Health benefits of wild swimming - and dealing with the pollution

I can tell you now, from years of experience, that for most of us wild swimmers, cold water dippers and blue therapy advocates, it ‘ain’t fun.

It’s exactly as uncomfortable and as torturous as it looks (not every time, of course...sometimes there’s heat in the air, the sun is shining and the water temperature is higher than 10 degrees, but not this year, summer seems to have bypassed us for the present).

Throwing yourself into cold water is worth it, says Charlotte (Image: Charlotte Bradman)

Here’s the thing though, throwing yourself into cold water for mental wellbeing really, truly, does actually work.

If, like me, you suffer from anxiety, PTSD, over thinking, low self-esteem and/or depression, and no matter what you do, how many mediation apps you download or self-help books you read, you can’t seem to switch off your mind even for a minute or access a single moment of peace, then cold water is the way forward.

When you expose your body to cold water, your mind switches off. This occurs for the simple reason that there is something more important for your mind to focus on in that moment, namely how cold it is! Sensations in the body seize your entire focus, bringing you into the present faster than any mindfulness or meditation practice. There’s no space in your mind for thought, for worry about the future, or past. There is only now. Your body and mind held in the cool embrace of the water.

'Cold water therapy is better in a natural environment' (Image: Charlotte Bradman)

You don’t have to brave the numbing crystal clear water of a Lake District mountain pool, the translucent gold of a Yorkshire Dales peat filled river, or battle the stinging salt waves of the sea which surrounds our island, you can simply turn your shower to cold for a minute or so before you get out. However, I’ve found that practicing cold water therapy, or whatever you choose to call it, has greater benefits when you are in a natural environment.

In an age where all our waters - river, lake and sea (and sometimes drinking water, in the case of the recent events in Brixham) - are heavily and negatively affected by pollution; microplastics, untreated sewage, chemical run off and the like, extra precautions should be taken when accessing these watery spaces.

Never put your head underwater or swallow the water and avoid getting it anywhere near your mouth, nose, ears and eyes (unless you are swimming hundreds of miles away from a water treatment center!). Don’t go into the water if you have any open wounds, wait until they have healed before dipping. After you have finished your dip, dry off and dress, then use alcohol gel to sanitize your hands thoroughly. When you get home, have a shower and then wash the towel and the clothes that you changed into after swimming.

Charlotte swimming in open water (Image: Charlotte Bradman)

I see them all on the beaches in Newquay...the Blue Tits, the Blue Balls and the lone swimmers that have likely also turned some hue of blue, and most have enough kit to get to Everest Base Camp - waterproof changing robes, thermal blankets, standing mats, buckets, neoprene gloves and boots, swim hats, ear plugs, and the rest.

Me? I like to keep it simple. Part of the wellbeing experience I find beneficial with any outdoor swimming is the clear connection between the body, the natural environment and the cold. Stripping the process down, going into it lightly, with less stuff, creates more space for that connection. All you truly need is your swimwear, a towel, a warm coat and a woolly hat for afterwards, before heading straight to the nearest café with your skin still zinging for a hot chocolate and a massive piece of cake, or whatever keeps you afloat (in life, if not necessarily the sea!).

In the words of Dr Wallace J Nichols (may he rest in peace), author of Blue Mind, I wish you water.

And in the words of me, author of The Happy Nomad, I wish you the tingling skin, zinging energy, mental clarity, freedom and peace of mind that comes with embracing and immersing in the cold, living waters of our beautiful island.

* Charlotte Bradman, of Keighley, is the author of The Happy Nomad, published by Yellow Kite (Hodder and Stoughton).