With our annual Festive Splash fundraising event taking place on Sunday (December 1) at Crawfordsburn Beach, we thought there was no better time to chat with someone who’s been taking icy dips on our behalf for the past year…
Co Down-based Luke McCrea launched his own 31-day cold-water challenge last December as a personal project to help build his mental and physical resilience. This then turned into 50 days, after which he decided to keep going for the full year – but to raise money along the way for charity. He subsequently chose Action Mental Health along with Epilepsy Action, in memory of his cousin Jordan, who had epilepsy and passed away in 2014 at the age of 13.
“When I decided I was going to keep going with the dips, I knew that it would tie in with my mental health and be good for that, which is why I chose Action Mental Health as one of the charities,” said Luke. “Then obviously, in memory of my cousin Jordan, Epilepsy Action was the other one. I had taken part in a football tournament for them before but had always wanted to do something myself to raise money. Aside from fundraising in remembrance of Jordan, who was only a year younger than me when he passed away, I also wanted people to know more about epilepsy.”
Luke will officially complete his 365-day cold-water challenge on November 30, with his last chilly dip as part of that taking place at Brompton Bay, Bangor on Saturday moring at 9.30am. However, he will also be joining in with Action Mental Health’s Festive Splash on Sunday and encouraged everyone to give it a go.
“I would say, definitely go for it!” he said. “Challenge yourself. Get out of your comfort zone and experience something new. It’s the feeling you get afterwards as well – like you’re invincible after doing something you thought there was no chance you could do.
“People think the water’s going to be freezing but at this time of year it’s not as bad. The sea’s been heating up slightly over the summer. It’ll still be cold, of course, but March is actually the coldest time for the water.”
Adding that, “when you get out of the water, that’s when the cold really hits you,” Luke said that he preferred to let his body warm up again naturally after his ice baths and cold-water dips.
“I think that’s how you benefit most from it,” he said. “I also don’t have time in the mornings… I just do the cold dip and then get out the door! I think I would keep doing the cold-water immersion now, even with the challenge finishing – just not every day. Even a cold shower in the morning is good.
“I just wanted to be mentally stronger – putting myself out of my comfort zone and really challenging myself. At the start, I had this wee voice in my head saying, ‘you don’t want to get into this freezing water’. I think overcoming that is building resilience… making you mentally stronger.
With outdoor or ‘wild swimming’ an increasingly popular pastime, ice-baths and similar cold-water immersion methods are other ways in which people have embraced the benefits of cold-water exposure for their health. Also referred to as ‘cold-water therapy,’ it essentially involves immersing yourself in water below 15°C and can include taking an ice-bath, a cold shower or swimming outdoors – generally, for just a few minutes at a time.
While it’s important to be aware of any medical issues that you might have before attempting this, cold-water exposure is thought to be beneficial in various ways, reducing muscle pain and stiffness as well as improving blood pressure and cholesterol levels. From a mental health perspective, while there appears to be no proven or definitive clinical consensus on the effects of cold-water immersion on mental wellbeing, many people have said it has helped to reduce the symptoms of depression, as well as improving their overall wellbeing. If done outside and with other people, then the effects of being in nature, being active and socialising could also play into any positive mental wellbeing experienced.
“Cold water puts your body under stress,” says Dr Samantha Wild, Clinical Lead for Women’s Health and Bupa GP. “This is how it’s believed to produce many of the positive effects, like boosting the immune system.” [1]
It’s important to warm up gradually after a cold-water dip, removing wet garments, drying off and getting dressed again into warm layers. Avoid taking a hot shower or bath, as the abrupt change in temperature can be dangerous. Having a warm drink and eating something sweet afterwards is also helpful in regulating your body temperature again.
A study by Yankouskaya et al. (2023) recorded feedback from 39 adults who were asked to spend five minutes in a 20°C bath. Although this is slightly higher then 15°C it was found that participants “felt more active, alert, attentive, proud and inspired and less distressed and nervous after having a cold-water bath.” The study also stated that, “the changes in positive emotions were associated with the coupling between brain areas involved in attention control, emotion and self-regulation.”
