The big chill: Can cold water actually boost our immunity and resilience this winter?
![The big chill: Can cold water actually boost our immunity and resilience this winter? The big chill: Can cold water actually boost our immunity and resilience this winter?](/cms_media/module_img/7618/3809434_11_articlesmall_007_20_20_1_1_.jpg)
Níall Ó Murchú on Portmarnock beach. Picture: Photocall Ireland
When I first meet Níall Ó Murchú on a cold autumn evening, he is barefoot in a pair of shorts.
![Níall Ó Murchú with Wim Hof, the Dutch man known as The Iceman Níall Ó Murchú with Wim Hof, the Dutch man known as The Iceman](https://www.irishexaminer.com/cms_media/module_img/7606/3803458_40_articleinline_wim.jpg)
![Níall Ó Murchú, author, podcaster and Wim Hof Method instructor. Picture: Alan Rowlette Níall Ó Murchú, author, podcaster and Wim Hof Method instructor. Picture: Alan Rowlette](https://www.irishexaminer.com/cms_media/module_img/6634/3317480_135_articleinline_Niall_2bO_2bMurchu.jpg)
![Nicole Glennon took a dip with Wim Hof instructor Niall Ó Murchú in Portmarnock. Picture: Photocall Ireland Nicole Glennon took a dip with Wim Hof instructor Niall Ó Murchú in Portmarnock. Picture: Photocall Ireland](https://www.irishexaminer.com/cms_media/module_img/7622/3811078_3_articleinline_021_20_1_.jpg)
- The Power of Cold, by Níall Ó Murchú, published by Hardie Grant Publishing, is out now. For information on staying safe in cold water see watersafety.ie.
![The Power of Cold, by Niall Ó Murchú The Power of Cold, by Niall Ó Murchú](https://www.irishexaminer.com/cms_media/module_img/7618/3809437_10_articleinline_Image_2bwith_2bshadow_1_.jpg)
You’ve set your intention to do it. You’re going to turn that tap to cold at the end of your hot shower. That’s done. So, what happens next?
Simply put: chaos. When the cold water hits our skin, it can feel like an explosion: it’s shocking, we recoil from the water, our minds burst into fear. Usually, there is a fairly loud voice in our heads, saying ‘Get the fuck out of here!’ Welcome to the chaos. This is what we want. This is where we find all the deep benefits. This is where we learn a lot about ourselves. This is where the cold teaches us.
In the chaos, we lose track of our breathing entirely. It becomes erratic, fragmented and uneven. Our inhales become short, painful attempts at trying to breathe. Our exhalations disappear. This is where the path into the cold begins. We don’t have to worry about our inhales. We’ll always find a way to breathe in. Our focus is on our exhales. We want to try to find our exhales in the midst of the chaos. We want to find our exhalations, no matter how small they might be, and begin to focus on them. Initially, our exhales will be short and choppy. They’ll feel out of control.
We must mechanically and consciously move our lungs so our exhales get longer and stronger. Keep focusing on them until we feel our exhales are steadily and strongly flowing outwards. The cold is relentless and will continuously try to take our breath away again. So, we have to keep working on controlling our exhales, keeping them steady, breathing out and trying to control our breath.
And then what? When our breathing comes under control, we start to slow that breath down a little. It goes from being a little bit forceful perhaps, to becoming a little softer. We’re still focusing on that exhale. We are still working on it. But it requires less effort now.
The cold water is still splashing on us, but we feel calm despite it. We are in control.