Become insensitive to exposure to cold water by, for example, frequently taking cold showers or ice baths. This apparently helps with weight-loss as well. I’ve done this with immense success, and even some real-world application (hiking to a waterfall with my parents, and being able to swim without getting cold). After you’ve practised this, you will literally feel like some weird heat is being generated from someplace inside you when are exposed to cold water, and not feel cold at all. See here.
My “possible unacknowledged major risk” detector triggered on this paragraph. In particular, “you will literally feel like some weird heat is being generated” pattern matches against how I’ve seen hypothermia described. While I don’t know enough about it to say for sure if this is necessarily bad, I will say that the required due diligence for this is substantial, and the potential upside doesn’t seem very compelling.
The rest of the list looks like mostly good ideas, though.
Two or three minutes under cold (or at least colder) is an awesome morning wakeup IME. You can run hot afterwards if you like.
Seriously, you[1] are not going to induce hypothermia in five or ten minutes of cold water. That’s just silly. Hypothermia is not a significant risk of ten minutes’ swimming in a non-heated pool, for example.
(If you’re doing the New Year’s Day Alcatraz Swim, of course, you may care to make sure you’re warmed properly afterwards.)
Two or three minutes under cold (or at least colder) is an awesome morning wakeup IME.
The effect is probably mostly Mammalian diving reflex, which is triggered by colder-than-21°C water contacting the face, with other factors (such as showering your whole body) much less relevant.
No, I buy it. This is basically just reinventing the fire or tummo meditation. Like biofeedback in general, it’s not easy to learn to control your temperature (and what OP and I do may just be a kind of vasodilation and not genuinely generating extra heat like the studied monks), but it does seem doable.
My “possible unacknowledged major risk” detector triggered on this paragraph. In particular, “you will literally feel like some weird heat is being generated” pattern matches against how I’ve seen hypothermia described. While I don’t know enough about it to say for sure if this is necessarily bad, I will say that the required due diligence for this is substantial, and the potential upside doesn’t seem very compelling.
The rest of the list looks like mostly good ideas, though.
Two or three minutes under cold (or at least colder) is an awesome morning wakeup IME. You can run hot afterwards if you like.
Seriously, you[1] are not going to induce hypothermia in five or ten minutes of cold water. That’s just silly. Hypothermia is not a significant risk of ten minutes’ swimming in a non-heated pool, for example.
(If you’re doing the New Year’s Day Alcatraz Swim, of course, you may care to make sure you’re warmed properly afterwards.)
[1] in the general case
The effect is probably mostly Mammalian diving reflex, which is triggered by colder-than-21°C water contacting the face, with other factors (such as showering your whole body) much less relevant.
Seems to have a lot more effect when it’s a shower, not just cold water on my face.
No, I buy it. This is basically just reinventing the fire or tummo meditation. Like biofeedback in general, it’s not easy to learn to control your temperature (and what OP and I do may just be a kind of vasodilation and not genuinely generating extra heat like the studied monks), but it does seem doable.