Introduction

There is growing evidence that cold water swimming on a regular basis can boost your mood, lower stress and strengthen your immune system. A randomized controlled trial carried out in the Netherlands showed that volunteers asked to have a 30 second cold shower every morning took 30% less days off sick from work than a control group who had warm showers. The first time you jump in the sea in winter or have a icy cold shower, it will not surprisingly trigger a stress response. But if you keep having cold showers or going for cold swims, then gradually over time you will adapt and your stress response will fall becoming more muted. It's thought that by exposing our bodies to small amounts of stress in a controlled way