WINTER BATHING

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 258, 29 July 1939, Page 5 (Supplement)

WINTER BATHING

Advantages Explained

He admitted being one of the small group of bathers who indulge iu a midday dip at Te Aro baths, irrespective of’weather or season. He was asked what he got out of it. “I have often asked myself that, he said. “T do it really because I think it is beneficial. Now today, having something else to attend to, I missed my midday swim. As the result my feet are eold. Had 1 been to the baths, as usual, I should be enjoying my usual glow. That’s what it does for me. I swim my 25 or 50 yards, have a good rub down, and I feel well and warm for the rest of the day. , . . And when I don’t have my swim, I miss it. Mind you, one cannot say that one gets any particular pleasure out of the experience. I have to confess that now and again I shudder a bit before 1 dive into the water; but having done my dash and had my rub down I certainly do feel well. You must understand that at this time of the year the water is often warmer than the air, so that there is not so much shock to tlie system as non-bathers imagine. “There’s an old chap, well over 70, goes down to the baths every day, and seems to enjoy it. He stays in longer than I do, and sometimes swims double the distance, though lie is slower in the water than I am. . . . There’s another thing, too; I really believe that the daily dip in the winter helps to keep one immune from colds. It seems to build up one’s resistance."