cold (naked) swim
via Philippe fb share
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chasing the sublime – by Amanda Bluglass
element of the unknown/discomfort/risk.. fear of cold/deep.. but..
that plunge into shared silence is a coming home.. everything slips away
it’s the getting in we find hard.. not the being in
that step forward from the shoreline.. when we stand on the waters edge, warm and dry, and regret what’s ahead.. but we love the intensity
in deep water your life is always in your own hands
we will continue to seek these discomforts and to get cold and too tired ..to find/overcome fears.. simultaneously to feel what feels like life’s biggest freedom.. by the simplest of choices.. sink or swim.. float or flander.. to transform from ordinary to briefly extraordinary
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benes of cold water swimming: http://www.lifehack.org/288238/6-amazing-health-benefits-cold-water-swimming
benes of cold shower: https://ideapod.com/5-reasons-freezing-cold-shower-every-day-will-change-life/
(not original one i read.. but can’t find it.. so..) ice women cometh: http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2015/01/ice-women-cometh.html
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Chase Jarvis (@chasejarvis) tweeted at 8:10 AM – 4 Feb 2018 :
Kevin Rose: Ice Baths, Saying No, & the Art of Trying https://t.co/OO4kvX4RzX @kevinrose https://t.co/dRx1anBDF3 (http://twitter.com/chasejarvis/status/960168588312301570?s=17)
48 min – basically a little body hack to get more energy
49 min – science backed up by rhonda patrick (@foundmyfitness) – on cold therapy
50 min – no shivering just means i’m used to it by now and i’m using fat rather than using shivering .. and i can also produce heat from breathing exercises from the inside out
53 min – you feel like you shed like 7 yrs of your life
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@pomeranian99
Turning on the cold water for 30 seconds at the end of each shower appears to boost people’s sense of energy, and produces 29% less sick days, as this experiment found: https://hbr.org/2018/03/cold-showers-lead-to-fewer-sick-days
link to tweet: https://twitter.com/pomeranian99/status/969366035961966592?s=19
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Jon fb share
From the article:
“”“Swimming is the only activity that the human can indulge in that is gravity free,” he says. “You realise gravity incessantly is putting a strain on us. You can’t escape gravity even if you’re sitting down – you’re probably in a bad posture and your muscles and ligaments are aching because of it – but swimming gives you that opportunity.””
99 yr old breaking records:
Swimming is something he does in private. It lets him exercise without pain. He only ever competes alone, and he is happy if his record encourages other masters-level swimmers to join him.
In many ways, he swims for himself, and lays down records for others.
“In the water you’re weightless. While you’re there, you can use all the muscles in your body, your sinews and elastic tissues, without that extra weight that’s on you. In the water it’s just yourself and no weight at all.”
He will go back to swimming three laps a week, sleeping well and eating a boiled egg for breakfast.
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3d printed shirt that lets you breathe underwater – fins draw oxygen from water
https://www.fastcompany.com/90214120/amphibio-is-a-3d-printed-shirt-that-lets-you-breathe-underwater
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sept 2018 – how cold water swim could treat depression
https://bigthink.com/mind-brain/cold-water-swimming-treatment-depression
- The treatment is based on cross-adaptation, a phenomenon where individuals become less sensitive to a stimulus after being exposed to another.
- Getting used to the shock of cold-water swimming could blunt your body’s sensitivity to other stressors.
“Underwater, I feel an intense mixture of burning pain and, even after doing this for years, a little panic. But it’s the only time the anxious negative chatter in my head is truly silenced. After two minutes, as my skin reaches the same temperature as the water, I start to feel comfortable and my breathing slows. After even a brief swim, I feel elated for hours and calm for days.”
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(while writing of fuller at sea w sick son – but now on darwin’s 9 yr old daughter dying) – a natural history and travel guide from the era described the craze of sea bathing at ramsgate ‘ a sudden plunge into the ocean cause the blood to circulate briskly, and promotes the threat of the body.’.. it was to ramsgate that the darwins first sent annie, hoping for maritime recovery. but her illness only escalated into fever and headaches..
