The daily renewal of a cold plunge

I began drying myself off and felt born anew.

This was how I ended last wee, and it’s a good place to begin the continuation.

After I got out of the water from my first-ever cold plunge, there was a lightness to my being.

And I hadn’t been in the water for even a full minute.

I went back the next day. After that, I returned every three days or so, but within a month or so, I was a regular every morning.

When I’m in the water, most of the time I'm just being. I sit there. I calm myself and breathe into my belly.

If there’s enough morning light, I look around and enjoy the birds.

But I’m human.

There are times when work and my to-do list begin to creep into my head and I start thinking about my schedule for the day.

And when that happens, I calmly guide my thoughts back inward and find my breath again.

I’m at peace. Calm. Naked.

Oh, right - did I mention that it’s best to be fully unclothed for a cold dip?

There’s three reasons for this.

First, having a swimsuit on actually makes it colder for you because it sticks to your skin. You lose that layer of warmth I mentioned in last week’s newsletter.

Second, when you get out, it's a freaking hassle to deal with taking off wet, freezing swimming trunks and can drastically increase the critical time before you can get something warm on.

And finally… it just feels good to be naked in the water. This is a matter of personal preference, of course. Some people don’t feel comfortable enough about their body to do this - and that’s perfectly fine - but I do encourage beginners to try it this way.

I’m really lucky. I live just a few minutes from my cold plunge spot in Copenhagen.

But I do travel quite a bit for business and pleasure, and when I do, I try my best to find a place where I can have a morning cold plunge.

For example, I go to Oslo on a regular basis, so I stay in a hotel near the harbor which has a place for me to go in and get my fix.

But if I’m in a place where I can’t (such as Boston, where I don’t think the locals would appreciate me going into Boston Harbor butt-naked), I can physically and emotionally feel the difference.

It affects my mood - I'm just not as sharp minded and not as positive. I’m also more tired, especially in the afternoon.

My theory is that my daily cold plunge kickstarts my cardiovascular system. It’s a wonderful balance. It gets things moving around inside of me, but also brings a quietness and calmness to my overall spirit.

It’s almost a meditative state, and it’s a way of showing that I’m in control of how I start my day.

And here’s the final benefit - I burn a ton of calories.

Cold plunges activate what’s called “brown fat” - tissue that helps keep the body warm and helps it control blood sugar and insulin levels.

I can see negative differences in my body in the periods when I’m not able to do my cold plunge, especially around my stomach and chest.

If you’d like to try doing a cold plunge, feel free to reach out and I’m happy to share any tips and tricks I’ve picked up along the way.

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