Winter hardening. How to properly harden not in winter Hardening in the winter season

The benefits of winter hardening were proven by our ancestors, who walked barefoot along snowy paths, swam in an icy river, and wiped themselves with snow. Because of this, they got sick less often, were resilient and strong.

If you want to improve your health by hardening, you need to figure out how to do it correctly so as not to harm the body.

Where to begin?

Before starting procedures, be sure to consult with your therapist. Exposure to cold is not beneficial for everyone. It can cause rapid heartbeat, exacerbation of asthma attacks, and deterioration of kidney function. The specialist must individually exclude contraindications and give the go-ahead for hardening.

If you decide to harden yourself in winter, you should not immediately dive into an ice hole or pour a bucket of ice water on yourself. Such experiments will not bring any benefit, but only harm. You need to train your body, gradually accustoming it to such procedures.

• At first, it is recommended to simply walk around the house without slippers, barefoot. In the first week, do this for 10 minutes a day, then gradually increase the time to 1 hour. When your feet get used to the coolness, you can start dousing your feet.
• Get them used to cold water little by little. Fill a basin with cool water and soak your feet in it for a couple of seconds. Every day, lower the temperature of the liquid by 1 degree until it becomes icy. Gradually you will begin to enjoy the procedure and will be able to increase its time to 3-4 minutes.
• It is useful to alternate between ice and hot foot baths. Fill one container with hot water and another with cold water and alternately lower your feet in them for 1-2 minutes.

Ventilate your home regularly. There should always be fresh, clean air there. Wash your face with cool water in the morning. Change your lifestyle. Adjust your diet, exclude fatty, fried foods, fast food, and canned food. if you have bad habits, then it's time to get rid of them. Smoking and alcohol are very harmful to health, so you need to give them up as quickly as possible.

How to douse yourself correctly?

When your feet get used to the cold effects, you can smoothly move on to the next stage of hardening - dousing. Dedicate two weeks to preparing for the procedure. Morning and evening, rub your body with a towel soaked in cold water. Increase the rubbing time daily and wet the fabric more with water.

When the body is ready, start dousing.

• Fill a large bucket of cold water in the evening and leave it in the bathroom so that the liquid warms up a little.
• In the morning, carefully pour it over your hands and feet and wipe your body with a wet towel.
• Continue training throughout the week, gradually making the water colder. After 7 days, start dousing yourself with water completely.

In the evenings, it is useful to regularly take a contrast shower. It improves blood circulation, heart function, stimulates metabolic processes and strengthens the immune system.

First, stand for 10 seconds under hot water, then the same amount of time under cold water. Systematically increase the time by 1-2 seconds until you reach 30 seconds.

Regular dousing gives a person energy and vigor. When your body is well prepared, you can try dousing yourself in the fresh air in winter, but only after your doctor’s approval.

Regular training of the body gives results. A person stops catching colds often and feels healthy and rejuvenated. Then it's time to start more serious studies.

Is there any other way to harden yourself in winter? Common methods:

• rubbing with snow;
• wiping with ice;
• winter swimming

You can first wipe yourself off with snow in your room. Take clean fluffy snow into a bowl and rub the body from top to bottom, carefully working all areas. Do the manipulations quickly. Then immediately rub your skin with a dry towel. After a few weeks of preparation, the procedure is allowed to be done outside.

Wiping with ice is carried out in the same way as with snow. If there is no pure ice, you can prepare it yourself and use it for hardening.

Most extreme method- diving into an ice hole.

• Before it, you definitely need to thoroughly warm up all your muscles. Experienced “walruses” advise taking a short jog near the river.
• Then you should wet your hands and feet, wash your face and immerse yourself in water up to your neck.
• Ten seconds of bathing is enough to get started. Rise from the water, dry yourself thoroughly with a towel, put on winter clothes and drink warm tea.

By regularly bathing in ice water, you can increase the duration of the procedure and eventually stay in the ice hole for a minute or more.

In order for the baby to be healthy and strong, his immunity must be strengthened from the first days of life, using gentle hardening methods. They consist of regular ventilation of the room, daily walks in the fresh air, and air baths. A little later, you can start wiping with a damp towel and dousing with cool water. To avoid harming your child, coordinate your actions with your pediatrician and listen to his recommendations.

