To think everyone should accustom themselves to cold water

[silverystream]

It has been quite fashionable in certain circles to take ice baths / cold water baths or showers. Stuff about health benefits and autophagy and reducing inflammation etc.

But beyond this I think it is a really good idea because most drownings occur due to cold water shock. Yet people can get accustomed to sitting baths full of ice cubes! I just watched a thing about Alaska wherby someone fell in icy water and was pulled out pretty quickly. They said if they didn't act quick he would lose his fingers! Yet Wim Hof dove under the ice and swam underwater and I think holds a world record for this. Isn't it a good idea to start taking cold water baths in order to build up resilience?

I think so and take a cold water bath everyday. Cold tap water doesn't even feel that cold after a while.

What do you think?

We used to swim in the Atlantic Ocean up in Maine when I was growing up. We’d stay in the water until we turned purple and could barely feel our limbs. I’m going to assume that’s me covered, sort of like a vaccination.

I am nominating for classic, cos I've nearly peed myself at most of the responses!

Some folk wrote a cherry-picking topic review about what living in cold/warm climate might mean to population level obesity.

15 blokes altered their metabolism in response to cold (for a few hours). That involved regular sampling, Botnia clamp, and at least 3 hrs on two occasions, so I hope they got paid well for their participation.

Some kind of cell tissue study that didn't result in any leaner human beings

15 men shivering didn't actually get any skinnier for it

Fat Mice became cold (miserable?) mice but didn't get any leaner

I can't see any strong evidence there of compelling benefits to ordinary people from cold immersion.

WickedGoodDoge My kids swim in the Maine ocean too, and they say things like 'Hey are you coming in? It's lovely!'

NO IT'S NOT. EVER!

I have been more regularly open water swimming in the past 3 years - it means I can see 16C water as warm and 13C water as 'bracing' As in swimming with seals without a wetsuit in Scotland.

Thing is, i love the buzz you get wen you get out and going for a short run after to dry off feels AWESOME. And I never feel more relaxed when I am warming up.

It also means I can run in any weather (not to remote mind, don't skimp on outdoor gear) in just a single layer of leggings/compression top - my body heat keeps me warm however cold/wet it is.

Having said that I have swum in very cold water - on immersion it was an effort of will NOT to gasp and thrash - it was like 'Oh shit where are my lungs!' I had to focus on deep, slow breaths and not getting my head wet - but I still did it. This was on a mud run BTW - a more controlled environment. But I think everyone should do this at least once. To hell with convention, it is a tragic thing to die not knowing what your body is capable of.

drsausage Yeah, there’s no way you’d drag me into it now! We used to rent a house at Biddeford Pool for a couple of weeks every summer. Absolutely glorious - I can still transport myself back to it: cycling along the Mile Stretch to Goldthwaites for ice creams, learning to fish off the pier at Cape Porpoise and body surfing in the freaking ICY COLD ocean!!!!!!!!!

I plunge my head into a sink of cold water to help migraines.
Someone I know swims in the sea to prevent them but that's a stroke too far for me.