The issue of increasing the protective forces of the human body lies at the heart of almost all of world medicine. The hardening principle is a system of methods for the influence of natural environmental factors on the body. If you believe the doctors, as a result we get a person with a high level of resistance to adverse factors. More than a thousand years ago, Avicenna included information on hardening in the practical chapters of his “Canon of Medicine”. He offered to bathe newborns in cold water, as well as prepare travelers for a difficult journey in the hot desert and winter snowstorm.
They honored the principle of hardening in Russia: the monk Nestor wrote about how babies were hovering in a bath and dipped into an ice hole! Tempering procedures were carried out during the first 4-6 weeks of the child's life, and then repeated in cases of disease. The peoples of Yakutia recommend wiping children with snow from birth, and Caucasians - pour ice water.
Already, modern doctors, having studied the hygienic principles of hardening, confirm that these procedures increase the resistance of the human body to all kinds of colds and infectious diseases. Thus, hardening procedures are a powerful healing tool granted to us by nature itself.
Hygienic principles of hardening
The basic commandment of Hippocrates "do no harm" is true not only in classical medical practice, but also in tempering procedures. Therefore, one should not thoughtlessly follow the fashion for a healthy lifestyle and dive into the hole in the hole for an unprepared person. Remember that each human body is unique, therefore, before starting hardening, it is necessary to choose a technique that will be calculated taking into account your individual characteristics. To do this, you need to know what applies to the basic hygienic principles of hardening.
First of all, study the reaction of your own body to hardening, and in fact to stress factors. When immersed in cold water, your skin first turns pale (this is due to the contraction of blood vessels), then it turns red (blood vessels expand) and finally turns blue (which indicates the absence of a tonus of smooth muscles of blood vessels), as a result, a feeling of chills occurs. The first reaction is called weak - it is not enough for the hardening effect to occur. The second reaction is medium, it is precisely what we need, the excessive reaction hinders the processes of adaptation of the body.
Based on this, the basic principles of hardening include:
- Psychological training. The processes of thermoregulation of the human body, its immune reactions largely depend on the psychological mood. So, if you are sure that being in cold water, you will immediately fall ill, so it will be!
- Systematic. Hardening is not a procedure that can be done from time to time. In this case, it’s better not to start at all! Optimum hardening should be daily. Long breaks (2-3 weeks) will nullify all your efforts and benefits.
- The principle of pulsating temperatures. The most common cause of colds is a sharp temperature drop. Thus, your main task is not immersion in the coldest water, but the transition from hot to cold water. Each time, the temperature range should be increased.
- Gradualness. Hardening can be represented as the effect of the lowest possible temperatures or as the effect of low temperatures for the longest period of time. You should start by lowering the temperature (for example, 15 ° C for 1 minute), during the second procedure you pay more attention to the exposure time (15 ° C for 5 minutes), lower the temperature again for the third time (13 degrees for 1 minute ) etc.
- Individual approach. This most important principle of hardening is based on the fact that each person has his own reaction rate: someone should start the procedure from 15 ° C and bring them to 3-5 ° C, and the other from 20 ° C to 10 ° C.
- Complexity As you know, different parts of the body have a different level of sensitivity to temperature extremes. In addition, water, air and other elements have a different cooling effect on the body.
- In addition, the hygienic principles of hardening also include the principle of optimal dosing procedures (taking into account age and physiological characteristics) and versatility (hardening can be started at any time of the year and under any weather conditions).
Hardening agents
Oddly enough, but the main means of hardening is available to anyone. To mobilize the body's defenses, it is enough to constantly maintain the temperature in the room at 18 ° C. This temperature level provides a constant tone of skeletal muscles and supports the activity of the cerebral cortex. With increasing temperature in the room, the body overheats, the latent process of sweating begins.
A contrast shower, clothing that matches current weather conditions and more will also be useful. These activities are general hardening. The principles and means of hardening allow you to keep the body in good shape and provide an average level of resistance to infections.
To maintain immunity at a stable high level of general hardening is often not enough. Local hardening includes exposure to local areas of the body, primarily the hands and feet. On these surfaces there are many temperature, sensory and reflex zones, the irritation of which positively affects the general condition of the body.
