Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Don't let poor or bad circulation ruin your life!
That was the advertisment I saw when I looked up "poor circulation" in google a few months ago.
Since my fingers and toes get cold very easily I decided to be more pro-active about the situation. I looked up online that rapidly moving your body from hot to cold temperatures can help because the blood rushes to and from your internal organs leaving your organs and skin more oxygenated. They suggested hydrotherapy (turning the water in the shower to as cold as you can handle, then back and forth from hot to cold about 5-6 times) ...but that doesn't sound like much fun.
However, I'm teaching English to a German physical therapist at Berlitz, and she also told me that I should do the hydrotherapy. So I've started doing it at the end of my showers--and the key is that I finish on a cold shower!
Now Boston winters are really cold, so the idea of getting out of a cold shower every morning sucks, but it doesn't seem as bad as doing it in Japan where there is no heat in the house and your body develops a layer permafrost for 3 months. I seriously wanted to hibernate in my futon all winter. Anyway, I'm doing the hot and cold treatments after my morning showers and it's not so bad. Actually, I can tolerate colder temperatures recently and my fingers warm up faster if they do get cold.
Other suggestions online were eating foods like ginger, garlic, gingko and cayenne--all of which I love! (Except the gingko--I ate a gingko seed in Japan once and it was so bitter!) Who knows whether it's my overspicing my chicken and dumplings with cayenne or my cold morning showers, but my fingers are much warmer these days despite the below freezing temperatures in Boston!
Since my fingers and toes get cold very easily I decided to be more pro-active about the situation. I looked up online that rapidly moving your body from hot to cold temperatures can help because the blood rushes to and from your internal organs leaving your organs and skin more oxygenated. They suggested hydrotherapy (turning the water in the shower to as cold as you can handle, then back and forth from hot to cold about 5-6 times) ...but that doesn't sound like much fun.
However, I'm teaching English to a German physical therapist at Berlitz, and she also told me that I should do the hydrotherapy. So I've started doing it at the end of my showers--and the key is that I finish on a cold shower!
Now Boston winters are really cold, so the idea of getting out of a cold shower every morning sucks, but it doesn't seem as bad as doing it in Japan where there is no heat in the house and your body develops a layer permafrost for 3 months. I seriously wanted to hibernate in my futon all winter. Anyway, I'm doing the hot and cold treatments after my morning showers and it's not so bad. Actually, I can tolerate colder temperatures recently and my fingers warm up faster if they do get cold.
Other suggestions online were eating foods like ginger, garlic, gingko and cayenne--all of which I love! (Except the gingko--I ate a gingko seed in Japan once and it was so bitter!) Who knows whether it's my overspicing my chicken and dumplings with cayenne or my cold morning showers, but my fingers are much warmer these days despite the below freezing temperatures in Boston!
