Is swimming in cold water more likely to kill or cure you? There is a huge amount of anecdotal evidence on the benefits of cold water swimming – but what do we really know about it? I spoke to Heather Massey, researcher at the University of Portsmouth’s Extreme Environments research group (and seasoned open water swimmer) for The Observer.
![](https://www.k-latham.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/heather-massey-768x461.jpg)