This extract is from the ‘No Energy’ section of Housework Blues, designed to help you improve flagging energy levels through less obvious routes – via your senses.

Skin therapy

Did you know that skin is your body’s biggest organ?

Did you also know that what you put on or next to your skin can have powerful effects on your overall health, well-being and energy?

So clearly, it pays to avoid unnecessary toxins or harsh chemicals in your personal products and, if possible, your surroundings.

But as well as being defensive, what about being pro-active – is there anything we can do to give ourselves a boost, via our skin?

What if I told you there was something you could apply to your skin which would improve your circulation, increase your vitality, detoxify, strengthen your immune system and give you a healthy, youthful glow that will last all day?

You’d probably expect such a treatment to come with a hefty price tag.

But there’s something that offers all these benefits and more – and it’s free!

Better yet, you most likely have unlimited access to it in your home, right now!

So, what is this wonder skin treatment?

The humble cold shower.

Cold water benefits

Cold-water therapy is an age-old idea.

The Spartans of ancient Greece would immerse themselves in cold rivers in order to keep fit.

The ancient Samurai warriors believed that standing under ice cold waterfalls (or buckets of water) was a cleansing ritual that purified the soul.

On a purely physical level, a warm shower followed by a cold (or cool) blast improves the blood flow to your vital organs, with significant health benefits.

It is also a tried and tested bonus to your beauty regime.

The cold rinse is renowned for making hair stronger and shinier and giving your skin a younger, healthful glow.

And in terms of boosting your energy, cold showers can bring dramatic results.

A brief cold-water blast at the end of your usual (warm) shower will leave you refreshed, invigorated and motivated to face the day.

Not only that, these additional health and beauty benefits will boost your sense of well-being and encourage your natural vitality to shine through.

So how does it work?

Well, the sudden change between the warm and cold improves the circulation to both your skin and your organs, including the brain.

This can aid your mental health, concentration and even your mood.

Although a warm bath or shower can be a useful remedy for low spirits or lethargy (water, in general, has a positive effect on your energy and mood) the revitalising boost of a quick cold blast serves to lift your spirits and invigorate your entire being.

Admittedly, a cold shower does not appeal to everyone.

And the idea might struggle to tempt you out from a warm bed.

But if you lack energy, it can be a powerful technique.

Though it can be a shock, at first, it is undeniably invigorating, and that wonderful tingling-skin feeling is strangely addictive.

But the idea is not to torture yourself.

How cold you have your shower and for how long depends on what you’re used to or can reasonably tolerate.

So if you’d like a free and easy way to look younger, feel better and increase your energy levels – brrrrrave the cold.

It may make you scream (a little), but it should also make you smile (a lot).

How to cold shower (the body-friendly way)

As a supplementary practice to the cold shower, dry-body brushing also has tremendous benefits – boosting your energy, circulation, health, beauty and vitality.

The most commonly recommended technique to benefit from both of these easy methods – in a kind, gentle and body-friendly way – is as follows:

• Brush dry skin with a loofah/bristle-brush, before your shower

• Apply almond oil to your body (for baby-soft skin!)

• Shower as normal

• Turn the temperature down (not too much at first…)

• Wet feet first, then hands, then face

• Gradually increase exposure and duration

• When finished, wrap yourself in warm towels

• Vigorously dry yourself

• Rest for a short while, if possible

NOTE: There are some occasions when cold therapy may not be suitable, for example, if you suffer from hypersensitivity to cold.

If you have any health concerns or are in any doubt, always consult your doctor first.

Also, cold showers are best avoided during menstruation. The effects are too harsh for the reproductive system at that stage in your cycle.

I hope you find this simple technique helpful in boosting your natural energy levels – I’d love to hear how it works for you!

Danielle

How to cope with the mental and emotional challenge of keeping a home.

If you lack the motivation to do housework...

...or it's become a source of misery, boredom, frustration or fury - these feelings can affect your relationships, your health, even your wealth.

So there are some truly outstanding benefits in learning to survive your Housework Blues.

This book will help you do just that.

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

I feel I ought to warn you:

This is not a practical housekeeping manual.

There may be the odd tip or useful gem, but the main aim of this book is not to teach you how to clean your home. My intention is to help you cope with the unique psychological challenge of being a modern female with a home to keep. This book is less ‘how to’ and more ‘why bother’.

These are strategies to keep you sane.

If, like me, you lack the domestic gene where housework comes naturally, or your feminist tendencies make you want to run screaming from mop and bucket, then this book is for you. It’s a collection of ideas that I’ve stumbled across, ideas that have eased the mental burden of doing what must be done within the home.

My wish is that these simple suggestions will save you years of anguish and frustration. And I hope that these perspectives will liberate you to enjoy a beautiful home with both your sanity and relationships intact.

Danielle