Helpful hints:
- Wash your hands with cold water.
- Do not rush to wear gloves with the first signs of cooling.
- More often go barefoot (in an apartment, yard, beach, grass and even snow).
Principles and methods of hardening
Depending on the procedures you have chosen, several hardening methods are distinguished: aero-hardening (taking air baths), heliotherapy (exposure to sunlight), water-hardening (and this is not always extremely low temperatures), and some others, which are much less common in practice in Europe and the CIS. Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages, as well as the nuances of use and contraindications.
Air hardening
Air baths have long been considered an excellent means of strengthening the immune system for people, regardless of their age and health. The principle of air quenching is that air masses of a certain temperature have a complex effect on the entire surface of the human body.
Experts recommend starting taking air baths in a ventilated room at rest or in motion, after having previously released the body from clothes. In the first procedures, the air temperature should be 15-20 ° C for 20-30 minutes. If you feel a chill, you should not stop the procedure - make a few energetic movements with your arms, legs, body. Over time, try to lower the temperature to 10-12 ° C and bring the exposure time to 2 hours. It is better to take air baths in the morning, combining them with gymnastics.
After a week of regular procedures, you will feel improvements in the work of the cardiovascular system, thermoregulation. In addition, a beneficial effect will affect the functioning of the nervous system - vivacity, poise will appear, and sleep will improve.
Water quenching
Water is perhaps the most popular hardening agent, and often the only one. So, many people, making the decision on hardening, immediately begin to pour ice water, as a result, they get a cold at best. The basic hygienic principles of hardening suggest that you should start gradually and taking into account the individual characteristics of your body. Start by wiping your body with a damp towel, then a contrast shower, and only after that you can try to plunge into the ice hole.
Helpful hints:
- Before taking water procedures, you should first warm up the body with physical exercises.
- Do not try to increase the length of time spent in cold water, it is better to gradually reduce its temperature.
- Air temperature should not be lower than 18 ° at the beginning of hardening.
- The best time for hardening is the first morning hours after waking up.
It is better to start hardening at the end of summer - the beginning of autumn from a water temperature of 30-35 ° . And then you should lower the temperature by 1 ° C after 3-5 days of daily procedures.
The first step in hardening is to wipe with a damp towel. In this case, the water should be warm, the air temperature should also not be lower than 20-25 ° , and the duration of the procedure should not exceed 5 minutes.
After 2-3 weeks, you can proceed to dousing. But keep in mind that for people with cardiovascular diseases, as well as for people over 60, this procedure is contraindicated. The pouring should begin with a water temperature of about 30 ° C for 3-5 minutes. Then you need to rub the skin with a hard towel until a slight redness. By the way, this improves the microcirculation of blood in the skin, which leads to the destruction of cellulite, stretch marks and subcutaneous fat, and also plays the role of high-quality peeling. When the body gets used to the action of cool water, try moving to fresh air and continuing to pour over it.
In winter, with a significant decrease in air temperature on the street, go to water procedures in the shower. Start again with a temperature of about 30 ° C, the exposure period is 1-2 minutes.
Another popular type of hardening is a contrast shower. It removes both physical and moral fatigue, invigorates. Depending on the general hardening of the body, the temperature range can be from 5 to 20 ° C.
The principles of hardening also include combination and moderation. So, you can combine hardening with water, air and the sun, plunging into open water. But, of course, we should not forget about hygiene: the pond must meet sanitary standards.
Winter swimming as a way of hardening
This type of hardening is associated with the greatest number of myths and difficulties, as well as setbacks and colds. However, the devil is not so terrible as he is painted! With proper and systematic winter swimming, you will strengthen the immune system and the nervous system, increase efficiency. But remember that such hardening has a number of serious contraindications:
- acute and chronic infectious diseases;
- cardiovascular diseases;
- diseases of the nervous system;
- all forms of tuberculosis.
If you carefully observe all the principles of hardening, no problems will arise. First, you need to start not in Epiphany frosts, but in October. Before dipping, do a light workout, warm up. Stay in the water should be reduced to a minimum - plunged and immediately leave. Then they rubbed the body with a towel, quickly dressed and again a light workout.
