Ocean’s eleven
It’s Saturday morning, hurrah! The first one in six where I don’t have to get up… so I’m obviously wide awake even earlier than usual: 06:30 on the dot. In this middle part of life, I’ve seemingly evolved into an early riser. It wasn’t planned, but has its benefits…
With a whole day in front of me, and nothing planned, my brain starts loading, processing and master planning my Saturday ahead. My first stop is an obvious one: the missus! I give her a nudge to see if she’s up? I get a grunt, indicating she’s awake, but not quite ready for a chat… I leave it a few minutes, before giving her another tactical silent shove. The grunt’s upgraded to a “whaaaaat”. I don’t think my intrusion into her lay-in is appreciated, as the tone in her voice is borderline exorcist… I grab my cross just in case!
With the sun now starting to peek through the window, and spring evidently on our doorstep, today looks like the kinda day we should take advantage of living by the sea… “Dippy Dip?!” I ask.
For the uninitiated, of which that is probably 7.8 billion people, minus two; that’s what we call getting in the sea… the Brighton one in fact, that’s about a 10 minute drive away! I think the reference has something to do with Right Said, when they were deeply dippy 'bout the curves you've got!
As her sleepy carcass awakens from her slumber, a thumbs up arises from within the deep, dark depths of the duvet; indicating she’s up for it. It’s on! With our swimming gear attired, we grab some towels before jumping in the car to make the short drive to the seafront.
Seasons greetings
The last time we made this same trip to the sea was about a year ago, when the parents were down. To mix it up a bit, we thought we’d do what many locals see as tradition; a Christmas Day dip!
Her parents were staying at a hotel on the seafront, so we agreed to meet them on Brighton beach, donned in our Christmas hats, ready to take a plunge! Ever prone to injury, I had a bit of a bad back at the time - something that had been niggling me for some time - so I remember hopping gingerly across the stones, as we made our way towards the sea.
In prep for the plunge, I dipped my toe in as a tester, not quite anticipating how fresh it was in there. By fresh, I mean freezing! “It’s now or never,” I thought, taking a deep breath before closing my eyes and unleashing a proper cannonball into the deep blue unknown! As I went under the water, I felt like a snake shedding its skin. It was a strange sensation, exhilarating and electric. Quickly resurfacing from the icy waters, I make a dash back to land!
Wrapping my towel around me, I looked back out to sea. It was mesmirising; the chaos of the waves levelled out by the calming sounds of the shingle being repositioned in tandem! Taking a deep breath, I remember being hit with a cocktail of feelings: relief, satisfaction and achievement.
It also felt like a big red button had been pressed above my head, resetting mind, body and soul. As I slipped on my sliders and headed back to the car, I couldn’t help but notice my niggling back pain had seemingly been left in the sea? Result… out of nowhere, a pain free Christmas appeared on the horizon! Praise the lord!
Seeing is believing
Sure enough, the festive season passed, with not one back twinge along the way. The only pain was enduring my mum’s painfully slow unwrapping of presents (she literally peals each piece of sellotape off individually)…!
As we swept into the new year, it wasn’t too long after when I found myself flicking through the weekend papers, as one particular article jumped out of the pages to me. The piece was entitled ‘The incredible cult of Wim Hof', about a Dutch guy known as ‘The Iceman’, for his cold water therapies and their healing powers for body and mind. So this was a thing?!
Intrigued, my interest grew, as this cold-water carrot dangled before me! Could this be legit? I wasn’t sure, so I slowly started diving a bit deeper into the wondrous ways of the water, uncovering some interesting bits along the way:
A smashing find - It was the greek that first discovered the healing powers of the sea over 2,500 years ago. Hippocrates, dubbed “The Father of Medicine”, learning how it helped prevent infections and ease pain (I could have sworn he was a 70’s Brazilian footballer).
Putting the sea in therapy - Okay not quite, but its official name Thalassotherapy does come from “Thalassa” being the greek word for “sea” x therapy: Sea Therapy, now we know!
A wave of good - Studies suggest it can help with all types of pain and conditions across the body, specifically musculoskeletal disorders; so basically most issues involving muscles, bones and joints.
Water a coincidence - I’m not saying its relevant, but the human body is made up of 70% water, the same proportion of land covered by water on our planet. Spooky!
Skin when you’re winning - Magnesium found in sea water is excellent for skin, acting as a natural exfoliator that scrubs away the dead cells and open the pores! So think of the glow - the equivalent of diving into a massive pot of face creme… minus the ridiculous price tag!
Bloody good - It’s not all about the exterior. A dip in the sea will help boost the red blood cells inside your body too, by about five to 20%; bolstering your immune system that fights off infections from your body.
Ripped tide - The cold water is an absolute flame thrower for burning calories too, as your body naturally fights harder to keep you warm in those icy waters.
Skinny dipping - The cold water also helps reduce the appearance of cellulite, so you’ll seemingly be rocking a six-pack in no time… maybe!
Icy fresh breath - According to PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), the sea air is actually thicker than normal air due to its higher salt content; meaning it can help clear your insides, throat and respiratory system, which can also help with…
Deep sleep - Seawater’s high richness of magnesium helps release stress, relax your muscles; ultimately helping promote natural deeper sleep
Emoceans - It’s also seems an effective treatment for depression too, so the more you get down to the sea, the more your sprits go up. Win win!
So there you have it, my Ocean’s Eleven if you will! From festive dips to Christmas miracles, culminating in helping my back feel just right (said Fred). Deeply hot, Hot for the curves you've got! Hopefully all those cold bold revelations inspire you to take the plunge too!
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