Cold water swimming may seem completely bonkers, especially around this time of year, when the days are grey and the temperatures verging on baltic… but trust us the benefits are worth the initial shock.
Not only can it cure a hangover in ten seconds flat (which I’m sure a lot of us are still suffering from) but also it gives you a huge boost of endorphins and can make your day and mood 10000% times better.
Dive into this blog to find out why 2021 is the year of cold-water swimming
Mind
The positive effects of cold-water swimming on the mind and your mental health are astonishing. ‘I can dive in with a long face and what feels like a terminal case of depression, and come out a whistling idiot…there is a feeling of absolute freedom and wildness’ so wrote Roger Deacon in his delightful memoir of his cold water swims around Britain.
Deacon goes onto write that natural waters have always held the ‘magical power to cure’. Being in water takes away the stresses of daily life, we don’t have to worry about the parking meter, how many work emails we have to get through, instead we are fully immersed within nature, equal to the fish and the frogs.
The physical exhilaration is also to be relished. The icy cold water enveloping your limbs is both a shock and a thrill, and makes other worries disappear apart from just carrying on. There is nothing like the feeling of coming out of the water, to a waiting warm towel and cup of tea, feeling refreshed.
Body
The benefits of a brisk dip are numerous and glorious. Just one dunk can help:-
Improve your immune system: cold water helps to boost your white blood count which means your immune system is stronger-
Bring you a natural high: the cold water helps to release endorphins alongside the positive effects of taking exercise –
Improve circulation: the cold water flushes your veins, arteries and capillaries and forces blood to the surface –
Weight Loss: combination of the cold alongside the swimming means your body burns more calories than normal –
Reduce stress: cold water places stress on the body and mind, meaning it reduces it when you are out of the water!
Where to do it
You don’t have to go into the depths of nature for a cold-water swim, however a wild swim is especially delightful. If you live in a city or town, head to the local lido, or to ponds (Hampstead heath is a real treat).
If you cant quite hack it just yet, why not give a icy cold shower a go as a way to get you started…
However word of warning… cold water swimming is not the faint hearted. We are not medical experts so before you start your cold water swimming journey (one that will have you hooked) you must do your research.
Here are some important points :
Make sure your body is fit enough to withstand the cold temperatures
Take it slow, your body will need to acclimatise and get used to it
Never dive into the water … cold water shock is a real thing-
If you’re a newbie, start in the summer months when it is less icy-
Get the right kit
If you wish to find out more head over to wildswimming.co.uk for more information.
We think that there is good reason the New Years Day swim is such a popular tradition. Wash away the negatives from the previous year and embrace the coming year with a natural endorphin boost.
Our January Mind, Body & Soil box; A New Leaf, encompasses the freshness and rebirth we want to experience in this coming year…with essences of the Cornish Coast (both drinkable and in plant form!) this box will help you embrace a new year and wash away the negatives of 2020.
