Taking the Plunge: Cold water swimming Mike Fletcher, Simon Gilbody, Heather Massey and Kyla Pennington
Event details
From boosting your mood and immune system to helping you keep fit and make friends, cold water swimming is hailed as a miracle cure for the modern age. But what are the risks and potential benefits of cold-water immersion? And why does the cold have such a profound effect on our mental well-being?
With thousands of Britons taking the plunge, our expert panel dives into the psychology and mental health benefits of cold-water swimming. Speakers include Heather Massey of the University of Portsmouth, an expert in extreme environments and physiology; Mike Fletcher, owner of Pool Bridge Farm, Wheldrake; Kyla Pennington of the University of York, a specialist in mental health and Simon Gilbody, a psychiatrist whose research highlights the mental health impacts of loneliness.
Each of our speakers will give a 10-minute presentation, which will be followed by panel Q&A.
Image credit: Jonny Walton, Kaptur
About the speakers
Mike Fletcher is the co-owner of Pool Bridge Farm - A Wild Swimming and Wellbeing venue near York. Mike had the idea to pivot away from the family fishery in 2022 and it quickly became the most successful commercial Wild Swimming venue in the UK. Pool Bridge Farm are pioneering this emerging business model and with an amazing team they continue to grow with community, wellness and wildlife at the heart of the business.
Simon Gilbody is a Professor of Psychological Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of York and the Hull York Medical School. Simon is a practicing NHS psychiatrist and cognitive behavioural therapist. Unusually he is also a Professor of Epidemiology and is among the top 1% of most highly cited scientists in the world. During the pandemic his team led the largest ever trial to tackle loneliness at scale. The results are useful in thinking how we can prevent loneliness in the post-pandemic workplace.
Dr Heather Massey is Associate Professor in Extreme Environments and Physiology and a member of the Extreme Environments Laboratory and Clinical, Health and Rehabilitation Research Team (CHaRT) at the University of Portsmouth. She is also an honorary researcher at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and has a varied profile of research studies, involving the preparation, selection and support of humans in extreme environments (hypoxia, heat and cold). More recently, she has been investigating the impact these environments have on health conditions. Previously she worked in the Environmental Medicine Unit at the Institute of Naval Medicine (INM) for five years. She is a keen open water swimmer having completed a number of long-distance relay and solo swims including a solo swim of the English Channel and Lake Windermere. She also works closely with outdoor swimming organisations and community interest companies to promote safe practice within outdoor swimming communities.
Dr Kyla Pennington is a Senior Lecturer in Mental Health in the University of York’s Department of Psychology and a Senior Honorary Research Fellow in Behavioural Science at the University of Lincoln. Kyla’s research broadly focuses on understanding stress vulnerability and the way in which our experiences of stress relate to our mental health and wellbeing. In addition to understanding the mechanisms of mental health in relation to cognitive, biological and social factors, she is interested in how we can work to improve mental health and reduce the impacts of stress through techniques such as mindfulness and cognitive training.
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