“I find that usually about three minutes is enough time in the water for me,” said Luke. “I was always aiming for the five-minute mark with my dips. To get the real benefits mentally and physically you need about 20 minutes a week, I think.”
Throughout the past year, Luke has mixed up his cold-water immersions with ice baths at home alongside open-water dips at various locations across Northern Ireland, including the North Coast, Newcastle and Bangor.
“My recommendations for places to go cold-water dipping would be Bloody Bridge near the Mournes, Tullymore Forest Park and Glenoe Waterfall in the Glens of Antrim,” he said. “I actually love natural river water more than the sea. You never think about how beautiful this country is until you go and experience places like that. Just getting out in nature will help you mentally as well.
“I think if you’re somebody who suffers from anxiety then overcoming something like a cold-water dip can help with that. A guy once told me that, ‘doing this every day, that’s the hardest thing you will do. Then, when you go to do something else you’re anxious about, you can think, well, I’ve already overcome something difficult – I’ve done the ice bath.’ It makes the thing that you’re anxious about seem less intimidating. That’s the other aspect to it. It puts things in perspective.”
Committed to the cause, Luke also maintained his cold-water challenge when he went abroad, even bringing an inflatable ice bath with him on holiday to Egypt to make sure he didn’t miss a day.
“That was the first time I was away from Northern Ireland since the challenge began,” he said. “I then went to Belgium and there was a bath there, so that was ok. When I went to America with my family there was an ice dispenser, so I kept filling up the bath with ice from that. I knew people had donated to me so I didn’t want to let anybody down!”
With an initial fundraising goal of £300, Luke has now raised more than £1,900 and said he was hopeful of hitting the £2K mark by this weekend.
“A lot of people have been supporting me and I’ll be splitting the money between Action Mental Health and Epilepsy Action,” he said. “I didn’t expect that amount of support. It was a bit daunting at the start, as I just kept questioning myself, but I got into a routine and in the second half of the year I’ve been doing the ice baths straight after getting up.
“Ultimately, it’s about doing something now that will benefit you in the future. For me, I now see the discipline, resilience and the mental strength that I’ve developed.”
Luke added that there was also a social aspect to cold-water swimming and dips, which was another great reason for getting involved, as this further supported your mental as well as physical health.
“I see groups meeting up to go into the water and think that it’s a really nice opportunity to have a chat with your friends and discuss your day or whatever troubles you might be having,” he said. “That’s really good for your mental health. Also, like a lot of people, I’m addicted to my phone, but if you’re in an ice bath, for example, then it’s just you and your thoughts, which I think is really good for you too. That time alone without distractions is healthy.”
Action Mental Health’s Festive Splash takes place on Sunday, December 1 at Crawfordsburn Beach, with registration opening at 10.30am. There will be a short warm-up with Gill Drummond Zumba from 10.45am, with the dip then taking place at approximately 11.05am, following a short safety briefing. You can also enjoy musical entertainment from the Bangor Ukes group from 11am-11.30am, while free tea/coffee and sweet treats will be provided post-dip by Clandeboye Lodge.
To register for the event, which has a £15 registration fee, please visit the following link: https://register.enthuse.com/ps/event/ActionMentalHealthsFestiveSplash
References
[1] https://www.bupa.co.uk/newsroom/ourviews/cold-water-therapy
[2] Yankouskaya, A; Williamson, R; Stacey, C; Totman, JJ; Massey. H. Short-term Head-out Whole-body Cold-water Immersion Facilitates Positive Affect and Increases Interaction between Large-scale Brain Networks. Biology (Basel). 2023, Jan 29; 12 (2):211. DOI: 10.3390/biology12020211. PMID: 36829490; PMCID: PMC9953392.
