ICE-WATER BATH FOR WARMER HANDS AND FEET
Are you someone who suffers from cold hands or feet? If so, try this exercise.
STEP 1Fill a bucket with one-third ice and two-thirds water.
STEP 2Redirect your mental focus to your hands (or feet).
STEP 3Place your hands or feet into the ice bucket.
STEP 4Hold your hands or feet in the bucket for two minutes. At some point, they should start to feel warm instead of cold.
STEP 5Remove your hands or feet from the ice bucket, but keep your mental focus on them.
STEP 6Shake them out several times to encourage the blood flow into your newly awakened extremities.
Your blood vessels constrict in the ice bucket at first. This is a natural protective mechanism. But then they open when your blood reaches 50 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing warm blood to flood into them. You are resetting the physiology in your extremities. People who often complain of cold hands or feet suffer from poor vasoconstriction and dilation. The muscles around the veins in their hands and feet do not function well and need to be retrained. This ice-bucket exercise helps. If you typically have cold hands or feet, try doing this exercise daily. Adaptation occurs rather quickly. After a couple of days of this exercise, you will find that your extremities aren’t so cold anymore.