Need a new New Year’s resolution? Go ice swimming

When you think about starting the new year off right, what comes to mind? Like many of us, you may follow the time-honored tradition of making a list of goals and objectives to further your growth and better yourself over the next year. Unfortunately, these lists often end up sounding a lot like your list from the year before. Perhaps it’s time to shake things up a bit and try something completely different.

While it may not be the first thing that comes to mind to cure your post-New Year’s Eve hangover, starting out the new year with a jump into an icy cold lake might be just the thing you need to shake things up a bit.

“Crazy!” you say. Well, maybe, but polar bear clubs around the United States and the world practice this tradition annually. Cold-water shock isn’t high on anyone’s list of pleasurable activities, yet individuals who subscribe to this tradition report feeling both euphoria and other benefits, combined with some good, old-fashioned “team bonding” with their polar-bear brethren. Read more....