During the 2020/2021 winter season, winter swimming has boomed in Sweden.
The streams on social media are filled with ice-cold baths and cold bathhouses across the country bear witness to the increasing pressure from bath-hungry guests.
- There is a lot of pressure, when we opened up for new applications last autumn, there were more than 200 applications in a few minutes, says Lovise Brade who is chairman of Fredhälls Badklubb in Stockholm.
More research is needed
Many who take a winter bath experience that it reduces stress, provides better sleep quality and that you get a better immune system.
But it cannot be established that winter bathing has an immediate positive effect on our health.
- Research on health effects is a bit scattered and so far only small studies have been done, says physiologist Jessica Norrbom.
But she adds that the uncertainty surrounding the health effects does not mean that there is anything negative about winter bathing.
- Many people say that they become alert and more alive from winter bathing, and there can be such important reasons for doing it.
See when SVT's reporter tried winter swimming for the first time in the video above.