By John Walters – Founder Questae Collective
I have always loved the water, and I have always loved swimming, but the sea…well there’s just something magical, something intriguing, something tempting, welcoming, awe-inspiring, a divinity of some kind, I just love it.
As a child I grew up in-land, and nowhere near any water that could be swum in. Yes I would go to the local swimming pool, but this was a treat because neither of my parents enjoyed the water, so these were rare occasions.
On our summer holidays my parents would be sat in the car, the rain beating down, the breeze chilling, a flask of tea and my sisters in the back moaning whereas I would be in my trunks heading out for a play in the waves (oh Cornwall how I loved those holidays).
One winter when I was 5 or maybe 6, we visited where my Dad grew up in Guernsey, it was freezing cold, raining of course, but still I went in for a swim, a play in the surf, to loose myself in the waves. It was there that I was experiencing my happiest moments.
Fast forward a few years (a lot of years) and I moved to Margate. So I found myself surrounded by the sea, suddenly it was right there, right on my doorstep, available to me anytime I wanted it.
I did swim regularly but I have to admit that it was during the warmer months, the late spring, summer, and early autumn. Then it would be the gym pool and the warm embrace of the calm, smooth, and ‘heated’ water.
This was then the norm for a good few years until November in 2019 when after a run on a beautifully still, clear, sunny, but cold, morning, without thinking I just got in, and fucking hell it was cold – jeeeeeez!!!
I only stayed in for around 5 minutes, I got halfway across and then decided to turn back, got out and walked home shivering…my god the shower that morning took some time haha.
What I wasn’t expecting, and of course I knew nothing about the benefits at the time, was the euphoria that I experienced afterwards, how good it made me feel, how energised I was, and how focussed I was throughout the entire day…mmm maybe there’s something to this cold-water swimming?
So I decided to lean more…and I was amazed.
- Regular exposure to cold water can increase the while blood cell count which leads to a more efficient immune system.
- Exposure to cold water improves circulation as it causes blood to be directed to our organs to keep them warm.
- It makes our heart work harder, moving the blood around our body more efficiently and effectively. Then after the swim, and as we warm up, blood is returned to our extremities causing a tingling afterglow which feels so lurverly!
- Endorphins are released, and this happy hormone reduces discomfort, eases pain, and reduces any nagging, chronic condition. Endorphins also make us feel happy and euphoric giving us a natural high!
- Dopamine and Serotonin, another pair of happy hormones are also released, and both these hormones are essential for keeping depression at bay as well as so many other benefits – ask me about ‘happy hormones’, I love them!
- Calories are burned faster, and not just because we are exercising, but because our body is working harder to maintain its core temperature, in fact some studies have found that frequent exposure to cold water may actually increase our metabolism.
But it doesn’t stop there, there are so many other added benefits to cold water swimming, and one of those is stress, and how our body handles or manages stress, or it’s reaction to being forced into a stressful situation.
I am sure that we have all experienced that moment, whether in a shower, a pool, or even having a bucket of icy water tipped over us (remember the ice-bucket challenge?), that moment when we are shocked by the cold and our breathing goes bananas, we hyperventilate, can’t catch our breath…you’ve experienced that yea?
Well, this is caused when our body is ‘forced’ into ‘fight of flight’ mode. It’s our natural response to fear, or shock, or stress – our heart rate sours, our chest beats, our breathing becomes rapid, and we want to flee, or hide, or fight, and this is known as our ‘sympathetic’ nervous system kicking in.
Getting into cold water triggers the sympathetic nervous system which is why one of the effects is to breath super quick, hyper ventilate, and feel stressed at that moment of entry. This is when those happy hormones are supressed, the adrenal glad produces cortisol and adrenalin, which are the hormones needed to trigger stress and the ‘fight or flight’ response.
The key however is to trick the body into triggering the ‘para-sympathetic’ nervous system, which is the absolute opposite of ‘fight or flight’ and one of ‘rest and digest’. This is where we supress the adrenal gland and activate the ‘happy hormones, and our heart rate reduces bringing a sense of calm.
But to trick the body into engaging our ‘parasympathetic’ nervous system we need to learn how to control and regulate our breathing.
For me this means deep diaphragmatic breathing for a couple of minutes before entering the water. Breathing in through my nose for 4 seconds, and exhaling from my mouth for 8 seconds. I also inflate my belly when breathing in rather than using my chest as this gets the air right down into the bottom part of the lungs using the entire lung space, as opposed to just a part when we chest breath.
This breathing exercise engages the vagus nerve which connects the brain to our organs including the heart and the lungs, and doing this exercise regularly (at least once a day) will increase, and improve, what is known as the vagal tone which will improve our mental health and mental wellbeing.
For example, if you have a high vagal tone, this means that your ‘parasympathetic’ nervous system is working, and this means that your body can relax more quickly after experiencing stress. And one way to stimulate the vagus nerve is to regularly practice breath work, the other, no surprise here given the theme, is by immersing your body in cold water.
And whilst some therapists and experts will say that taking a cold bath, or shower, or by simply immersing you face in a bowl of cold water will do, which is still great and definitely better than doing nothing, cold water swimming simply cannot be beaten.
So there you have it, the many benefits of cold water swimming, and here are my top tips for cold water swimming…
- Join a local group – great for camaraderie, meeting new friends and community spirit. I host a group called ‘Mental Health Swims’ which is a fantastic group to be part of (see below for link to find your local group), there are over 140 Mental health Swims locations UK wide.
- You should never swim alone and always tell someone when you are going, where youre going, and how long you expect to be.
- Wear a hat, neoprene gloves and boots, maybe get a wetsuit (I wear a wetsuit jacket in the colder months).
- Always have a towel, a change of clothing, a robe (I use a dryrobe®) and a flask with a hot drink, a snack is also advisable.
- Do NOT dive in – really silly, it’s hard to regulate breathing, and you really don’t wat to hyperventilate underwater!
- Acclimatise and know your limits – if you’re just getting started then a simple and quick dip in and straight out is good. Just build the time up. To give you an example, during the summer I will spend maybe 45/50 mins on a long swim, in January or February when its really cold (the sea can get to 3 degrees) I will spend less than 5 minutes. And yes I have made this mistake before, I have pushed on, and I have become hypothermic – I was silly, I was cocky, I was cold and got colder. I will not do that again, ever!
- Warm back up slowly – don’t just get straight into a hot bath or take a hot shower, this can be very dangerous for many reasons so warm yourself up using clothes, towels, blankets, or a robe, and enjoy the hot drink.
- And please, always take medical advice before embarking on any new physical activity.
If you are interested in cold water swimming here are some resources that you may find useful.
Mental Health Swims | Dips Not Distance
10 cold water swimming benefits you should embrace (redbull.com)
And if you have read this, and you would like to know more, or if you would like to find out how we can assist, guide, and implement Wellbeing programmes tailored for your organisation, then please do get in touch 😊
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