That depends on who you listen to. Wim Hof, famous Dutch ‘iceman’ for example, says it makes you a beast and you won’t get sick or depressed anymore. I think that’s a bit of a stretch.

Based on my own experience, I would say it serves as a breathing and stress handling exercise. There’s this sort of fear when you start doing this, a fear of getting into something uncomfortable. And once you go in, you trigger this fight or flight reaction. The key is to remain calm, focus on your breathing and stay in the cold water. After a few times of doing this, you find it easier to remain calm and it seems as if you can handle the stress in a better way.

And it does save money lol.