Finally the water temperature has dropped below 10 degrees so I could start my cold sea dip season! Why I am doing this? In a nutshell: To feel ALIVE! It’s instant gratification that you receive with cold water immersion. But there are many more health-related gains to it.

Here are some of the great mental and physical benefits of cold water immersion. The following list is not just my own experience but also supported by scientific studies.

• It boosts your immune system

• You get a natural high instantly

• It improves circulation

• It helps reduce stress and handle stressful situation better

• It improves sleep and helps with nightmares

• It’s an important part of my recovery routine since it helps reducing muscle damage (btw here’s a link to an article about my recovery routine)

• Another fun benefit: You get to talk to other people :) Trust me, there’s seldom a time when no one approaches me asking me if I really went into the sea, or why I am doing this or simply just to give me a shout-out and getting inspired to do the same. Some even applaud me ;) To be frank: I don’t understand why people are so in awe when I go into the cold water or have a cold shower. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate their kindness and acknowledgement that I’m going outside of my comfort zone but there are much, much harder things that I do. So I don’t quite understand why this particular cold sea dip is always such a big thing for people. Everyone can do it - well, if you’re privileged enough to live in a place on earth where you have running water or access to water. So if you are one of these privileged people, everything you need to do is just do it! And if you’re still saying: “I can’t do it.” - well, all I can say to you is: Correct, with this attitude you won’t get it done - even though it’s one of the few things where you don’t need any experience, skills, whatsoever. So just get over yourself!

  By the way, if you want to support my campaign with Charity Water which helps people around the world to get access to clean water, please look at my “Support” page to get more information. I’d really appreciate that.

Honestly, this is one of the most accessible and quickest ways to improve your mental and physical health! There’s no excuse whatsoever for not giving it a go. And if you don’t live near a lake or sea or you can’t swim, then use your shower! That’s what I do during the summer when the sea is above 9 degrees. You see, there’s really no excuse. Don’t overthink it, just do it and you’ll get the great reward of feeling alive right away.

PS: So far the coldest conditions I went into the sea were at 6 degrees air and water temperature with a blowing, icy wind. Let’s see how much lower the temperatures can get before I stop ;)