Cold-Water Cure

A chilly practice has some promising health benefits

- Melissa Greer

SUBMERGING YOUR BODY into icy depths may not sound appealing, but for devotees of cold-water therapy, the benefits greatly outweigh any short-term discomfort. Participants claim the practice—which involves plunging into or swimming in water no warmer than 15 degrees Celsius (roughly 10 degrees colder than the average pool)—leaves them invigorated and clear-headed, and even alleviates pain.

Cold-water therapy has become more mainstream in recent years, in part due to the influence of Wim Hof, a Dutch extreme athlete who developed his own method of cold therapy coupled with conscious-breathing techniques, but it’s not a new trend. In fact, cold water has been used to promote health for more than 2,000 years: ancient Greeks used water therapy to relieve fatigue and treat fever.