the cold

Let’s not beat round the bush; the cold sucks, and it’s very hard to do. which is exactly why you ought to be doing it every single day.

my ethos; in order to be better at tackling long term stress one must face short term stress on a daily basis.

the benefits of cold exposure are innumerable and very well documented ranging from physical, to chemical, to emotional.

Exposing yourself to cold water (under 18c (64f)) has a conditioning effect on your cardiovascular system. think of the cold as a gym for your blood vessels. After a while this regular training lowers blood pressure and thus your resting heart rate - effectively unloading unnecessary work off your already over-worked heart.

For a quick stress hack for when you’re in a rush; simply dip your face in cold water! this triggers a phenomena known as the mammalian dive response (MDR)

the MDR is a defence mechanism built in to all mammals which slows down the heart rate (and thus down regulating the stress response) to conserve precious oxygen reserves.

you can hack this bio-response for your own stress-relief strategy. How? Simply splash your face under cold water (preferably ice water) to immediately calm yourself down before a meeting, a challenging conversation, a best man speech, etc!

For a more advanced practice hold your face in the water for up to 30 seconds. Please only practice with another present.