I'm a year-round sea swimmer. I'm one of those idiots who will swim in the sea whatever the weather, even when everyone else is wrapped in 17 layers plus a puffer jacket.
I sometimes get asked why I do it, in fact, when I'm walking towards an uninviting looking sea in February with my teeth chattering and every fibre of my being screaming at me not to go in, I sometimes ask myself that question.
My answer usually centres on the following:
🟩 Sea swimming relieves stress (try stressing about your VAT return or a difficult client when you're experiencing a sheer battle for survival in the freezing water)
🟩 It seems to alleviate my #perimenopause symptoms (try having a hot flush in water that's 8 degrees with a northerly wind battering you)
🟩 I think I get ill less often (controversial that one, but there's a theory that it boosts your immune system)
I can't prove that any of the benefits I think I get are really caused by the sea swimming, or by something else, or whether I might have experienced these things even without the sea swimming.
As a researcher / evaluator, I tend to overthink things like causality, attribution, establishing the counterfactual, etc. In the interests of evidence-based decision making (shall I get in the freezing cold sea or not?) I feel like I need a well planned and executed impact evaluation.
But I don’t have a control group here, I can’t conduct a #RandomisedControlTrial on myself (that would represent a higher level of insanity than the sea swimming itself).
So I’ve decided that for those moments when I’m on the beach, on a freezing cold day persuading myself that a dip in the sea is good decision, I’m going to forget about evidencing the impact and just go for it.
Sometimes you need to leave your career behind and live in the moment.
Photo is of me just after my Christmas Day swim at Broadsands, Devon in 2022. And yes that grey cloud did turn into torrential rain while I was getting changed on the beach.
#Researcher #Evaluator #ColdWaterSwimming #ImpactEvaluation
Senior Consultant
2wSwim Drink Fish Canada Mark Mattson thank you very much for the last 23 years making our lakes & rivers Swimmable, Drinkable, Fishable & skateable ONE sample, One day at a time!! And Thank you Burnbrae Farms , amoung others who helped support the journey!! Looking forward to the summer of 2025!!!