More than two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ was baptized in the waters of the Jordan River. Christian theologians argue that it was from then that the tradition of bathing in icy water appeared, which for many later developed into winter swimming. However, historians have reliably established that bathing in cold water was common in ancient Greece, Egypt, and China. The ancient Greek healer, physician and philosopher Hippocrates, who lived in the 5th – 4th centuries BC, said: "Warm water relaxes, and only cold water stimulates."
Disputes about the benefits and dangers of winter swimming - year-round swimming in open sources - do not stop until now. So, in the 20th century, scientists from Novosibirsk undertook a serious study of the body: its reaction and state during its stay in cold water. Experienced Novosibirsk "walruses" became the objects for research. After they had been in a warm room for 20 minutes at a temperature of 26 degrees, they were immersed in ice water (0 degrees) for 0.5–1 minutes. It turned out that the human body, when instantly immersed in very cold water, increases oxygen consumption five times. At the same time, breathing is activated and the muscles become more active.
Body temperature changes dramatically, but not at all points the same. If the internal temperature of an organism is usually twice as high as on its surface, then at the moment of being in ice water the difference increases six times.
All arguments for and against winter swimming are based on this. Scientists who speak positively about him explain the healing effect of this hobby: the thermal conductivity of water exceeds the thermal conductivity of air by almost 28 times. When the body is immersed in water at a temperature of 0 degrees Celsius, the body increases its heat production ten (!) Times. The oxygen consumption increases six times, the pulse becomes less frequent by 10-15 percent, the capillaries are sharply compressed. This, according to scientists, trains blood vessels well, hardens the body. With such sharp changes in temperature, he begins to fight for survival and thereby increases immunity. Researchers at the University of Kentucky have scientifically proven that short-term stress, including immersion in ice water, increases the body's resistance to a number of diseases.including infectious. Moreover, they also noted effects such as helping in wound healing and fighting cancer cells.
Experienced “walruses” claim that their hobby for swimming in ice water helped them get rid of a number of chronic diseases. The oldest walrus in Moscow, Sergei Maksimov, who is already over 80, says that after many years of ice swimming, he became seriously ill after he was deprived of the opportunity to swim in ice water while working in Africa. After practicing yoga and restoring health, he returned to his favorite pastime.
45-year-old Anatoly Serov, a member of one of the Moscow walrus clubs, came to winter swimming after … a car accident. He spent nine months in a hospital bed with a whole range of injuries. Along the way, there was an exacerbation of all kinds of diseases that a weakened body was capable of: radiculitis, angina pectoris, chronic bronchitis and even tuberculosis. In the cold, doctors forbade him even to go out into the fresh air. But he got out. To get to the walrus club. Plunged in for the first time - and lost his breath. But that did not stop him. Three years later, Anatoly, according to him, took a two-kilometer distance in icy water.
"Walruses" do not age. Rather, the aging process comes to them much later than to ordinary people. Scientists have found an explanation for this. The cells of the human central nervous system produce catecholamines and acetylcholines. The first ones make us active, monitor the endocrine balance. The second are a counterweight. The presence of acetylcholines is a guarantee of calmness and, alas, inactivity. With age, their number in humans increases, while catecholamines, on the contrary, become less. This is why the elderly are so slow. In addition, a large amount of acetylcholine can "reward" you with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, cause diabetes, age-related obesity and even cancer. But as soon as a person plunges into ice water, a sharp release of catecholamines occurs inside the body. Regular winter swimming helps a person restore the balance of catecholamines and acetylcholines. Therefore, "walruses" at any age are mobile, energetic and look much younger than their peers who do not practice such bathing.
Opponents of bathing, oddly enough, also call stress their main argument. Many immunologists say that, on the contrary, it awakens all the diseases that the body is capable of. But there is no scientific evidence for this yet.
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Addiction to the hormone of joy is considered another argument against. When the body is stressed, it releases endorphins. Thanks to him, a person develops euphoria, he feels light and at ease. This state is familiar to those who at least once plunged into an ice-hole for Epiphany. Over time, after regular winter swimming, a person develops an addiction to this feeling akin to a narcotic one. The consequence is the so-called winter depression.
The desire to get rid of this depression, to be healthy, not to age for a long time - one or a combination of these reasons annually replenish the number of people who want to swim in icy water around the world. We call them "walruses", the Finns call theirs "otters", "seals", "seals", and in North America they are called "polar bears". There are even ice water swimming world championships. In 2016, this championship, which was held in Tyumen, was attended by 1,300 walrus athletes from 42 countries.
Maria Pryanishnikova