When the baby grows a little, his body, strengthened by dousing, will be ready for temperature changes. Then try an intensive method of improving immunity - hardening with snow.

• Prepare your child before going outside. Give him shoes that are easy to remove.
• First, run with your baby and play in the snow to keep him warm.
• Then take off one boot and place the child’s foot in the snow for a couple of seconds. Dry it with a towel and put on your baby's shoes.
• Then do the same manipulations with the second leg.

We teach you how to meet and make friends.

Start with learning how to approach other children and start a conversation. Show your child how it's done. Choose the most sociable and friendly child in the kindergarten group or in the yard. Approach with a smile and say: “Hello, my name is Petya. Can I play with you?

It is a mistake to think that hardening in the summer energizes the child with health for the whole year, and therefore in winter you can relax and do nothing. The procedures provide long-term effects only when repeated regularly. Therefore, it is advisable to conduct classes all year round taking into account seasonal characteristics.

Let's toughen up in the summer

The warm season is ideal for starting health activities and provides a wide range of opportunities to use water, air, sun and earth to strengthen the child’s immunity. Hardening children in the summer can be done in many ways. Let's list the main ones.

• Walking in the fresh air is the simplest and most necessary type of hardening, which is suitable for children from birth and has no restrictions or contraindications. On hot days, it is better to walk in the morning and evening or under the dense shade of trees.
• Walking barefoot stimulates many of the nerve endings in the foot. In addition, this is an excellent prevention of flat feet. You can walk barefoot on sand, grass, pebbles, and earth.
• Swimming in open water is not only amazingly beneficial for children's bodies, but is also a fun activity that all kids love.
• Water procedures in the fresh air must be included in the hardening of children preschool age in summer. If there is no body of water nearby, you can take a cool shower, douse yourself with water or wipe yourself with a damp towel.
• Among other things, hardening preschoolers in the summer should include proper nutrition. And this means as many vitamins as possible in the form of fresh seasonal vegetables and fruits.

And if it’s frosty outside...

Many parents, having heard the phrase “hardening in winter,” imagine swimming in an ice hole and walking naked in the snow. It is absolutely not necessary to resort to such extreme procedures in order to maintain the health of the child during the cold season.

It is important to understand that health procedures should not cause stress, discomfort and negative emotions in the baby. Therefore, it is worth adopting the softest and safest methods.

• And again, walks in the fresh air are the best way to harden children in winter. Do not wrap your child too warmly, give him the opportunity to run around, have fun, and play active games. Such a pastime will fill the baby with positive emotions and saturate his blood with oxygen. If possible, leave your child's face and hands exposed to cold air.
• Pouring water and contrast showers should not become a child’s habit even in winter, because for bath procedures the time of year does not matter.
• Create a contrasting atmosphere in the room: open the windows in one room and let in frosty air, leave the other well warmed up. Alternating visits to different rooms will be an excellent form of air hardening.
• Manipulations with snow are suitable for fairly seasoned children. You can walk on it barefoot for a minute and rub your arms and legs with it. But remember that this is only possible with children who are already well acquainted with other types of hardening and perceive cold well.

A hardened child tolerates temperature changes better

Contrary to popular belief, it is absolutely safe to start hardening yourself in winter. The main thing is to choose a method suitable for the season. Where to start the hardening process in winter?..

Hardening rules

Firstly, when you start to harden yourself in winter, discard the thought that this season you will heroically begin to jump into an ice hole. The first procedures should be performed exclusively indoors. But there is good news: by summer your body will be absolutely ready to take air baths outside, and by next winter such procedures can be carried out in the fresh air (for example, on the balcony).

Although illnesses lead us to think about the need for hardening, we need to start completely healthy. In addition, if you have problems with your kidneys or blood pressure, be sure to consult your doctor before starting. And with high eye pressure and most heart diseases, these procedures are strictly prohibited.

Hardening will not bring positive results if the procedures are not performed systematically and regularly.

A valid reason to miss - elevated temperature bodies.

For hardening to be extremely beneficial, you must not put the body under stress by abruptly switching to cold water and air. The easiest way for beginners is to gradually reduce the temperature of the morning wash water. When cold water for the face is not a problem, move on to other methods.

