Cold-water swimming is now more than a New Year’s ritual or a rite of spring. It’s booming globally and, in Whitehorse, has been a winter-long activity among hardier residents for about five years.
The Yukon Ice Swimmers Facebook group boasts 1,500 members. But the practice is not new. As early as 400 B.C.E., Hippocrate was writing that cold plunges relieve muscle fatigue. Vikings bathed daily in freezing water and the practice has centuries of history in Eastern Europe and Nordic countries.
Today, its popularity is largely linked to potential health benefits, including positive effects on the heart, blood pressure and mental health. But there are risks, possibly fatal ones. The shock of hitting the water can produce heart arrhythmia, a special risk to people with pre-existing conditions. There’s also the danger of losing muscle control, even over breathing. Hypothermia goes without saying.
And, gentlemen, there will be shrinkage.
