Cold-water friends

COEUR d'ALENE — These are not early Polar Bear Plungers.

These are not crazy people.

This small group of friends who take Saturday morning dips into Lake Coeur d'Alene share a common belief: Cold water is good.

"It's invigorating," said Richie Deaver, a chef at Beverly's at The Coeur d'Alene Resort. "It really clears your mind."

Deaver was one of a handful of people who walked through snow, then spent several minutes in the 38-degree lake at Sanders Beach. Stripped down to shorts and bathing suits, they walked out, sank down and submerged their bodies up to their necks.

Then, they talked. They enjoyed the view of snow-covered mountains in the distance. They laughed.

Staying distracted helps get past that initial urge to retreat, hurry back to shore, bundle up with towels and rush to cars with heaters on.

It becomes a battle of the will.

While the body says get out, the mind says stay put.

"You fight past the initial response to want to get out of the water," said Lauren Eloe, who also works at Beverly's.

To a person, they cite health benefits of immersion in icy water — mental, physical, spiritual, emotional.

They say it helps heal injuries, speeds up muscle recovery, lessens soreness and even rejuvenates the soul.

Eloe is adamant about it.

"I’m not even kidding. It really helps your brain process," she said, after sitting in the lake for just over five minutes. "It feels incredible."

According to scitechdaily.com and other health professionals, they are right.

"Exposure to cold increases your resting metabolic rate and stimulates the release of catecholamines, compounds released by your nervous system that activate your immune system," according to scitechdaily.com.

It goes on to state that research shows cold immersion reduces muscle soreness, which may help speed up recovery time after a training session.

"The cooler temperature causes blood vessels to constrict, which reduces the swelling of tissue around the injury," the report says.

Jim Barrett, Beverly's executive chef, has been a ringleader of the Saturday morning dips for more than a year.

While a believer in the health benefits of cold water, he also cites the fun of recruiting colleagues to join in what most people likely see as madness.

More are coming around.

"We're kind of slowly getting people to join," he said.

If you go, be prepared.

Lake Coeur d'Alene is near freezing now, so first contact takes your breath away and yes, it hurts, too.

But it doesn't last. The body adjusts. Endorphins kick in.

"After a minute, it goes away, the pain stops," Barrett said.

Nick Ryan has been a dedicated dipper and said it's "amazing," but admitted it's not for the faint of heart. "So hard," he said as he toweled off.

Judy Eloe agreed.

"It feels good to do hard stuff," she said.

Adrien Showalter said private ice baths in a spa can be expensive, but sitting in the lake like he did, which is pretty much the same thing, is free.

"It’s the season for it,” he said.