I have, for some time now, become a convert of the benefits of immersing in cold water.
Whenever I take a shower, at the end I turn the temperature right the way down to cold and stand under it for about a minute. It’s a challenging experience but there are some considerable health benefits, which for me, far outweigh the pain. Icy showers can heighten your immune system and make you more resistant to illness. A clinical trial in the Netherlands found that cold showers led to a 29% reduction in people calling off sick from work. Another study even connected cold showers to improved cancer survival! There are other surveys that suggest the experience also reduces the likelihood of dementia and may contribute to increased metabolism.
Essentially, cold water helps to boost the white blood cell count because the body is forced to react to changing conditions. As cold water hits your body and external limbs, it constricts circulation on the surface of your body, this causes blood in your deeper tissues to circulate at faster rates to maintain ideal body temperature. Over time, your body becomes better at activating its defences.
Taking a cold shower can also be good for the mind and body – it’s good for circulation, soothing sore muscles and giving hair a glossy finish and may also help with anxiety, depression and weight loss.
Cold water swimming is a rather more extreme version of this process, providing similar benefits to the cold shower experience – “It’s like pressing Control-Alt-Delete on a computer” one enthusiast commented. Getting out of your comfort zone builds confidence and courage as well as giving you a sense of accomplishment whilst activating endorphins, the chemical our brain produces to make us feel good.
Many studies have identified the link between cold water and stress reduction and claim that cold water swimmers become calmer and more relaxed. In a report cited by the BMJ (British Medical Journal), a woman with symptoms of anxiety and major depressive disorder reported a “sustained and gradual reduction” in those symptoms (in addition to the fleeting, post-swim high) after adopting a weekly regimen of cold, open-water swims.
1. Boosts your immune system
Cold water helps to boost the white blood cell count and over time your body becomes better at activating its defences.
2. Gives you a natural high
Cold water swimming activates endorphins as it brings us close to the pain barrier which triggers their release to help us cope with it.
3. Improves your circulation
Cold water swimming flushes your veins, arteries, and capillaries. It forces blood to the surface and helps to warm our extremities with repeated exposure adapting us to the cold.
4. Increases your libido
Cold water was traditionally seen to repress sexual urges, the truth is that it increases libido! A dip in some cold water boosts oestrogen and testosterone production, adding an edge to fertility and libido. The benefits of increased libido include more confidence, higher self-esteem, and enhanced mood.
5. Burns calories
The heart has to pump faster in cold water and the body must work harder to keep everything warm while swimming. Overall, far more calories are burned during cold water swimming than swimming in warmer conditions. (The idea that drinking cold water increases the number of calories you burn may be a myth)
6. Reduces stress
Cold water swimming places stress on the body physically and mentally. Many studies have identified the link between cold water and stress reduction. Cold water swimmers become calmer and more relaxed.
In addition to all this there are ongoing studies into the effects of cold-water swimming and the menopause. However, it is a little difficult to prove that it is specifically the cold water that is having the positive effect – as the aspects of socialising and doing exercise will both improve general health and wellbeing.
There are lots of groups all over the UK swimming all year round, either in the sea or wild swimming or open pools. There is a really great sense of community where everyone is welcome to join in on local swims. Have a look and see what is local to you. You don’t need to be a fitness guru – or in swimsuit model shape – just open minded, up for a challenge, and game for a laugh.
It is important to know your limits. In winter, swimmers often only swim for one or two minutes at a time. The general rule is that you can spend 1 minute per degree of water temperature swimming – obviously, you need to listen to your body too. I would recommend wearing swim gloves and socks as your extremities are always the first to be affected and, certainly in my case, can become more painful and take much longer to recover.
You should warm up slowly. Don’t have a hot shower straight afterwards. Hot water can cool your core and it can be dangerous. Instead, make sure you have plenty of warm clothes, wrap up well and have a hot drink.
Finally, spend the rest of the day on a high, trying to convince your friends and family that you’re not completely nuts, or indeed you can smugly boast about your extreme activity!
So, those are the benefits and challenges of cold-water showering and swimming in a nutshell. This may be the favourite hobby you never knew you had and, you never know, you may lead a longer happier life!
Mike Coulthard, Managing Director. March 2022.
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