Where to begin

Air baths. Air hardening should begin at a temperature not lower than 15-16°C and last no more than 3 minutes. Take off your clothes and walk around for a while, do some squats, or do some abdominal crunches to warm up.

Hardening the feet. One option for the method is to pour water at room temperature (20-22°C) into the bottom of the bath and stand in it for 2-3 minutes, alternating from foot to foot. Important condition: It is necessary to reduce the water temperature by 1°C every 2-3 days. You can also walk around the apartment barefoot.

Cold and hot shower. Stand under a hot shower (40-45°C) for 10-30 seconds, and under a cold shower (28-30°C) for the next 10-30 seconds. Repeat all three times in a row, and then rub your body with a dry towel.

Rubbing. The essence of the method is vigorous rubbing of the body with a damp towel. The procedure should be carried out with vigorous movements for about two minutes. First - the areas of the neck, chest and back. They need to be rubbed until you feel a rush of warmth to these areas. After this, dry your body with a dry towel and begin rubbing your hips and legs. The initial temperature for wetting the towel is 33-34°C. Once every 10 days it should be lowered by 5°C until you reach 18-20°C. After 2-3 months you can move to lower temperatures.

Partial dousing. You need to douse yourself with water at room temperature, so for the morning procedure you should prepare water in the evening. Pour over your arms, legs and neck several times, and then rub them dry with a towel. You can start dousing the entire body no earlier than after 2 weeks of daily dousing. The temperature can be lowered, but not below 20°C.

Mid-autumn is the beginning of the disease season, doctors say. But seasoned people object to them. For them, mid-autumn is the time to start hardening up so that illnesses can bypass you.

However, for most, hardening causes few pleasant emotions. Seasoned people claim that this is one of the most pleasant procedures. The main thing is to know and adhere to certain rules.

“Walrus” with 18 years of experience, philosopher and teacher Alexander Krivonosov shared his experience and rules, which he has been adhering to for many years and which he tells his students. It is they who are annually attracted to hardening.

His methods and approaches were commented on by Otto Stoika, chief physician of the Kyiv City Health Center, and cardiologist Victoria Forosenko.

So you'll learn how anyone can actually start to toughen up and why most people do it wrong.

Hardening is a preventive measure that is aimed at increasing the body's resistance to adverse environmental factors.

Health-improving hardening helps the body adapt to environmental conditions. That is, a hardened organism maintains its temperature even with significant temperature fluctuations internal organs within fairly narrow limits.

For example: with a sharp decrease or increase in the temperature of the external environment, a hardened organism will sharply react by narrowing or dilating blood vessels to the threat and limiting or increasing heat transfer. Whereas an unhardened body will not be able to react so quickly and will suffer from hypothermia or overheating.

Most of us think that we need to toughen ourselves up cold winter when there is snow on the ground and it is covered with ice. Actually there is different types hardening.

Aerotherapy - air hardening. This is one of the most enjoyable types of hardening. Includes air baths and long walks in the fresh air. Fresh air hardens the body by cooling the skin receptors and nerve endings of the mucous membrane and thereby improves the body's thermoregulation.

Heliotherapy - sun hardening. This hardening increases stability nervous system, accelerates the body's metabolic processes, increases the body's resistance, improves blood circulation, improves the functioning of the muscular system, and has a tonic effect on almost all functions of the body.

But under no circumstances should you allow burns, overheating or heatstroke.

Walking barefoot. This type of hardening is useful for both children and adults. On a person's feet is a large number of biologically active points, which, when walking barefoot, are stimulated and help normalize the functioning of many organs and systems of the body.

Hardening with water. During water hardening, blood circulation in the body occurs more intensely, bringing additional oxygen and nutrients. Hardening with water can be divided into several types: rubbing, dousing, therapeutic bathing and winter swimming.

It turns out that it is the last point that most people remember when they hear the word hardening, and almost no one remembers that air baths and sun rays are pleasant and at the same time useful ways to harden the body, accessible to everyone.

Alexander Krivonosov notes that real hardening is a combination of 4 components:

1. Nature

You need to harden yourself on the street, not in the apartment. There is only one thing you can do in the bathroom - a contrast shower. In the bathroom we do not stand on the ground, but in cast iron or iron dishes. And our water flows through iron pipes - this is dead water. And therefore, there are many cases when a person begins his hardening at home and gets sick.

