Taking the Plunge: Why Cold Water Swimming is a Great New Year’s Resolution

If you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution that will boost both your mental and physical health whilst also connecting you to the outdoors, look no further than cold water swimming, an addictive mood-boosting activity which may be the one resolution you actually stick to.

Surprising as it may sound, the number of people wading into frosty lakes and chilly waves in little more than lycra has increased massively in the last couple of years. In 2020 alone, outdoor swimming is thought to have grown by up to three times in the UK, with 75% of new wild swimmers wanting to continue their sessions into the winter months. With outdoor swimming being accessible to so many whilst also providing a free form of exercise, it’s no wonder it has become a popular pastime. The addition of lockdowns has also left our population craving a deeper connection with nature once more and what better way to do that than by immersing yourself fully into our blue planet. Rivers, lakes, ocean coves, outdoor lidos and even hidden mountain pools are now popular spots for cold water swimmers to get their fix but what is so good about the cold anyway?

For hundreds of years, water has been thought to have healing powers and even Charles Darwin and Florence Nightingale encouraged cold baths in order to boost mental and physical states. Today however, Wim Hof might be the most famous advocate for the cold. In his fascinating book, Wim Hof tells us that we have around 62,000 miles of veins, arteries and capillaries in every single one of us which forms a system which has adapted over millions of years to keep us at the perfect body temperature of 37C. Yet when we decided to get dressed and started wearing clothes, we upset the carefully evolved, delicate balance of our vascular system. This system pumps blood and therefore oxygen and nutrients around the body and tiny muscles allow blood vessels to open and close which regulates our body temperature in accordance with our surrounding environment. Yet these muscles have lost strength in all of our bodies since the invention of warm clothes and heated homes, meaning that it is our heart which must work double time to keep the body as it should be. Wim Hof argues that cold water exposure can reawaken our vascular system and tone the associated muscles much like any other muscles in the body. When we are exposed to cold water, all those millions of tiny muscles are exercised and this helps our vascular systems to start working optimally again, reducing the pressure on our heart, lowering our heart rate throughout the day which in turn lowers stress. He believes that simple exposure to the cold could help reduce the plethora of cardiovascular problems doctors are now seeing. He also argues that whilst stress can come from many things, such as exams or our jobs, we all experience stress on a biological, cellular level and so if we can control our body’s stress response to the cold, we can better manage stress in other areas of our lives also. In fact, many studies have shown that consistent cold water swimming over a length of time can reduce stress, anxiety and depression as our bodies become accustomed to dealing with stress.

So already you can start to see that immersing ourselves in cold water can liven up our bodies and reduce stress but there are so many other health benefits too. For example, outdoor swimming causes our bodies to release a rush of endorphins and the hormone dopamine which combine to boost our mood and further lower any anxiety. The icy cold water hitting our skin, the initial gasp for air and the concentration needed to ensure we stay afloat and safe in the water are also excellent at helping us forget the problems we had on land and focus on surviving in the present moment. In the water, many of us are forced to focus on the here and now whilst experiencing the connection of mind and body working together. Even simply spending time in an outdoor environment without getting wet, such as sitting on a beach or strolling alongside a woodland river, is found to dramatically improve our mental state and some believe this is because our daily problems are put into perspective against the grand scale of nature.

The physical benefits are plentiful too, aside from the obvious advantages that exercise brings such as increased fitness. When we take the plunge into a cold environment, our immune systems are kicked into overdrive which leads to a large number of white blood cells and antioxidants being released. These help lower blood pressure and cholesterol whilst over time, it is thought that our bodies become better at activating their immune response, helping us be ready to deal with injury or infection. The benefits still don’t stop there however, as cold water swimming has been found to activate the brown fat cells in our body, leading to an increased metabolic rate, the burning of more calories and provide a more stable regulation of our core body temperature. If this wasn’t enough, studies have also shown that cold water can boost blood flow, improve sleep, reduce inflammation and flush toxins out of the body which improves the appearance of skin. It seems the question is, what can’t cold water give us?

The benefits of cold water exposure are now widely talked about with many new studies taking place whilst thousands of people decide to take the plunge and try it for themselves. Some are so convinced about the benefits of this activity that they are pushing for it to become an alternative to prescription medication and therapy as a way to help alleviate some of our most pressing modern health concerns such as cardiovascular disease and depression. Many charities are already working hard to offer swimming or surfing sessions as a way to improve the mental health of those suffering anxiety, PTSD and depression and some of these organisations are even collecting data as they go, hoping that in the future health services will prescribe cold water swimming based on their findings.

One of the biggest barriers to outdoor swimming is getting in for the first time as we fear both the cold and the danger of swimming outside. One way to ease yourself in is to practice having cold showers at home by simply turning your shower onto cold for the last 30 seconds of your wash. Over a week or two, try to increase the length of your cold shower to two minutes and already you should feel some of the benefits of cold water exposure whilst your body will be more prepared for the shock of winter water temperatures. With outdoor swimming becoming so popular, there are hundreds of groups popping up around the country which base themselves everywhere from Cornish beaches to Yorkshire rivers and even London’s Hampstead Heath. Joining a group is a great way to meet new people, improve on your water skills and stay safe. 

With so many benefits it is no wonder that wild swimming seems to be the one resolution that people are being able to stick to, with that rush of endorphins from the cold keeping swimmers coming back time and time again for the next high. If you decide to take on the challenge, this could also be a great way to give our oceans a much needed helping hand by, for example, participating in one of the many swimming challenges aiming to raise awareness of ocean conservation or by simply collecting a few pieces of litter after each dip. Once hooked on wild swimming, many often find themselves increasingly eco-conscious and ocean aware, combining their hobby and love for the natural environment to make a real difference to their local blue spaces; maybe 2022 could be the year you do too?

By Neve McCracken-Heywood