Participate in POLAR BEAR PLUNGE
5 health benefits of cold water swimming1. Swimming in cold water burns calories and increases your metabolism.
Cold water makes your body work twice as hard in an effort to keep you warm. This not only burns more calories, but it also causes your body to burn fat as its primary source of fuel and helps increase your metabolism in the long run.
2. Regular exposure to cold water strengthens the immune system
Keeping the body at the same temperature (with thermal regulators such as air conditioners, heaters and clothing) effectively disables the body’s natural system of thermal regulation. This can leave you vulnerable to getting sick from even minor changes in outside temperatures.
By exposing your system to sudden extreme temperatures, you can train your body to adapt to sudden changes in outside temperature so you don’t get sick after getting caught in the rain or a chilly windstorm.
3. Cold water helps boost skin circulation and improves the complexion
Cold temperatures increase blood flow and cause the heart to pump more blood to the organs. This helps the body flush out toxins and increases overall blood flow, which helps promote a clear, healthy complexion.
Tip: Increase circulation to the skin and get that desired healthy glow by switching between several hot and cold bursts of water while in the shower or when washing your face at the sink.
4. It gives you a natural “high”
Winter swimmers often talk about the “high” they get after taking a cold winter dip. This is caused by the rush of endorphins (the body’s natural pain killers) that get released when the skin comes into contact with cold water.
The cold water also triggers the release of dopamine and serotonin, which are neurotransmitters that keep us feeling happy and help ward off depression.
5. It can improve your sex life…really!
Although taking a cold shower is usually thought to have exactly the opposite effect of increasing one’s sex drive, studies have found that daily cold baths or showers can increase testosterone levels for men and raise oestrogen levels in women. These hormones increase libido for both sexes and are also vital to fertility.
Risks
Cold water swimming is not without risk and should be practiced with caution. Most polar bear swims limit swimming time to 5 minutes to prevent the risk of hypothermia.
Cold water swimming is also not recommended for the following individuals:
- Pregnant women
- Heart disease patients or anyone prone to irregular heart beat
- Individuals with high blood pressure
Source: examiner.com