It is contraindicated to combine winter swimming with alcohol, but hot tea is perfect. If you have already become a guru in the field of winter swimming, go to the next step - rubbing with snow. Having collected a handful of snow, with energetic movements, rub only (!) The upper half of the body.
Heat hardening
Not only low temperatures are stressors for the body. It is also necessary to be able to adapt to heat, as well as to cold. The main and practical only means of hardening to heat is a sauna or a bath. The principles, means and methods of cold hardening are similar to heat hardening.
But the effect of hardening bath procedures is much more diverse: elimination of toxins, rejuvenation of the body as a whole and skin in particular, treatment of joint diseases, strengthening immunity, treatment of chronic respiratory diseases, eliminating cardiovascular pathologies, normalizing blood pressure, increasing the tone of the nervous system and much more. And the bathhouse is an excellent helper in weight loss.
The healing and hardening effect depends on the type of bath you choose. Russian (wet) bath is a combination of high humidity and low temperature. The optimal time of presence in the steam room is 10 minutes. The effect will enhance the traditional bath massage with a broom. But remember that this procedure is contraindicated for people with endocrine diseases and diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
Finnish sauna is a higher temperature, but low humidity. Its effect on the body is much milder, there are fewer contraindications, and the health effect, in particular hardening, is almost equal to the Russian bath.
Useful advice:
- After the steam room, be sure to take a cold shower or plunge into the pool with cool water - your body will say “thank you”.
Hardening by the sun
The principles of hardening the body include the complexity of factors, one of which is ultraviolet solar radiation. Sunny baths always begin with reflected light, then go to diffused and only after that you can take direct sun baths. The optimal time is morning hours: 7 - 10 hours in the subtropics, 8 - 11 hours in temperate latitudes. Start the procedure in early spring from 10-15 minutes, gradually increasing their duration. In addition, try to refrain from sunbathing in the range of 2-3 hours from eating. Given the gas pollution of the atmosphere in large modern cities, solar hardening in the city has no use - you have to go outside the city or at least retire to a strip of green space (park, square, etc.).
Helpful hints:
- When hardening with the sun, do not forget to cover your head - be sure to use a hat or other headgear.
- It is useful to combine sunbathing with light exercise.
Note!
- Alcohol cannot be combined with any type of hardening.
- Refrain from smoking in the range of 1-2 hours from the hardening procedure.
- If you have a chronic illness, consult your healthcare provider about hardening.
- Intensive exercise will reduce the effect and benefits of hardening procedures.
- Coffee creates an additional burden on the cardiovascular and nervous systems during hardening.
- You can start hardening from the first days of a child’s life, but after consulting with a pediatrician.
- Hardening has a greater effect on your health when combined with a healthy lifestyle.
- If for any reason you have stopped the hardening procedures, they should be resumed from an earlier stage.
- The basic principles of hardening are gradualness and consistency - start with a little - airing, walking in the fresh air and a contrast shower.
And a little about the flaws
Hardening people boast at every corner of their excellent health and immunity. However, after a few years, the situation is changing - and here they are again in the ranks of ordinary mortals with a permanent runny nose all winter. So what's the matter, you ask? Everything is simple - in everything you need to know the measure! One thing is a second dive into the hole from time to time (this really improves immunity), and quite another is winter swimming for several minutes and photo sessions in swimming trunks against the background of snowdrifts. Hypothermia reduces immunity, promotes the activation of chronic diseases and the acquisition of new ones.
In this case, is hardening so useful? The types, principles and methods of the selected procedures completely determine the effect for the body. Choose species based on your health and physical abilities. You should not spend hours with hypertension sitting in the steam room or diving into an ice hole, dousing, sun and air baths will be more reasonable.
In addition, systematicity is very important - do not expect an instant result. Only after a few months of hard work will you notice that you become less sick and feel better. And trying to speed up the effect, you probably only hurt yourself and be disappointed in hardening at all.
The principles of tempering children are no different from adults, except for the fear of a newly minted mother. Your baby is not afraid of drafts and cold water until you start to wrap him up and thereby kill his immunity. : , , . , , ( - ).
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