Why Dark Showers Beat Cold Showers

In 2019, I was being bombarded with messages on Twitter talking about how cold showers were the move.

‘If you don’t take cold showers, then you’re a pussy!’

After trying it for 4 days, I thought:

‘Why bother?’

I heard that cold showers were a way to exercise your willpower.

But I went to the gym to win myself over early in the day.

I did not need to fry my willpower some more.

After the 4 days were up, I went back to my normal shower routine.

Electrical Outage

One morning, I woke up early.

It was 4 am and HOT.

After my vision adjusted to the darkness, I noticed my fan was off.

Immediately, I became alarmed.

I always turned my fan on when I went to sleep.

The fact that it was off made me think someone broke into my apartment.

But wait.

Why would someone break into my apartment to turn my fan off?

‘You’re being silly, Armani!’

So, I got up to turn the fan on.

As I went to turn it on, my finger brushed up the switch.

It was already on.

Hm…

Did I wake up mid-sleep to pull on the fan string to turn it off?

Possibly.

So, I walked over to the fan string to pull on it.

Nothing.

The fan remained off.

I walked outside my room to see if the other fans were working.

When I walked outside my room, I was greeted with PURE DARKNESS.

That was strange.

Normally, there were some lights radiating from the oven & microwave clocks.

But today, it was pitch black.

I walked back into my room to find my phone to see what the hell was going on.

When I turned on my phone, I saw a notification:

'There is currently an electrical outage around your area. Our team is working on it.'

I was relieved to get that message.

Thought I forgot to pay the electric bill or something.

Hm… does an electric outage mean the water is off too?

I went to my sink to turn on the faucet.

Water poured out.

The water was still working.

Okay, I know I can’t sleep in this scorching hot weather.

Might as well take a shower.

My First Dark Shower

That morning, I took a shower in pure darkness.

And it felt…

AMAZING.

I don’t have one of those gradient windows in my bathroom.

So, when the lights are off, it’s completely dark.

My eyes are open, but I see nothing.

There was something liberating about taking a shower this way.

• Where cold showers are fast & intense.
• Dark showers are long & peaceful.

Since it’s in pure darkness, my senses do not get distracted by other sensory data.

I get a lot of blog ideas during my dark shower moments.

Not only do I get a chance to be aware of my mind, I also get a chance to be aware of my body.

Whenever I have a big speech coming up, one thing I need to do is take a dark shower.

Leading up to a speech, there are body symptoms many speakers face:

• Dry mouth
• Watery eyes
• Hot body
• Rapid heartbeat

Many speakers try to distract themselves from these intense feelings.

I used to try to distract myself, but not anymore.

I coexist with these feelings throughout the day.

And I coexist with these feelings some more during the long-drawn-out showers.

For me, dark showers inspire creativity & emotional intelligence.

How to Take Dark Showers

I recall making a section about dark showers in my Armani Archives series.

And there was a guy who messaged me saying:

‘Yo bro, I’ve been taking dark showers and I love it! We should make this movement bigger than cold showers.’

Despite his enthusiasm and despite the title of this article, I don’t think dark showers and cold showers need to compete.

Cold showers seem more like an exercise to build willpower, while dark showers are more about creativity.

Cold showers are like running, while dark showers are like walking.

The process of taking a dark shower is straightforward.

I don’t have a huge bathroom.

It’s pretty small.

So, I have 2 well-placed mats outside of my shower area.

Having some mats helps because it prevents the likelihood of slipping and falling.

Even if you take showers with the lights on, mats never hurt.

If you’re someone with gradient windows, then you’ll get the best dark shower experiences at night.

My dark showers last for 20 minutes.

And I do it in warm water temperature.

This blog entry is not advice.

Shower however you want to shower.

I’m just sharing what works for me.

With that being said, if you’re someone who feels stuck in a creative rut or you’re looking for a new tool to add to your ritual…

You can try playing with dark showers and see if it adds some magic to your life.

Finding Different Creative Inspiration

I had a buddy recently tell me that he sleeps on the floor.

I asked:

‘Why? You seem like a well-off guy. Can’t you afford a bed?’

He said he had a bed, but he still slept on the floor.

Then he followed up with:

‘Life’s gotten too easy for me, Armani. I need to find different ways to challenge myself.’

That’s when I understood why he slept on the floor.

I think many people take cold showers for that reason.

Life has gotten too easy for them and they need some sort of challenge.

For these folks, I salute them.

However, from personal experience, cold showers are not my thing.

Dark showers are.

Dark showers are not only a part of my routine, instead, it’s a part of my ritual.

How you start the day sets the tone for the rest of the day.

And I know I’m starting off my day by going to the gym, then taking a shower in the dark.

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– ArmaniTalks