The effect of blue spaces
Our relationship with the ocean is a funny but unique thing.
I don’t know when mine really started, but I was always fascinated by water. I grew up as far from the sea as possible (3+ hour car journey in every direction) so I think it was something that became mysterious and untouchable in my mind.
Skip a few years, that fascination led me to study oceanography and I become immersed in all things water related.
Since the pandemic, I’ve been lucky enough to swim in the sea more consistently, at least once a week, almost every week, for more than 6 months now. I’ve felt more energetic, calm, clear-headed and overall healthy in that time.
So recently I’ve been looking into the why…
History
Cold-water therapy is nothing new, its origins tracing back to Ancient Greece and the principles of thermal medicine, where water was used at different temperatures to soothe muscle fatigue and other health ailments.
In fact, Hippocrates, a Greek physician was the earliest to record ice-cold dunks, and documented his experiences with 'magic waters' for reducing pain.
By 1750 it was widely recommended that sea swimming could cure diseases, and this further led to the formation of ‘seaside towns.’ What’s new is the ‘blue space’ shift in focus to the blue waters around us.
Nowadays, the benefits of cold-water therapy, also known as ‘cold hydrotherapy’ are accessed through cold showers, plunge pools, and the increasingly popular activity of cold-water swimming.
Benefits
With this, here are 7 general ways that being in or near water can do for your mental and potentially physical wellbeing.
The focus is on swimming, however, just taking a dip or being close to water can have just as significant benefits.
1. It boosts your immune system
The effects of cold water on the immune system have been studied widely. There is a lot of support for one study that found cold water could help to boost the white blood cell count because the body is forced to react to changing conditions. Over time, your body becomes better at activating its defences, and therefore resists certain illnesses and infections.
2. The swim ‘high’
Cold water swimming is firstly an exercise, and exercises activates endorphins. This chemical is what the brain produces to make us feel good during activities. The cold water element as well as the swimming brings us close to the pain barrier. Fro this endorphins are released when we’re in pain, to help us cope with it.
A 2000 study carried out by scientists in Prague found that cold-water immersion can boost dopamine levels, also known as the 'happy hormone' by 530%.
And while a mood boost may be instant, research has also explored the long-term mental health benefits of wild swimming. One study found that open-water swimming can be used effectively to treat some cases of depression.
3. It improves your circulation
Cold water swimming flushes your veins, arteries, and capillaries. It forces blood to the surface and helps to warm our extremities. Repeated exposure a.k.a swimming more often adapts us to the cold.
4. A mindfulness exercise
When you immerse yourself in cold water you are sending your nervous system into overload. Nerve endings transmit responses to your brain, telling you just how cold parts of your body are.
Your brain only has limited bandwidth and with the intense sensation of the water to focus on there is no space left for your brain to go over your to-do list or worry about anything other than the cold. This focus on the present moment has much in common with mindfulness exercises and offers a welcome time out from the constant churning of our everyday thoughts.
5. A full body workout
Any kind of swimming is effective cardio and strength training, but adding in the complication of cold water makes the exercise more strenuous, as your body is also working hard to keep you warm
A 2014 study in the Netherlands linked regular exposure to the cold with cold-water thermogenesis in humans, which, put simply, is the body's ability to generate heat by increasing the metabolism. The study found that more brown fat—also known as brown adipose tissue—is produced by humans in cold temperatures. Brown fat contains more mitochondria (a type of cell), which act as 'engines' to burn calories and produce heat.
6. Provides pain relief
It's no secret that cold temperatures can be used as a natural pain relief, for example, a cold ice pack being the first port of call to reduce swelling. And this isn't without scientific backing. A group of researchers from Hong Kong found in a 2016 study that cold-water immersion after exercise can lead to decreased inflammation and pain for up to 24 hours after a workout.
7. Ecotherapy
Slowing down and connecting with nature is an effective way to reduce stress, and has also been cited by some case studies as a way to alleviate symptoms. Many cold water swimmers become calmer and more relaxed.
Being in or near water environments may lead to relaxation, improved social interactions, better brain health, enhanced physical activity, and relief from stress.
As well as all of these, there is a huge sense of community that sea swimming or doing activities near or on the sea can bring. Swimming groups provide each other with confidence and friendship unified by a love of being outdoors and in or near the water. Unlike many other outdoor activities, it straddles age groups, gender, and socio-economic status. You don’t need to be fit to do it, it’s free or relatively cheap and in certain circumstances, you don’t really need to be able to swim – as long as you can safely stand that counts.
Safe to Swim?
The more we use this as therapy and understand the benefits, the more we are likely to do something about the pollution in our waterways and how it gets there, and care for the nature we are fortunate to have on our doorsteps. If you’re interested in just what can be found in our seas and water courses, check out this UK led campaign and my previous post on Forever Chemicals. If you are swimming in the UK, try the Safer Seas and River Service App, run by Surfers Against Sewage, which tells you the water quality in your area and if it is safe to swim.
Thinking about giving it a go?
It is never too late to start.
Most communities are built near bodies of water not just for practical reasons, but because as humans, we’re naturally drawn to blue space. Research has shown all the above benefits but at the foundation of it all, people were by far the happiest when they were in blue spaces.
There are a few websites that give a good safety briefing around cold water swimming. Make sure you prepared yourself before and after for a cold water swim if that’s your intent. Either way, make sure you have layers to wrap up warm, a hot drink for afterwards, some sort of flotation device for emergencies, and know the area around where you’re swimming (e.g., rip currents etc), that is important.
I feel into the ocean naturally through intrigue, but I hope this post has inspired you to try and give it a go, maybe even advocate for cleaner seas for us all to swim in! We are an island nation after all, surrounded by blue spaces.
If you do try out cold water swimming make sure to tag @thegreenerwayy so I can see follow along on your journeys!