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sophia peabody’s history illustrates the limits of 19th cent med’s promised.. treated w mercury as an infant.. rendered her so sensitive to noise.. these excruciating headaches.. out of body confusion, syncopating pain, and occasional delirium.. her father.. harvard trained physician.. set about treating sophia trying to siphon out the ‘humors’ the bodily fluids at the basis of ancient greek and roman system of medicine – believe to be causing the malady.. she was not yet 17
fluids.. cold water shock.. et al
a year earlier, the darwins had traveled to the spa village of malvern, where charles was to try a new ‘cold water cure’ devised by a dr james gully. darwins’ chronic illness at times manifested as insomnia, at other times as ‘dreadful vomiting every week’.. it was never accurately diagnosed nor treated, and he was desperate for relief.. one contemp theory holds he suffered from an acute anxiety disorder.. darwin set his sci skepticism aside and wrote to the physician.. willing to try his treatment .. dr gully’s treatment developed in response to he 2 yr old daughters’ death.. the little girl had been treated w every known drug at the time.. his hydropathy drew such famous patients ad lord tennyson and florence nightengale and now darwin.. (and dickens’ wife)
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sacks: ‘some patients i could help w drugs, and some w hr magic of attention and interest. the most severely afflicted patients defeated my therapeutic endeavors until i started to enquire minutely and persistently into their emotional lives. it now became apparent to me that many migraine attacks were drenched in emotional significance, and could not be usefully considered, let alone treated, unless their emotional antecedents and effects were exposed in detail.. i thus found it necessary to employ a sort of continuous double vision, simultaneously envisaging migraine as a structure whose forms were implicit in the repertoire of the nervous system, and a strategy which might be employed to any emotional or indeed biological end’
in his foundational treatise on migraines, sacks argued for darwinian basis of the interplay between emotions and the body in chronic headaches darwin had described an alt reaction some organisms have to the classify fight flight instinct – a response of immobilization and paralysis in the face of threat – and had contrasted these two modes as ‘active fear (terror)’ and ‘passive fear (dread)’.. migraines, sacks argues, evolved from the latter response mech and ‘have become w the elaboration of human nervous systems and human needs, progressively differentiated and refined’
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darwin’s daughter ill – despite darwin’s elation over the effect of the ‘cold water treatment ‘ on his own health (all ills gone after).. when annie fell gravely ill, he couldn’t set aside his scientific doubts about dr gully’s dubious beliefs in clairvoyance, homeopathy and other psuedoscience..
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later tried – but water cure didn’t work on annie.. intermittent signs of improvement.. enough to give the anxious parents hope.. but her health decline over the longer span of weeks..
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Steve Jennings (@stevejennings1) tweeted at 10:19 AM on Thu, Feb 28, 2019:
‘Swimming is the new yoga’: why the fashion pack are taking a dip outdoors https://t.co/3AEhxwWmkC@gayewolfson @L_Thomsen_Brits @shelleykuipers @JustClembo @greenape @gringreen @davidhieatt @175viatribunali @aprilrinne
(https://twitter.com/stevejennings1/status/1101170035047915520?s=03)
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Cold comfort: exposure to chilly temperatures may help fight anxiety https://t.co/1zamumyFBZ #health https://t.co/dgapG57Mvo
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/wef/status/1127264689388490753Here’s the crucial part: This expectation is likely to extend the effects of stress-induced pain relief beyond immediate cold exposure. If such an expectation – “I confronted the cold and feel invigorated” – is fulfilled, it will lead to the release of additional opioids or cannabinoids from the periaqueductal gray. This release can affect the levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, further enhancing a feeling of overall well-being. This positive feedback loop is implicated in the well-known “placebo effect.”
More generally, techniques such as those Hof uses appear to exert positive effects on the body’s innate immune response as well. We expect them to also have positive effects on mood and anxiety because of the release of opioids and cannabinoids. Though these effects have not yet been well studied, by evoking a stress-induced analgesia reaction, we think that practitioners may assert “control” over key components of brain systems related to mood and anxiety.
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1 mile to you (film).. paraphrase: i have to do it (running) it’s like breathing.. have to do it everyday
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kim swims (doc).. on the freedom she feels in open water’s unpredictability/everchanging ness
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the little mermaid – mermaid swim law
deep water is magic.. just like her love. whenever she can’t breathe.. all she need do is swim..
time for a swim..
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via jon fb share – on swim ing
1:54 film about a guy who’s been swimming regularly for 80+ years.
His words: “I guess it’s a form of meditation. It makes me feel much better about myself.”
I agree . Here’s to another 30 years for me.
the only time i realize i’m not (in my 40s rather than 90s) is when i take a look in the mirror
if i’m feeling lonely or a little depressed.. i go for a swim and my spirits rise up
the water is always changing.. your emotions never change no matter how old you get
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CNN (@CNN) tweeted at 5:10 AM – 5 Nov 2019 :
“When I am in the water, I have the impression that my disability has disappeared. I have no prosthetics, no wheelchair. I am like everybody else.” https://t.co/6eomSewlhT (http://twitter.com/CNN/status/1191689131933536256?s=17)
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Aeon (@aeonmag) tweeted at 5:01 AM – 25 Jan 2020 :
Therapeutic hypothermia could save lives, propel interstellar travel and expand consciousness. Why the cold feet? From the archive: https://t.co/mzoMEBMaec (http://twitter.com/aeonmag/status/1221040268507582464?s=17)
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World Economic Forum (@wef) tweeted at 6:00 AM – 30 Jan 2020 :
Lewis Pugh swims under East Antarctic ice sheet to highlight the impact of climate change #climateaction #antarctica https://t.co/nQzEkv9LOe https://t.co/8VoJWV7Dej (http://twitter.com/wef/status/1222867285771157508?s=17)
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via jon fb share
i keep wondering if the municipal swimming pools might be opened once “everyone” has adapted to appropriate distancing and hygiene protocols.
