Japan Syndrome

While my heart goes out to the illustrious island nation that has brought us Zen, sushi, Honda, the kimono - and so much more - I wish I could say that my morning cold showers are taken in solidarity with the privations the Japanese have been facing each day since the earthquake/tidal wave/meltdown disasters.  But no, my daily bracing ablutions date way back to the California energy crisis of 2000 (which was revealed to be the result of Enron's predatory practices.)  However, regardless of the reasons, the state - our state of residence at the time - faced roving blackouts, and other such pleasantries.  What was a bike-riding, light switch Nazi, vegetarian like me to do?

And it turned out that these cold showers actually felt good - though it's been something of an acquired taste - and left me feeling energized.  Whereas, hot showers I had been noticing kind of had the opposite effect.  Well, turns out that 'heat sensitivity' is very common in MS - hot days make your symptoms markedly worse - a condition I was soon diagnosed with.  In fact, back in the days before MRI, spinal taps for chemical markers, and other diagnostic testing, patients where put in a hot bath, taken out, and asked to 'walk the line,' heel to toe fashion - if they looked drunker than before the hot bath (but weren't) - they were diagnosed with MS. Additional benefits of the cold shower:  no matter how chilly the morning, once you finish rinsing off and turn off the spigot, the bathroom instantly feels nice and warm, the towel even more so.  This means, no need to heat the bathroom - or the house much for that matter, the shower kind of judo-kickstarts your internal power plant.

We all know the problems with profligate energy consumption:  Exxon and BP oil spills (just a couple of the big ones), nuclear power risks and the waste disposal 'problem' that won't go away - for eons, global climate change, and on and on.  So, give it a try, I know you are curious...  Maybe start with lukewarm, and gradually drop the temp day by day.  Or jump right in - the water is great!