Last summer I ran to the beach and went for a swim in the ~58 deg f ocean almost every day. I love it—you feel amazing after. From casual googling, it seems that the cold water triggers an adrenaline response, causing lower adrenaline levels afterward, i.e. less stress. I find the effect to be pretty dramatic. I also noticed a significant increase in my tolerance for cold in general.
I regularly do cold water swims in spring and fall months, and wholeheartedly agree with the amazing feeling after a good 10-20 minute dip.
I find the first few minutes of the swim are the hardest, as your body is adjusting to the cold, surface blood vessels are constricting, etc. The next 5-15 minutes are fantastic! I don't usually push it much beyond that.
But any discussion of the benefits of cold water swimming also needs to highlight the risk. If you're thinking of trying it out, make sure you're acutely aware of the temperatures you're dealing with, how long you're planning on being in the water, and that you understand the body's reflexes to cold water submersion. Here's a good resource covering these points: http://seagrant.umn.edu/coastal_communities/hypothermia
Very good point on the risks. I recommend immediately running, biking, or doing something else to warm your body up after getting out, especially if it's not a hot day. It only takes a couple minutes of running to warm up again, but if you stay still you can be shivering for an hour after.
I've also noticed that there are a few phases you go through. First there's the initial shock--that lasts a few minutes as you say. Then you adapt and it starts feeling good. But if you stay in for long enough, you can start feeling cold again in a deeper more full-body way that indicates your overall body temperature is decreasing. That's when you want to get out :)
In my hometown, in Ireland, there were people who would swim in the sea every day of the year (unless stormy). This is common across many Irish coastal towns. The old people in my town who were regulars, including men in their 80s, would claim it is very healthy and that they rarely become ill.
I now live too far from the sea to do it regularly but I was just up in Cape Cod at the weekend and took a dip in the ~40F water. This was on the colder end of what I would ever do back home and I wasn't accustomed to it, so it was a little difficult but I certainly felt very refreshed after! I still usually do, as others have commented, turn most of my morning showers to cold at the end, if not taking them entirely cold, but it's just not the same... The saltiness of seawater in particular seems to be very therapeutic and might be an additional factor.
Where I used to live water was more like 60 deg F in the winter.
Where I live now it's 58 in the summer, 53 in the winter. After going in all summer I couldn't wait to see what 53 does to you.
I'm the only person out there in a speedo, everybody else is in a body suit. Beach walkers are bundled up. I'd like to know the effects on brown fat.
First time I did it I felt stoned afterwards. I don't really get that feeling anymore but I definitely feel better. My cold tolerance is high throughout the week.
At first the water is too cold for my feet but over the course of 20 minutes I don't feel anything at all. Helps that I'm over 25% body fat. I finally get up to my neck. It's still difficult to repeatedly put my head underwater because you get something akin to brain freeze.
The scientific benefits of full-body sun + salt water absorption through skin + cold body exposure are not popular, even if the science has been done. My common sense tells me it's great for me.
I used to race triathlons, and I've dived into my fair share of chilly lakes and rivers at 6 AM. I guess this is a different thing than a leisurely swim, but the main thing I remember is the pain in the temples and around the crown of the scalp from submerging the head in ice-cold water. Something like a brain-freeze from eating ice cream too fast.
For anyone in SF, I'd recommend checking out the Dolphin Club if you're into swimming in cold water – it's right on Aquatic Park in Fisherman's Wharf and has saunas that you can jump into right after your swim. It's probably my favorite place in the city and is open to the public every other day.
>A year later, Walnut Tree Farm was bought by a couple, Jasmin and Titus Rowlandson, who have maintained his commitment to ungentrified country living...it is warmed by an Aga stove.
I can totally recommend everyone at least try a cold shower once. It's has a bit of a lower barrier to entry than cold water swimming.
If you've never been under a cold shower for more than a few seconds it's hard to imagine what it's like. It's more than just cold. Your entire body has a visceral reaction to it. Your heart rate goes up, your breathing quickens, fight-or-flight kicks in hard. It's not exactly fun but boy is it a good way to start your day. I've never been more awake than after a cold shower.
Of course the tricky bit is to actually get yourself to do it. Personally I tend to shower nice and warm, and then finish it off by turning off the hot water. It's always a challenge to see how long I can last under the cold water. Big advantage of showering like this is that you still get to have a nice comfy long warm shower but getting out of the shower isn't cold anymore. Room temperature is positively pleasant after a cold shower ;-)
I wonder how this differs form dipping in chilled water at a typical Russian Banya. I can’t swim well in cold water but experienced a great effect on my body at a russian spa. After alternating between sauna/steam room and quick dips in a small tank with chilled water (near freezing point) and all i could say is after the initial shock I felt absolutely fantastic.
Seconded. It's pretty wild how much a cold shower affects you physically. The only comparable things is fight-or-flight stuff like your chair almost tipping backwards or the top of a lift hill on a roller coaster. You'll definitely feel awake and alive after!
I have started doing this on days I go to the gym (3x per week) and anecdotally it has positive effects on how I feel mentally and physically. (And these effects have lasted after about 6 months of this practice.)
If you are interested in this, you should probably take a look into Wim Hof. He has made a process out of using coldness for improving day-to-day condition.
PS: His practice is mostly (power) breathing and cold showers/swims/etc.
I took 1000 consecutive cold showers after studying the Wim Hof technique. It was awesome, and I still sometimes take a cold shower instead of hot, just for fun.
Did I gain any super human abilities like Wim claims he can teach? Nah, I just enjoy the cold. I'm that weirdo that wears shorts all winter, shovels the snow barefooted and dresses inappropriately for the weather, according the the comments everyone seems to need to tell me.
East coast winter surfer here. After that initial shock (anyone have ideas on how to minimize this??), it's a great feeling. Almost as good as the coffee and burrito after the session. Highly recommended.
If you have time, just enter much more slowly. Let your feet get cold then move up to your knees after the feet aren't so cold. Then nuts, then belly, then nips, then shoulders.
The real hurdle is when the water is high enough that my hands are in the water too. The whole time I'm slowly splashing and rubbing water over my body to prepare for submersion. I can tell which areas are still dry and upon their first exposure to water its slightly uncomfortable but well worth it. I get my hair wet with my hands as well.
Finally I get up to my neck and after awhile I feel like I'm in a nice cool pool. I don't wear a wetsuit.
A steamer, booties, gloves, and a skull cap? That is the defacto setup we use in Ireland for winter surfing. You still get the brain freeze when you duck-dive, but your body never gets really cold.
I haven't been able to minimize the shock too much, but I've seen a little success fully entering and exiting the water repeatedly, staying in a little longer each time. Eg. 5 secs, 15 secs, then 30 secs. After 3 or 4 in and outs, I just stay in and get on with the swim.
This gives me a chance to gauge what I'm dealing with (water temp + how willful and resilient I'm feeling that day). Plus it makes the initial entry less of a mental hurdle because I know I'm coming out shortly after entering.
Force yourself to breathe slowly. It leads to a much shorter shock phase.
This is a neurological hack, basically your mind thinks that everything is ok because you only breathe slowly in calm conditions (cold water is not calm by default).
"it is warmed by an Aga stove and an enormous open hearth, over which dinner is typically cooked" I guess this produces way too much greenhouse gases, as compared to more modern ways.
Are you accounting for the greenhouse costs of producing and shipping all the equipment that it is replacing? A stove, ducts and vents, cabling, a heating furnace and the production of all the energy sources that run these?
