Brace yourself.

Things are about to get chilly.

We're not talking about the weather but a recent survey which showed that having a cold shower can reduce the impact of an illness and be as energising as a cup of strong coffee.

The study, which was carried out in The Netherlands and published in the journal Plos One, suggested that participants who had a cold blast at the end of their shower recovered more quickly from illnesses, and took fewer days off work, than those who had regular hot showers.

The findings support the idea that ice water has therapeutic benefits and can aid the body's recovery.

Andy Murray and Paula Radcliffe are two sports stars who swear by ice baths.

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There were even claims after the tennis champion's Wimbledon win this year that ice baths were his secret weapon.

Which we can believe, given that he took his trophy into the bath with him.

The study was inspired by the popularity of Wim Hof, a Dutch daredevil known as the Iceman.

An advocate of the healing properties of icy water, he's a Guinness World Record holder for enduring extreme cold  - staying in ice cold waters for nearly two hours.

Which makes us shiver and turn blue at the thought.

But the Iceman even has his own method - the Wim Hof Method - which he describes as 'cold hard nature'. 

By exposing himself to harsh conditions of nature, he has learnt to withstand extreme temperatures and handle fear more effectively. 

And claims that others can learn the technique too.

But back to us normal human beings.

Out of the study's 3,000 participants, two thirds chose to continue having cold showers and reported that it boosted their energy levels as much as a strong cup of coffee.

Bring. It. On. 

I mean Brr! It's Cold In Here!

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Hannah Nathanson
Features Director
Hannah Nathanson is Features Director at ELLE. She commissions, edits and writes stories for online and print, spanning everything from ’Generation Flake’ to cover profiles with Dua Lipa and Hailey Bieber. One of her most surreal moments as a journalist has been ‘chairing’ a conversation between Jodie Comer and Phoebe Waller-Bridge from her living room. The word she says most in the office is ‘podcast’.