Passion and Health: How Winter Swimming Influences Blood Morphology and Rheology

Abstract

An important area of health is health promotion. A healthy lifestyle supports health improvement and early prevention of chronic diseases. Stimulation of the body by cold water swimming and swimming in a swimming pool can lead to adaptive changes beneficial for the human cardiovascular system. Within the winter swimming season of 2023/2024, for a period of 5 months, from November to March, once a week, study participants (n = 30; n = 15 females and n = 15 males) from the Krakow Society of Winter Swimmers ‘Kaloryfer’ in Krakow (Poland) practiced winter swimming in cold water (4–5 °C) and swam in the sports pool of the University of Physical Culture in Krakow in water at a temperature of 28 °C. After a full season of winter swimming and swimming pool sessions, both males and females exhibited a tendency towards lower erythrocyte (p = 0.002), leukocyte (p p p = 0.001), without any changes in blood aggregation or fibrinogen indicators. The remaining morphological indicators and the elongation index demonstrated only limited variation. Winter swimming induces positive changes in blood morphology and rheology.

Keywords

• winter swimming
• swimming pool
• cold water swimming
• cold water immersion
• blood rheology
• blood morphology