A quick search suggests that chlorinated pools prevent the spread of viruses such as COVID-19.
<< There is no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread to humans through the use of pools, hot tubs or spas, or water playgrounds. Proper operation, maintenance, and disinfection (e.g., with chlorine and bromine) of pools, hot tubs or spas, and water playgrounds should inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19.
While there is ongoing community spread of COVID-19, there should be appropriate care taken both in and outside the pool, to protect yourself and others. Owners and operators of community pools, hot tubs, or spas should follow the interim guidance for businesses and employers to plan and respond to COVID-19. >>
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Jason Hickel (@jasonhickel) tweeted at 3:04 AM on Tue, Aug 04, 2020:
This is wild. Temperatures reached 33 degrees (90F) in Canada’s arctic waters last night.
(https://twitter.com/jasonhickel/status/1290574254556184577?s=03)
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Could #ColdWater hold a clue to a dementia cure? https://t.co/zJwfNA5c53 #wimhofmethod
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/singularityblog/status/1318168319623634945Cold water swimming may protect the brain from degenerative diseases like dementia, researchers from Cambridge University have discovered.
In a world first, a “cold-shock” protein has been found in the blood of regular winter swimmers at London’s Parliament Hill Lido.
The protein has been shown to slow the onset of dementia and even repair some of the damage it causes in mice.
The research – although promising – is at an early stage, but it centres on the hibernation ability that all mammals retain, which is prompted by exposure to cold.
Doctors have known for decades that cooling people down can – in certain circumstances – protect their brains.
People with head injuries and those who need cardiac operations are often cooled during surgery, as are babies.
What has not been so well understood was why cold has this protective effect.
The link with dementia lies in the destruction and creation of synapses – the connections between cells in the brain.
In the early stages of Alzheimer’s and other neuro-degenerative diseases, these brain connections are lost.
This leads to the cascade of symptoms associated with dementia – including memory loss, confusion and mood swings – and, in time, the death of whole brain cells.
What intrigued Prof Mallucci was the fact that brain connections are lost when hibernating animals like bears, hedgehogs and bats bed down for their winter sleep.
About 20-30% of their synapses are culled as their bodies preserve precious resources for winter.
But when they awake in the spring, those connections are miraculously reformed.
What these findings show, says Prof Mallucci, is that – just like hibernating mammals – human beings produce the “cold-shock” protein.
But the risks associated with getting cold outweigh any potential benefits, so cold water immersion is certainly not a potential dementia treatment, she says.
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wim hof: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Hof
lewis pugh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Pugh
World Economic Forum (@wef) tweeted at 6:00 AM – 30 Jan 2020 :
Lewis Pugh swims under East Antarctic ice sheet to highlight the impact of climate change #climateaction #antarctica https://t.co/nQzEkv9LOehttps://t.co/8VoJWV7Dej (http://twitter.com/wef/status/1222867285771157508?s=17)
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gif – swimmer diving into snow
[https://images.app.goo.gl/muhWqRwzWL53oyqa8]
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via jon fb share on jun 27 21 .. article dated same day – Wild swimming scientist Heather Massey: ‘Hypothermia is not a pretty sight’ – [https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jun/27/heather-massey-open-water-swimming-tips-dangers-hypothermia]
Why do we find open water so appealing?
There is a huge amount of experiential anecdotal evidence that shows people find outdoor swimming transformative. It changes their outlook. They feel more connected to nature. It’s their reset button.
yeah to the re\set ness
You do see lots of open water swimmers diving in, but they’ve probably spent many years getting used to the cold, so their cold shock response is much less severe than someone who has never done it before.
After you’ve cooled the skin, you start to cool the superficial nerves and muscles. There’s about 3% reduction in muscle strength for every degree that the muscle cools. When the muscles cool to about 27C (80f), they start to fatigue.
I’ve experienced claw hand – a lack of coordination in the hands. My hands became very stiff and I couldn’t form a paddle to swim with. The muscles in my arms and forearms were so cold they were no longer contracting as I wanted them to. That’s when I knew it was time to get out.
Hypothermia happens when the body temperature drops to below 35C. (95f).. It takes 20 to 30 minutes to cool the deep body to an extent that you reach clinical hypothermia. Loss of awareness and changes in vision are signs that someone is becoming hypothermic. Look for the “umbles” – fumbling, grumbling, stumbling and mumbling.
