Want To Be A Navy SEAL? Start Your Mornings By Doing This

Clint Emerson is a former Navy SEAL and author of the book 100 Deadly Skills: The SEAL Operative’s Guide to Eluding Pursuers, Evading Capture, and Surviving Any Dangerous Situation. In a video for Business Insider, the SEAL explains why ending your morning shower with cold water is the best way to start your day — and has actual health benefits, too.

To start with the obvious, Emerson points out, a cold shower will definitely wake you up. That means you’ll be going into your day awake, alert, and focused. Naturally, that’s exactly what you want if you’re aiming for productivity and performance in your job, your exercise, or your life in general. No cups of coffee needed when you’re starting with the chilly shock of cold water.

Cold water has health benefits too, as SEALs know from their long training in it. Just like professional athletes who take ice baths, SEALs use cold water to keep their bodies going at peak performance. The cold water causes vasoconstriction — the tightening of blood vessels — which helps to push out lactic acid. That is especially important for anyone who exercises regularly and wants to keep pushing harder.

Emerson describes the cold water treatments as “therapy,” as well. They counteract inflammation in joints and muscles to help you feel better and recover from injury quicker. So anyone who wants to feel their best, maintain peak performance, and start each day ready and focused may want to take this former Navy SEAL’s advice and end each shower with cold water.

Watch the video below!