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Breaking the ice

Is participating in a Polar Bear Plunge uplifting or downright crazy? Here, from a variety of sources, are some cold, hard facts on possible benefits of the chilling ritual:

• Shocking the circulatory system can produce a warm afterglow and a transcendental state that one literally needs to experience to fully understand. (If you have a heart condition, though, that “transcendental state” might be something more serious, so you should probably stay ashore.)
  
• It is a spiritually uplifting ritual that can surpass any normal level of comprehension.
  
• It can reduce wrinkles. Drastic temperature changes and shivering skin actually exercise shallow subcutaneous muscles that firm the skin.
  
• You become part of history rooted in the European tradition of saunas and cold-water bathing. (If you have some birch bark handy, be sure to flog yourself with it afterward to complete the tradition.)
  
• Jumping in near-freezing water wearing little more than a pair of shorts takes a brave soul, for lack of other words.
  
• Participants build a sense of camaraderie and valued friendships that can last a lifetime.
  
• It helps mentally by shortening the winter season and lifting bouts of depression.
  
• It’s a lot cheaper and safer than bungee jumping or walking on coals.