Actually, when you get out of the water your body continues to cool. A feeling of euphoria is common among open water swimmers when they get out. They want to take it all in, to stand and stare at what they’ve just swum in. It’s completely natural, that post-swim high. However, it’s really important that you dry and dress quickly. Delaying will only exacerbate any continued cooling as the water starts to evaporate from your skin – a very effective way of losing heat. We have to rewarm from the outside in. The cooling will continue until the warmth finally reaches the deep body. Only then will the body temperature start to rise
Wild swimmers don’t get colds or suffer pain, they live long, happy and healthy lives… these are just some of the stories you might hear. But what do we really know about the positive effects of swimming in cold water?
We’re seeing anecdotal evidence of people experiencing changes to their mental and physical health, with improvements in conditions like migraines and a reduction in menopausal symptoms. Cold water immersion can, in some instances, reduce inflammatory responses, and we’ve seen evidence that people take fewer days off work when they shower in cold water.A recent study by Cambridge University found that people who swim in cold water have higher levels of a protein linked to the formation of synapses, the links between nerves. The theory is, if you have a higher level of this protein, it will reduce neural degeneration and so stave off dementia.
We also think people can reduce some symptoms of depression if they go outdoor swimming. We’ve just completed a study with people who have been living with depression and the information is looking quite positive, but we don’t have all the answers just yet.
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“As you swim, you are washed of all the excrescences of so-called civilization, which includes the incapacity to be happy under any circumstances.”
Vacation and the art of presence – Anaïs Nin on how to truly unplug and reconnect with your senses https://t.co/39fslfrJpK
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/brainpicker/status/1412938740415221760
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but what’s special about swimming – https://theconversation.com/swimming-gives-your-brain-a-boost-but-scientists-dont-know-yet-why-its-better-than-other-aerobic-activities-164297
Regular swimming has been shown to improve memory, cognitive function, immune response and mood. Swimming may also help repair damage from stress and forge new neural connections in the brain.
But scientists are still trying to unravel how and why swimming, in particular, produces these brain-enhancing effects.
meh for the brain/memory.. children’s increase in accuracy of words learned.. oi
intellect ness and language as control/enclosure et al
Because swimming involves all of the major muscle groups, the heart has to work hard, which increases blood flow throughout the body. This leads to the creation of new blood vessels, a process called angiogenesis. The greater blood flow can also lead to a large release of endorphins – hormones that act as a natural pain reducer throughout the body. This surge brings about the sense of euphoria that often follows exercise
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Not a fan of running? Swimming may not merely be a good alternative, but a more efficient one https://t.co/nLqVA0Q0Nw
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1553035693965844481
jul 2022 article – [https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/29/sport/joy-swimming-physical-mental-health-spt-intl/index.html] – The joy of swimming: How getting in the water can improve physical and mental health
Regular swimmers have a 28% lower risk of early death and a 41% lower risk of death due to heart diseases and stroke, according to a report by Swim England’s Swimming and Health Commission in 2017.
In 2019, nearly half a million Brits living with mental health diagnoses said that swimming had reduced the number of visits to a medical health professional,
For those willing to brave the chill, the feelgood hormone dopamine is released by getting into cold water, ensuring an endorphin rush that can last hours after drying off.
Research into cold water’s anti-inflammatory properties by the University of Portsmouth in the UK has reaped a growing body of anecdotal evidence that it can dampen the inflammatory responses that cause anxiety and depression.
“But as I continued to glide through the water, my initial concern about weight gain was replaced by a feeling of catharsis, as though the water were cleansing me of the stress that had accumulated during the coronavirus pandemic.. Stroke after stroke, I could feel my mood lifting, my mind clearing and my body loosening.”
“It was very painful and I didn’t enjoy it,” Ashe told CNN Sport, “but the very alien feeling of connection with my body after living unhappily in my poorly mind for such a long time was a real epiphany moment for me.”
“When you get out, you get a bit of a rush, almost like you’ve been awakened in a way.
From easing muscle stiffness and increasing flexibility in the joints, swimming has a number of physical boosts for those with arthritis, according to charity Versus Arthritis, whom Waters has written for.
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via bruce paul hughes (2016) [https://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/what-freezing-water-extreme-altitude-can-do-for-our-health-w455186]:
Acclimating to increasingly cold temperatures for longer periods has all sorts of health benefits – physically and emotionally. We’ve been doing extreme cold baths as part of our advanced Vivation course for the last 15 years. I can’t recommend them highly enough. Glad to see Wim Hof popularizing this practice.
There is a consensus among many scientists and athletes that humans were not built for constant homeostasis. In the past, comfort was almost indistinguishable from safety. Now it’s something we take for granted. Human biology needs stress — and not the sort that damages muscle, gets us eaten by a bear, or degrades our physiques, but the environmental and physical fluctuations that invigorate our nervous system.
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ah. rp ness
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be you. 