Yet another study has confirmed what people on Instagram have been telling their followers for years - cold water swimming is good for you. 

Every year on Christmas Day, people who live in coastal counties like to treat their social media followers to a picture of them diving into the freezing Irish Sea or Atlantic. 

While many will argue that it is a strange way to spend a day during one of the coldest months of the year, the science suggests there is a very good reason why people enjoy doing it. 

 “For years, we’ve heard some studies that cold water immersion could be good for us and it could have a positive impact on our brain, on our immune system,” Dr Ruth Freeman explained on The Pat Kenny Show.  

“A study of over 1,000 women and over a third of them reported that they had improvement in their health - particularly any symptoms associated with hormonal changes. 

“There’s been studies on small groups where people have said they totally have been able to come off antidepressants because sea swimming has really improved their mood and how they’re feeling. 

“But this is a new study, it’s from the University of Bournemouth and it’s one of the first studies where we actually have brain scans from people after they’ve been.” 

An early morning winter swim in the sea at Sandycove. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie.

After a dip in a pool of cold water, 33 volunteers were taken to Bournemouth University’s Institute of Medical Imaging and Visualisation for an MRI scan. 

The results suggested that the swim had had a positive impact on the participants’ mental health. 

“We know there’s a social aspect to swimming and other things that might make people feel better,” she said. 

“But here they have 33 healthy volunteers and after they scanned their brains before and after swimming in cold water, they found changes in the way parts of the brain were communicating with each other. 

“Particularly parts of the brain involved in regulating emotions and also maintaining attention. 

“This could explain why people do report feeling calmer and more mentally alert after swimming.” 

Members of the public enjoy an early morning winter swim in the sea at Sandycove. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie.

One potential explanation is that the shock of the cold water teaches people a valuable lesson in how to approach their lives. 

“The idea here is that you’re getting that fight or flight response as you’re getting into the cold water, your body is learning how to regulate that more effectively through cold water swimming,” Dr Freeman added. 

“We maybe then carry that through into other aspects of our life.” 

Main image: Sea swimmers in Dublin. Picture by: Rolling News.ie.