Keeping it Together: Start your new year with a cold shower. Maybe.

The cold water hits my face, then my body, like ... well, cold water. Abrupt. Icy. Chilling. Shocking. Then, somehow, soothing?

My name is David Oliver, one of Paste BN's wellness reporters. We hope you're having a great start to the new year – and encourage you, if you dare, to think about cold showers. (Yes, we know it's the winter!)

Nearly every day for the past year, I took a one-minute cold shower after my morning hot shower. I got the idea after editing a piece from a Paste BN medical contributor: "Multiple research studies show that cold exposure is a 'good stressor' that floods our brains and bodies with adrenaline and dopamine, increasing our energy and focus and elevating our mood," wrote Dr. Michael Daignault. The recommendation is generally for a cold plunge pool, but he said a shower would work, too.

But was this a good idea? The truth is its health benefits are up for debate, like many health and wellness trends. But my habit probably isn't doing any harm, either.

Check out the rest of my piece here and other health and wellness offerings from the week below.