You need to temper with water differently. You go out into the street near the entrance in the morning, take a bucket of water that you collect in the evening, and use a ladle to water your feet from the knees down. And after 2-3 weeks you can take a bucket of water and, taking off your robe to make it faster, pour the bucket over yourself.

2. Gradualism

It is advisable to start when the temperature outside the window is 20-25, the water is 18-20 degrees. You don't need to jump into the water right away. First you need to accustom your body to the ambient temperature. And this is possible thanks to physical exercise and a little jogging.

If you are psychologically and physically ready, and it’s not completely cold outside, you can take off your shoes and walk barefoot on the ground. But quite a bit for the first time.

Alexander Krivonosov advises starting to get acquainted with water by gradually immersing your arms and legs. Wet your hands up to your elbows, go into the water up to your ankles or knees, and that's enough for the first time.

Chief physician of the Kyiv City Health Center Otto Stoika also I would advise you to start healing yourself by hardening by pouring cold water on your feet and hands. You can do this fragmentarily, you can take a cold shower. And continue to do this in nature. For example, go barefoot to the shore of a reservoir, wet your feet, walk knee-deep in cold water.

Cardiologist Victoria Forosenko agrees, but warns that against the background of a sharp spasm of blood vessels, there can be loss of consciousness, a heart attack, and a sharp spasm of the respiratory tract.

There is even such a term as “dry drowning” when, with a sharp change in temperature in the water, the respiratory tract spasms, and a person cannot breathe, not because water has entered the respiratory tract, but because there is a total spasm, so you need to be careful.

3. Consistency

Otto Stoika notes that you need to harden yourself periodically. These procedures should be done daily, but for a short time. This should not be taken as a summer swim. Alexander Krivonosov also agrees that hardening is not a matter of one day.

Those who start and quit lack determination. Hardening requires discipline. The body gets used to bad things (nicotine, alcohol) just as it gets used to good things. And when you open the floodgates of health for the body through hardening, and then suddenly close them, the body really doesn’t like it. Then they say that the hardening was unsuccessful, because after it all the diseases “came out”.

In fact, the person had these diseases before, but with the start of hardening, the body simply began to fight them, and they worsened. Therefore, there must be a system, discipline.

4. Rules

There are rules that will help you avoid troubles during hardening. For example, when you are swimming, you cannot dry yourself after getting out of the water. This doesn't mean you should walk around wet when it's cold.

You can get dressed, but do not dry yourself with a towel. Because in winter, when you dry yourself, you burn yourself. You can blot the water with a towel, but also be very careful. It is better to wrap yourself in a dry towel or clothes.

You need to put on your hat and boots right away. The head and feet should be warm. After diving, you should not immediately sit down and rest, but walk around so as not to freeze. But after a run or after physical exercise, if you plan to continue to be outside, it is better to change clothes. Clothes that are wet from sweat should be changed.

Before hardening, you should not eat too much. It is better that the stomach is half empty. Then you can eat vegetables or fruits, but do not overeat. This will contribute to better cleansing of the body and your weight loss.

You can drink water, or better yet, herbal tea, which should be prepared in advance.

And most importantly, and all experts agree on this, hardening should be pleasant for you. In addition, it is worth remembering that hardening is only a help in overcoming diseases and strengthening the body. But under no circumstances should treatment be replaced by hardening.

Winter time is a great time to heal the body and strengthen the immune system. You are not mistaken. Winter exists not only to get sick, but also to become healthier.

The most popular types of winter hardening are snow hardening (rubbing) and swimming in an ice hole (winter swimming). However, these procedures require preliminary preparation. Otherwise, hardening can result in colossal stress for the body, instead of healing it.

Where to start winter hardening?

To begin with, take care of the cleanliness and freshness of the air in the room where you live or spend a lot of time. To do this, ventilate at least twice a day: best in the morning, after you wake up, and in the evening before going to bed.

In good ways To prepare yourself for extreme hardening is to take a cool bath or rub down with cold water. It is best to carry out these procedures after a short walk in the fresh air. By hardening in this way, you tone and stimulate the activity of the immune and endocrine systems, and activate metabolism. You feel cheerfulness, freshness and joy. You will get the greatest effect from these procedures by hardening yourself in the morning.

