This week we’re talking to Nicci Roscoe, author of Manifest Your Everything and Fabulous Impact. She is a qualified master NLP practitioner, life coach and wellbeing expert.

Hi, Nicci! If you could recommend One Good Thing everyone can do to improve their mental health, what would it be?

When we need an instant mood booster to help manage our everyday stress and mental health, splashing cold water over your face gives you an instant stress reset to feel calmer and cope so much better. It’s a perfect positive mindfulness exercise that is accessible to everyone and all budgets.

When you’re feeling overwhelmed and anxiety is at its highest, splashing your face with cold water or immersing your face in icy cold water is a wonderful mood shifter. More and more people are braving cold plunges in ice baths and natural water, such as rivers and the sea, but the same effects can be achieved in the safety of your home. If working from home gets stressful and an email sets you in a spin, it’s the perfect 20-second reset.

Just make sure you’re wearing waterproof mascara when you need to cool off and calm down.

Why have you chosen splashing your face with cold water as your OGT?

As well as distracting you and breaking the cycle of worrying or anxious thoughts, splashing your face with cold water or plunging your face into a bowl of icy cold water can trigger electrical impulses in the brain that help to boost your energy levels, making you feel more alert.

The cold against our skin also stimulates us to naturally take deeper breaths. This decreases the amount of CO2 in the body, which can help improve focus and concentration when you step back into your work day. Not only is it refreshing and revitalising, but splashing your face with cold water is like having a reset button that takes you from panic to calm or tiredness to energised – both mentally and physically.

When we’re feeling stressed we often go into fight or flight mode. The sudden impact and feeling of the cold water splash helps us to stop, reset and look at things from a calmer better perspective.

One Good Thing: how splashing your face with cold water could help you tackle stress and anxiety