Cold-Water Cure

A chilly practice has some promising health benefits

- BY 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, 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.