Opinion: Cold water immersion nearly not as crazy as it sounds

Dee Wilson tried "cold water immersion" a trend which involves partially or totally submerging oneself in cold water for a few minutes at a time.

Dee Wilson is a former Taupō & Turangi Herald reporter.

OPINION

I’ve always loved swimming and in summer the colder the water the better. But if anyone had told me I would willingly, in my 67th year, choose to walk into Lake Taupō in the middle of winter, I would have said they were crazy.

But never say never.

When my daughter-in-law told me she was regularly practising cold water immersion after being told of the benefits by a yogi friend, I thought why not try it?

Now that I’ve done it, I can say I’ve loved doing it as much as I’ve hated the thought of doing it.

Blame the Danish, because I understand it all started in that part of the world where the water temperatures are sub-zero.

The word from experts and Mr Google is that five minutes standing up to your neck in icy water - maximum 10C or lower - can help with inflammation, lower insulin levels and increase energy.

Apparently, several local women around my age are frequent “immersers” and I’m told that most days on the Taupō lakefront in the winter months you can see people of all ages and genders standing in the water up to their necks.

Walking into the lake for the first time on a freezing morning was sort of terrifying and exhilarating and I had a real sense of achievement after completing five minutes.

I suffered no ill effects, actually, I felt rather good.

When I got a text a week later from my daughter-in-law asking if I would come along again, I couldn’t resist.

This time, I decided to bike down to the lakefront rugged up with warm clothes over the bathing suit and bike home. Why not make things more challenging?

I also adapted things, instead of putting my hands underwater, I opted for what looked like a prayer pose. Perfect, really because I was praying that I could manage to “immerse” a second time.

I started reciting affirmations out loud but realised that was not helping my fellow immerser. And although it was fine getting the clothes off before the crazy cold dip, it wasn’t so easy getting dressed again.

My daughter-in-law kindly waited as she shivered uncontrollably, desperate to get back into her car and get home, while I floundered around by her car trying to get re-clothed.

I haven’t ever shivered which is a bit disappointing because shivering is supposed to be a good sign. Something to do with triggering brown fat, which I’ve never heard of. Look up Mr Google for more information.

The toes take a while to warm up. A beanie and woollen socks are essential in mid-winter. To gain maximum benefit you need to let the body warm up naturally after the dip. No spa, hot shower or bath - sorry.

Throughout July and October, I’ve immersed at least twice a week, sometimes even three times a week in the lake.

Am I addicted? Yes.

It feels like exercise, doesn’t take long, has boosted my energy levels and my blood pressure is down.

Now that it’s warmer, the beanie and the woollen socks have been discarded and the duration of the dip has increased to 10 minutes, but it’s nearly not as crazy as in winter because I’m not tingling to the same degree which means the dips don’t quite have the same zing.

So, maybe an early morning cold swim, without a wetsuit, will have to suffice until next winter.