Chill - by Mark Harper (Paperback)

About the Book

"A history, science, and program for cold water swimming used successfully as a therapeutic intervention for many who suffer from a handful of health conditions including chronic pain, dementia, inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and migraines"--

Book Synopsis

A science-based approach for transforming ailments of both body and mind through cold-water swimming.

The belief that swimming in cold water can improve one's health is hardly new. For centuries, people from all over the world have reported that immersing themselves in cold water alleviates their pain and improves their overall well-being. Even Katharine Hepburn famously claimed to treat her winter colds by swimming in the icy waters of the Pacific Ocean. But until now, the practice has been treated lightly by the scientific community, the curative effects all but dismissed by doctors seeking medicine-centered solutions for their patients' illnesses.

In Chill, expert anesthetist and researcher Dr. Mark Harper delivers long-awaited evidence that cold-water swimming can, in fact, achieve powerful, tangible health benefits. Combining science with case studies and stories from the lives of patients, Dr. Harper illuminates the ways in which cold water can impact us physiologically and mentally, alleviating conditions like:

- chronic pain
- arthritis
- anxiety
- depression
- PTSD
- migraines
- and more

Dr. Harper guides us in safely establishing our own customized practice of cold-water swimming in order to harness the therapeutic power of water for improved circulation, a strengthened immune system, cell regeneration, and everyday vitality. Eye-opening and actionable, and full of extraordinary discoveries about our minds, our bodies, and the healing powers of Earth's most plentiful resource, Chill is a drug-free, no-cost, revolutionary approach to lasting wellness and rejuvenation.

FOR EVERY SKILL LEVEL: With inspiring and instructional narrative case studies, Chill gives readers a highly accessible, cost friendly approach to healing--whether you are an athlete or someone who enjoys wading in the water. Many of the cases studies include people who could hardly swim!

A NEW APPROACH TO COLD WATER PRACTICES: For readers who enjoyed The Wim Hof Method and Blue Mind, Dr. Harper offers a science-based, proven approach to the trending health and fitness practice of cold-water immersion.

A NATURAL WAY TO HEAL: Joining an ever-growing genre of natural, drug-free alternative programs to heal ailments and improve overall health, Chill will call to readers who came to books like Alejandro Junger's Clean: The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body's Natural Ability to Heal Itself and Jon Kabat-Zinn's Full Catastrophe Living: How to Cope with Stress, Pain and Illness Using Mindfulness Meditation.

About the Author

Dr. Mark Harper, MD, PhD, is a consultant anesthetist at Sussex University Hospitals in the UK and Kristiansand in Norway. He is a leading expert in the prevention of hypothermia in surgical patients and the therapeutic uses of cold-water adaptation and open-water swimming. He has been featured in the BBC documentary The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs, is a cocreator of Chill UK, a nonprofit committed to providing courses in cold-water swimming to improve mental health, and the director of Mental Health Swims. He lives in England and Norway.