The pros and cons of swimming in cold water
Does water have healing power? Many swimmers seem to agree that swimming in cold water has positive effects on the mind and the body. From reducing anxiety to strengthening the body against common colds. But is this true?
In this blog, we will discuss the pros and cons of swimming in cold water. We’ll look at where the idea of the healing power of cold water comes from and how it prevails nowadays. And then we will also look at the cons of swimming in cold water.
What effect does cold water have on the body?
Hippocrates was one of the first to be interested in the link between cold water and the effect it has on the body. Hippocrates is considered a father figure of modern medicine, which also explains the use he found for cold water.
Hippocrates was interested in the healing powers of water and noticed how cold-water blood vessels, stimulates circulation, digestion and metabolism, and awaken the appetite, having an exhilarating effect. He used cold water immersion baths to effectively combat physical and mental weariness.
However, Hippocrates also noted that feeble individuals, the very young and the very old, should not immerse themselves in cold water at all. This, of course, has to do with how cold water could have dangerous side effects on individuals with heart problems.
The 18th-century cold water swimming boom
Centuries of people reading and writing about cold water immersion and cold water, turned water therapy into a popular cure.
In 1769 Buchan W. published his work ‘Domestic Medicine, or the Family Physician’, in which he recommends open water swimming as a treatment of a range of diseases, with winter considered the best time to engage in the activity.
For example, cold water swimming was often prescribed for patients who suffered from rheumatism. As cold water reduces the blood flow through your body, this decreases inflammation and gives your muscles time to recover.
Cold water swimming was also prescribed for people with weak health that often suffered from common colds. Cold water baths are the best defence against cold. A winter long taking cold water baths would protect better against the colds throughout the year. Or that was the idea.
Back to the present: What do we know about swimming in cold water from a scientific point of view?
In a study from 2018, a 24-year-old woman with symptoms of major depressive disorder and anxiety trialled a weekly programme of open cold water swimming. The study reports that the weekly swimming led to “an immediate improvement in mood following each swim and a sustained and gradual reduction in symptoms of depression”
This study sparked a new interest in cold water swimming. Many articles have since then appeared that list the benefits of swimming in cold water like:
Cold water boosts your immune system
Cold water gives you a natural high
Cold water improves your circulation
Cold water increases your libido
Cold water burns calories
Cold water reduces stress
Regular swimming can reduce the effects of depression or anxiety
However, Maja-Lisa Løchen, a cardiologist and professor of preventive medicine at The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø, has pointed out that there aren't many studies on the topic of the benefits of cold-water swimming.
For example, some studies claim that people who swim in winter have fewer respiratory infections. However, this finding could be influenced by the fact that winter swimmers may already be in better health than non-swimmers.
A recent study from 2020, 'Cold Water Swimming—Benefits and Risks: A Narrative Review', have tried to describe the benefits of swimming in cold water. And their conclusion is spot on:
“Regular swimming training in cold water seems to have a positive effect on various systems such as the cardiovascular system, endocrine system, immune system and the psyche. However, cold water swimming still poses a significant health risk for inexperienced and untrained swimmers. […] further research is required to fully understand the health benefits of its undertaking”
The cons of swimming cold water
While there seem to be benefits of swimming in cold water, the study also notes that they can't explain the benefits that swimming brings. Even adding that “Cold water swimming still poses a significant health risk for inexperienced and untrained swimmers.”
This might seem the only con we have mentioned in this blog, a higher risk of drowning, but it is often overlooked.
A swimmer inexperienced with cold water can be overwhelmed by the cold shock, the cold incapacitation and if pushing it, hypothermia. These are all serious threats that can seriously hinder a swimmer’s ability and it should not be taken lightly.
What are the pros and cons of swimming in cold water?
While many pros have been mentioned, most go back to the benefits noted by Hippocrates: cold water stimulates circulation, digestion and metabolism, and awakens the appetite, having an exhilarating effect. How these benefits work and how regularly you have to swim to experience the unstudied pros of swimming in cold water remains to be seen.
While there is one big con, the risks that come with swimming in cold water, it is something that can be managed. Taking it slow, acclimatizing, swimming with a coach and swimming often, will help you get better at swimming in cold water and will help you reap the benefits of whatever cold swimming offers, even though it is not scientifically proven, yet.
Just note that if you’re not going to take it seriously and do it often, open water swimming in cold water is more dangerous than beneficial.