Snow rubdown

Rubbing with snow is a national way of hardening the peoples of Eastern Europe. IN Ancient Rus' rubbing was considered an obligatory part of the bath ritual. Today, experts say that this method of hardening is very useful for the body and the functioning of all its systems.

Snow hardening is not as severe as water hardening. And here's why: cooling of the body under the influence of snow occurs more slowly and, accordingly, softer than under the influence of cold water. In addition, hardening with snow is also a pleasant process. What could be better than fresh fluffy snow? In addition, the body also benefits from exposure to cold air on steamed skin. The cold is practically not felt. On the contrary, a hot wave spreads through the body.

Thanks to wiping with snow, the body experiences an improvement in the process of thermoregulation, and the process of burning fats and carbohydrates occurs more intensively. It has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system: with a sharp change in temperature, the vessels become flexible and youthful. The heart becomes more resilient, its power increases several times.

Hardening with snow stimulates the release of endorphins into the blood, due to which you begin to feel euphoria, and your body becomes weightless.

Rubbing rules

Before you start hardening with snow, prepare your body for this: first, walk barefoot in the snow. Any healthy person can afford to walk for 3 minutes in the snow without causing harm to their health. Gradually this time can be increased to 7-10 minutes. Next, start rubbing snow on parts of your body: neck, shoulders, face.

With sufficient hardening, you can rub the entire body. This is done with circular or streak movements along the surface of the body. As a result of rubbing, the skin acquires a reddish tint and becomes warmer. This is a sign of vasodilation and capillary filling with blood.

Immersion in the snow after a sauna is considered the most beneficial. In a sauna, the body temperature rises by 1-2 degrees and the body needs to cool down. The main thing is not to overdo it - the duration of the snow bath should not exceed 20-30 seconds. The best place for rubdowns - the countryside: the air and fallen snow there are much cleaner than in the city.

After drying, return to the sauna or bathhouse. Don't dry yourself. Melted snow will have a healing effect on your skin.

Swimming in an ice hole

Hardening in ice water can bring invaluable benefits to the body. Based on the experience of those hardening, we can conclude that winter swimming not only increases resistance to colds, but also cures many diseases. Winter swimming eliminates existing diseases or leads to their noticeable weakening. A year or two after the ice-ice hardening procedures, people stopped complaining about their previous ailments and felt much younger than their age.

Swimming in an ice hole helps with insomnia, asthma, rheumatism, fibromyalgia, pain in the shoulders, joints, and back. It also improves blood circulation, relieves depression, and helps cope with stress.

Of course, there are also health risks. To be sure that this type of hardening will not harm you, be sure to consult your doctor.

Swimming in an ice hole is contraindicated for those who have problems with the heart, circulatory system, or severe asthma. The reason is that during sudden cooling, the heart experiences severe stress and the airways compress, blood pressure rises, and the pulse quickens.

Bathing rules

Before plunging into ice water, thoroughly warm up your muscles. To do this, you can take a fifteen-minute jog. Then rinse your hands, feet, and chest with cold water. After this, plunge into the hole up to your neck. Immersing your head is not recommended - this increases heat loss.

Beginners are not recommended to spend more than 15 seconds in the water. This time is enough to awaken the body's hidden reserves and its defenses. After swimming, you should thoroughly dry your body with a dry towel and dress warmly.

Fine seasoned people Those who have experience swimming in an ice hole can stay in cold water for up to two minutes. Even during this time, their body does not have time to cool down. Moreover, instead of cold they feel heat. However, overestimating your strength (being in cold water for about 10 minutes) can result in a threat to the entire body.

So, 15 seconds for the first year of hardening will be enough. In the second or third year, increase the duration of bathing to 1 minute, in the third year - up to 1.5 minutes, etc.

The main rule is your personal setting for hardening. It is important that you realize that winter swimming makes you healthier. This way you contribute to the release of endorphin into the body, the hormone of happiness, thanks to which you feel emotional uplift, optimism and joy. Perhaps this is the secret of hardening, thanks to which people not only heal themselves, but also successfully cope with life’s difficulties.