so as not to get a sore throat by drinking ice water in the heat. For this, contrast rinses are well suited, in which warm and cold water are used at the same time. First, the throat is rinsed with warm, then cold, and always ends with warm, and the contrast difference is also increased gradually.

Contraindications to gargling are, first of all, the age of up to 3 years, when the child does not know how to properly exhale air through water and can choke.

If he does not want to gargle, it is better not to force him, because hardening should not cause him discomfort. You can not start procedures when a person is sick colds or has

5. Extreme techniques

5.1 Hardening according to Grebenkin

In addition to Ivanov, many authors have proposed their own methods of hardening, which can not be recommended to everyone. For example, Grebenkin advised everyone over 3 years old to be immersed in cold water for 10-15 seconds, and then left without clothes in the open air for another 5 minutes without rubbing and warming, so that the body itself copes with the cold. After all, adrenaline is released at the same time and after a couple of minutes a person feels a surge of heat and cheerfulness.

And recently, in the speeches of the famous doctor Komarovsky, words were heard that hardening of the effect will not bring if the whole lifestyle, from nutrition to walking in the fresh air, does not correspond to generally accepted recommendations.

5.2 Hardening after sauna and bath

To not quite traditional, but quite effective is the use of a sauna or a Russian bath with a strengthening purpose. The sauna uses the contrast effect of hot steam (70-90°C) and cold water in the pool (3-20°C), or even rubbing with snow in winter.

A child can start going to the sauna with their parents from the age of 3. For the first time, you can enter the sauna with a temperature not exceeding 80 ° C for only 5 minutes, and then you should cool down, in the future there can be up to 3 such visits, and you can visit the sauna once a week.

In the bath, too, everything is based on contrasts: first, the body warms up, then cools down at approximately the same time intervals, and then rest follows, which should last as long as the first two stages.

For the first time, you should not bask in the bath for more than 3-5 minutes, and it is advisable to cool down in the form of a cold douche, and only eventually move on to a cold shower or bathing in an ice hole. After regular visits, the number of visits to the steam room is increased to 5, and the time spent in it is up to 5-10 minutes.

To get hot steam, in a Russian bath, water is poured onto hot stones, but decoctions are often used instead for a healing effect. medicinal herbs(linden, chamomile, oak, mint, birch, sage or eucalyptus).

Small children under 3-5 years old are rarely taken to public baths because of the risk of contracting infectious or fungal diseases, but if it is a private steam room, then they can be taken there after the first year of life.

5.3 Snow hardening

Perhaps the most unconventional method is snow hardening. This includes not only wiping with snow, but also walking barefoot on it.

The main thing is that it should be clean and cover not asphalt, but the ground. If an ice crust has appeared on the snow, or it has become colder than 10 degrees below zero, you should not start walking.

But from my own experience I know that you can try without any preparation. True, for the first time I recommend running in the snow for no more than a minute, and rather quickly, and after that you need to return to a warm room, put on woolen socks and actively walk around the room in them until a feeling of heat appears in your legs.

5.4 Winter swimming

This type of winter bathing has always stood out and remained a method for the elite. A lot has been written on it - both about the benefits and the harm, the debate has not subsided so far. But for those who have weighed everything and decided to try winter swimming, it is worth learning something about him.

When swimming in cold water, the body loses a lot of energy, but releases adrenaline, which increases blood circulation, and also improves thermoregulation and immunity. However, you should not think that walruses never get sick - they just catch cold less often.

It is not at all necessary to dive with your head, although experienced "walruses" do it with ease. This technique improves general state body, but does not strengthen the muscles, unlike regular swimming, so for those who want to build muscle, it is advisable to do some other sport.

There is a myth that “walruses” necessarily drink alcohol to keep warm, but they can cause hypothermia of the respiratory tract and a cold.

Before you plunge into the icy water, it is recommended to do intensive gymnastics to warm up, but other preparations, especially a cold shower, are not needed. In severe frosts, it is necessary that there is a warm room next to the bathing area where you can warm yourself.

You can swim in cold water from late autumn to early spring, because even in winter it is not lower than + 4 ° C in the hole, but you should not plunge into the sea - it is -2 ° C below zero. There are many contraindications to winter swimming, which should not be neglected at all - this can only worsen your well-being.

Winter swimming contraindications: severe diseases of the cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine and genitourinary systems with symptoms of decompensation.

You can climb into cold water only after a cold douche, which will accustom the body to it. It is allowed to dive into the hole no more than 3 times a week, and if symptoms of any disease appear, you should immediately consult a doctor.

I hope my advice will be useful to those who often get colds and want to improve their health, and in the following blog articles I will talk about other hardening methods.

And now "Informative film about winter swimming and hardening":

Today we talked on the topic: "Hardening the body with cold water for beginners." How did you like the article? If so, be sure to share it in social networks, subscribe to the blog update and wait for the continuation.