This winter, some people in Great Britain have bemoaned the lack of access to open water to take a cold swim. The lack of access is naturally due to COVID related closures. This lady remarked on the podcast “It was our last defense against a sheltered life and that has been snatched away as well.” Hopefully, she gets it back in a few months.
That made me wonder about the unusual people that regularly take cold showers or cold swims in the span of winter. Somehow, I happened to read about endurance activities a few days later and cold showers was in the top 10. The article suggested to gradually lean into cold water showering in winter and promised that the outcome would be refreshing and generally improve one’s health.
In yet another signal, a few days later, my wife casually mentioned an online workshop acquaintance from Sweden that took ice cold baths and showers. The Swede declared it to be super healthy. With three signs, it was time to dip one’s toes in.
It is now Week 3 for me. Today, the temperature handle started at 80% cold setting and stayed at that setting during the entire shower. I have survived to write about it. For Week 2, it started at the 50% setting and moved to 80% only for the last half of shower time. By Week 5, I hope to start and stop at the 100% cold setting that my home plumbing will allow.
My wife is a warrior though. She has been at 100% cold setting since end of Week 1. It must come from her father who has been doing this daily since he was 16.
Well, our water consumption and gas consumption are down. Our mirror is no longer annoyed.
And yes, it is indeed refreshing and makes running outside in winter a lot more comfortable.
Shower away!
