Almost everyone can swim in winter, but if you have cardiovascular disease, talk to your doctor first.
Because the blood pressure rises when you go into the water.
Doctors do not recommend anyone with constant high blood pressure to take a winter bath.
If, on the other hand, you have it temporarily and it is not too high, for example because of work or a divorce, winter baths can actually lower blood pressure.
Not clarified health effects
There are only scattered studies done on the effect of winter bathing.
Finnish Docent Pirkko Huttunen says that winter baths seem to be able to relieve pain and inflammation in rheumatism.
She has also seen that bathing makes people happier and that it reduces tension, stress, fatigue and pain.
The association "Mörkret och kylans glada vänner" in Skellefteå organizes the Scandinavian Winter Swimming Championships every winter.
Now they have started an EU project to collect research on the effects of winter bathing and create a knowledge base.