For busy people in the Nordic countries, winter swimming and saunas are ideal forms of self-pampering and don’t take up too much time. And for everyone they can mean something completely different. Some people become hooked on the rush of joy they experience encountering cold water. For others, it means freedom and cosiness, hardening against the cold, being part of a competition or mastering a personal challenge. Others do it for health reasons, as they feel healthier when they swim and sweat afterwards in the sauna. The motivations are often related to the variety of effects that cold water and a hot sauna can have on the body and brain. In this way, the sea can be a place for
