What are the advantages and disadvantages of winter swimming

Modern people are paying more and more attention to health, because good health is always the capital of revolution. Many friends go swimming in winter and believe that it is very good for the body. In fact, winter swimming has both advantages and disadvantages, and everyone should understand this knowledge.

Benefits of winter swimming

Winter swimming is a popular winter sport. What are the benefits?

1. It can enhance cardiovascular function. When the human body is stimulated by cold water, the blood circulation and metabolism of the whole body are greatly enhanced; when the human skin is stimulated by cold water, the skin blood vessels contract sharply, and a large amount of blood is sucked into the internal organs and deep tissues, causing the blood vessels of important internal organs to expand; in order to resist the cold, the skin blood vessels expand again quickly, and a large amount of blood flows from the internal organs to the body surface. This characteristic expansion and contraction exercises the blood vessels and enhances their elasticity. Therefore, winter swimming is beneficial for preventing and treating cardiovascular diseases. Among those who insist on winter swimming exercises all year round, it is extremely rare for people to suffer from arteriosclerosis, hypertension and the like.

2. The stimulation of cold water causes the human body's peripheral blood vessels to close, ensuring more blood supply to important organs such as the heart, brain, liver, and spleen, so that more oxygen is delivered to brain cells in a timely manner, which helps to eliminate fatigue of the nervous system. When the human body comes into contact with cold water, it will inhale rapidly, pause for a moment, then exhale deeply, and then resume even, deep, and powerful breathing. This kind of breathing can greatly improve the elasticity of lung tissue, inhale more oxygen, exhale more carbon dioxide, and strengthen the function of the respiratory system. Cold water can improve the function of the human digestive system. As breathing deepens, the diaphragm can rise and fall more, thereby speeding up blood circulation in the abdominal cavity, strengthening gastrointestinal motility, and massaging adjacent organs.

3. People who insist on winter swimming have rosy, shiny and elastic skin. The reason is that after the stimulation of cold water, the skin blood vessels contract strongly, the subcutaneous fat thickens, the blood circulation is vigorous, and the nutrition is sufficient.

Disadvantages of winter swimming

Although there are many benefits of winter swimming, it is not suitable for everyone. Let's take a look at the disadvantages of winter swimming.

1. People with serious diseases, such as high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, kidney disease, liver disease, mental disorder, diabetes, allergic constitution, congenital heart disease, epilepsy, as well as people with trauma or inflammation and alcoholics should not participate in winter swimming, otherwise it may cause sudden illness or harm to the body. Since children are in the stage of physical development, they should be more careful about participating in winter swimming in moderation and must be supervised by adults. In addition, even if people with good physical fitness want to swim in winter, it should be a gradual process. It is best to start in autumn to allow the body to gradually adapt.

2. The time for winter swimming should vary according to the temperature, water temperature and physical condition of the person. If you swim in the water for too long, on the one hand, you will often experience numbness and shivering all over your body after getting ashore, which can easily damage certain organs; on the other hand, excessive stimulation can easily cause cortical system failure and damage your health.

3. After winter swimming, you should keep warm and exercise immediately to restore your body temperature. After getting ashore, dry your body with a dry towel until it turns red. Then, quickly get dressed and jog or jump in place until your body temperature has basically returned to normal. After winter swimming, avoid entering a high-temperature room, sitting by a fire, or taking a hot bath immediately.