Volume 28, Issue 150, August 2024

What is the impact of cold-water bathing and swimming on human health? Literature review

Jakub Langa^1♦, Maria Mitkowska², Michał Obrębski³, Anna Wójcik⁴, Jan Kościan⁵, Justyna Chwiejczak⁶, Aleksander Górny⁷, Anna Seroka⁸, Maria Rybicka⁹, Julita Młynarska¹⁰, Karolina Szczerkowska¹¹

¹Józef Struś Hospital, Szwajcarska 3, 61-285, Poznan, Poland
²HCP Medical Centre, 28 Czerwca 1956 r. 194, 61-001, Poznan, Poland
³University Clinical Centre of the Medical University of Warsaw, Banacha 1a, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
⁴Warsaw Southern Hospital, Pileckiego 99 02-781, Warsaw, Poland
⁵Independent Public Hospital them. prof. W. Orlowski Medical Centre of Postgraduate Educationl, Czerniakowska 231, 00-401, Warsaw, Poland
⁶Memorial Bielański Hospital Cegłowska 80, 01-809 Warsaw, Poland
⁷Prague Hospital of Lord's Transfiguration, Aleja, Solidarności'' 67, 03-401, Warsaw, Poland
⁸The National Institute of Medicine of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, Wołoska 137, 02-507 Warsaw, Poland
⁹University Clinical Centre of the Medical University of Warsaw, Banacha 1a, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
¹⁰Saint Anna Hospital of Trauma Surgery, Barska 16/20 Street, 02-315, Warsaw, Poland
¹¹Military Institute of Medicine - National Research Institute, Szaserów 128, 04-141 Warsaw, Poland

^♦Corresponding Author
Józef Struś Hospital, Szwajcarska 3, 61-285, Poznan, Poland

ABSTRACT

Winter swimming has a long tradition that dates back to ancient times. In recent years, there has been an increase in interest in this activity in Poland and European countries. This review aims to present the positive and negative aspects of bathing and swimming in cold water. Regular winter swimming by adapted people has benefits. However, the risk of adverse consequences occurs when inexperienced and unadapted people try winter swimming. Researchers analyzed blood serum of swimmers who regularly took cold baths to search for changes in the concentrations of hematological indicators, which allowed them to demonstrate the beneficial effect of winter swimming on the process of hematopoiesis. The impact on increasing human immunity is probable, though it should be studied on a larger group. The studies did not show any significant effect on human plasma hormone levels. However, the impact of winter swimming on the circulatory system might have positive or negative depending on the degree of adaptation of the practitioner.

Keywords: Winter swimming, cold water bathing, hypothermia

Medical Science, 2024, 28, e98ms3379

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v28i150.e98ms3379

Published: 16 August 2024