It’s 5am. The sun hasn’t yet risen and it’s cold. Many people are still under their covers, snoozing and awaiting their alarm clocks to jolt them into consciousness, but for the first time in a long time I am awake before the dawn and scrambling around for my car keys to make it in time to catch the sunrise and brave the elements as I try the activity that seems to have taken the world by storm in the last few years: cold water - or outdoor - swimming.
Outdoor swimming is essentially swimming in an open natural body of water outside, be that at dawn, dusk and any time in between. From chilly lakeside dips to full cold-water immersion in the open sea in your skimpy swimmers or thickest winter wetsuit. And while swimming in crisp waters sounds like the last thing you’d want to be doing - especially first thing in the morning - this form of cold-water therapy has a vast number of incredible benefits that’ll make you rethink your hesitations.
According to IPRS Health, cold-water swimming can boost your immune system, give you a natural high, improve circulation, increase libido, burn calories, reduce stress, anxiety and improve mental health. And if these aren't spurring you to whip on your cozzie and dive in, perhaps the most wonderful element is it connects you with an incredible community of like-minded people.
