THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF COLD-WATER SWIMMING 

From the elaborate bathing rituals favoured by the ancients to today’s Dryrobe-clad fans of cold-water swimming, we have always known that “taking the waters” is good for us. And proximity to water is beneficial even if you don’t take the full plunge. BlueHealth, a pan-European project that collected data from 18,000 people, found that those living near water enjoyed statistically better health outcomes, both physical and mental, than those living further inland. There was even evidence that the sight and sound of water have a positive impact.

Writer, health campaigner and documentary-maker Kate Muir is a true believer in blue health. Her latest book, How to Have a Magnificent Midlife Crisis, devotes a chapter to the joys and benefits of cold-water swimming. Muir swims regularly near her home in London – in an unheated lido on the edge of Hampstead Heath – and on the Scottish island of Gigha. “It has changed my life,” she writes of her early-morning plunges. “You have trounced the worst the world can throw at you, you’re done, and it’s only 7.45am… An hour or so after the ice plunge, you’re at your desk, still coasting on a massive serotonin high… followed by a deep calm.”

As well as this euphoria, Muir details medical research projects from Denmark, the Netherlands and the University of Cambridge that reinforce the positive benefits. “A regular icy plunge boosts energy, increases your stress threshold, improves your metabolism and glucose balance, decreases blood pressure, is neuroprotective and increases immunity,” she writes. A Dutch study showed that even showering in cold water for 30-90 seconds a day has a significant impact.

There is growing evidence that cold-water swimming builds up good brown fat, as opposed to unhealthy white fat, and studies conducted in Denmark by Dr Susanna Søberg show that spending two minutes in cold water is enough to activate a brown fat response. Professor Giovanna Mallucci, who led the UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, explains that “the cold shock protein enables the brain to protect itself against the damage to nerve cells”.

Another coastal convert is George Stoy, who runs George’s Surf School in Polzeath, introducing visitors and locals to the joys of immersion. The former stockbroker became hooked on surfing as a hobby and would race down to Cornwall from London whenever he got the chance. “I realised that after I’d had a weekend surfing, my mind and decision-making was much clearer,” he recalls. He became increasingly obsessed and decided to change his life and move to Cornwall – where he is already introducing his young daughter to the waves. “I love it here, I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else,” he says. 

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