Swimming in Cold Water: Dangers and Impact on Health

Dr Glenn McConell chats with Professor Mike Tipton from University of Portsmouth, England. He is an absolute authority on exercise in extreme environments. We talked initially about his important work examining the causes and prevention of drowning in cold water. Autonomic conflict and triathlon mass starts. We then discussed exercise in the cold and cold adaptations and cross adaptation between cold, heat, altitude etc. Smart to pre-cool and cool after exercise in the heat? Mike is very heavily involved with translating his research to the media and lifesaving organizations etc. Very interesting work and a fun chat. Twitter: @ProfMikeTipton 0:00. Introduction 1:55. Most drowning in cold water not due to hypothermia 3:57. Cardiorespiratory effects of falling into cold water. Cold shock 6:40. Gasp response and drowning 7:35. Stay as still as possible, “Float to live” 10:23. Cold and pain receptors 14:20. Rapid loss of heat from the arms in cold water 16:17. Mike heavily involved with translating his research 22:00. Best to keep clothes on if fall in cold water 25:08. Autonomic conflict, anger, breath holding 28:20. Triathlon mass starts and drowning, breath holding 37:10. Concurrent sympathetic and parasympathetic activation 40:04. Marathon swims and difficulties in cold water 42:15. Arm vs leg exercise and blood pressure 44:00. Physiological effects of cold water on muscle 48:40. Griffith Pugh re English Channel swims/climbing Everest 51:10. Acclimation to cold 53:40. We’ve become thermostatic: not perturbing our systems 58:00. Preparing athletes for exercise in the heat 1:00:10. Increased lifespan but not healthspan 1:02:25. Climate change and people that are thermostatic 1:03:40. Cross adaptation between cold, heat, altitude etc 1:10:03. Cold immersion and immunity 1:12:03. Smart to pre-cool and cool after exercise? 1:17:35. Consider the physiology of the body and think integratively 1:21:45. Non freezing cold injury 1:25:10. Consider the risks and the benefits of cold water immersion 1:26:15. Takeaway messages 1:28:10. Be careful where you get your information from 1:31:02. Outro (9 seconds) Inside Exercise brings to you the who's who of research in exercise metabolism, exercise physiology and exercise’s effects on health. With scientific rigor, these researchers discuss popular exercise topics while providing practical strategies for all. The interviewer, Emeritus Professor Glenn McConell, has an international research profile following 30 years of Exercise Metabolism research experience while at The University of Melbourne, Ball State University, Monash University, the University of Copenhagen and Victoria University. He has published over 120 peer reviewed journal articles and recently edited an Exercise Metabolism eBook written by world experts on 17 different topics (https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-94305-9). Connect with Inside Exercise and Glenn McConell at: Twitter: @Inside_exercise and @GlennMcConell1 Instagram: insideexercise Facebook: Glenn McConell LinkedIn: Glenn McConell https://www.linkedin.com/in/glenn-mcconell-83475460 ResearchGate: Glenn McConell Email: glenn.mcconell@gmail.com Subscribe to Inside exercise: Spotify: shorturl.at/tyGHL Apple Podcasts: shorturl.at/oFQRU YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@insideexercise Anchor: https://anchor.fm/insideexercise Google Podcasts: shorturl.at/bfhHI Anchor: https://anchor.fm/insideexercise Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/4025218 Not medical advice