Anyone who's ever stood shivering in a car park with numb fingers, fumbling for their keys, will know that getting out of cold water is only half the job. What happens in the next ten to twenty minutes matters just as much as the swim itself.
Get it right, and you're back to normal and warm, in no time. Get it wrong, and you can end up colder, shakier, and more miserable on the bank than you ever were in the water.
With the weather cooling, and winter fast approaching, we’ve written up this guide. So here's how to warm up properly after a cold dip, and why the order you do it in actually matters.
What Happens to Your Body After a Cold Swim
When you get out of cold water, you may feel ok but can actually keep getting colder for 10-30 minutes, even wrapped up. This is called afterdrop, and it happens because your outer layers (skin and subcutaneous fat) cool as warm blood is concentrated in your core while you swim. When you exit the water these cooler external tissue layers are still cooling the core via conduction.It's completely normal, but it's also why so many people feel worse a few minutes after getting out than they did in the water. Knowing it's coming makes it far less alarming, and helps you warm up in the right order rather than fighting it.
We've listed a few reputable sources on cold water safety, including the Outdoor Swimming Society, on our wild swimming resources page if you want to read more on the science.
A quick safety note: afterdrop is uncomfortable but normal within limits. If shivering doesn't ease off after 30 minutes or so, or if you or a swim buddy start seeming confused, unusually clumsy, or oddly cheerful and disorientated, that can be a sign of something more serious. Don't wait it out, get help.
Warm Your Core First, Extremities Second
It's tempting to go straight for cold hands or feet since they're often what feel the coldest, but your body needs its core temperature stable before it can properly send heat back out to your extremities. Warming your torso first speeds up the whole process.
A simple order that works for most swimmers:
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Dry off fast and get into something warm and windproof straight away
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Insulate your core before anything else
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Add lots of clothing layers - base layers, mid layers, top layers, coats, robe - (you won’t win any fashion awards!)
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Add warm accessories to your extremities
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Have a warm drink, ideally something sugary rather than caffeine or alcohol, both of which can make afterdrop feel worse
Warming Your Core
This is where most of the work happens, and it's worth getting right before anything else. A changing robe does a lot of work here, it helps to dry you off and traps warmth in one go, which is exactly why so many wild swimmers won't head out without one.
If you want something with a bit more direct heat underneath it, our Koji Luxe core warmer is a thick, stretchy waist band you can pull straight on over damp skin.
Warming Your Hands
Cold hands are one of the most common complaints after a swim, and fumbling with buttons and zips is a lot harder when fingers won't cooperate. Anything you can pull on without fine motor skills helps here, our Warm HANDS range is built around exactly that problem, with fold-over mitts you can get on even when your hands aren't working properly.
Warming Your Head
You lose a surprising amount of heat through your head, so a hat isn't optional once you're out. Wool is genuinely one of the better materials for this, since it keeps insulating even when damp, which matters when you've just climbed out of water. Our Warm HEAD collection includes wool and fleece-lined acrylic options built for exactly this.
Warming Your Feet
Feet are often the last thing people think about, and usually the last to warm back up, since they've been standing on cold ground, wet sand, or shingle the whole time you've been changing. Standing on something insulated the moment you're out makes a real difference. The Moose Mat gives you a neoprene-backed insulating barrier from the ground whilst having a soft fleece surface to stand on while you change.
If you're after dedicated swim socks, it's worth watching this space, we're currently testing new options and hope to have some in the range soon.
A Simple Post-Swim Routine
Putting it all together, most swimmers find something like this works well:
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Get feet straight off cold ground
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Dry off and get into a changing robe or towelling poncho within a minute or two of getting out
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Add a core warmer
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Dress quickly in lots of layers
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Pull on mitts or gloves, then a hat
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Add other warming accessories. A popular one is a hot water bottle. Check out our wearable Hottum that has an integral hand warming muff too
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Have a warm, sugary drink once you're dressed
Common Mistakes That Slow You Down
A few things tend to catch people out. A hot shower straight away is not a good idea. , It will cause a rapid increase in blood circulation in the skin and limbs and this sudden shift can cause a drop in blood pressure and reduce blood flow to the brain potentially leaving people feeling dizzy, lightheaded, and sometimes faint. Getting dressed quickly, layering up and warming gradually is a much better option. Standing around chatting in wet kit before changing is another classic, minutes matter more than most people realise.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is afterdrop, and is it dangerous?
Afterdrop is the drop in core temperature that continues after you leave cold water, caused by colder peripheral body layers conducting that cold to the core. For most swimmers it's uncomfortable rather than dangerous, but it's a good reason to always warm up in the right order and never swim alone in very cold water.
How long does it take to warm up after cold water swimming?
Most people feel back to normal within 15 to 30 minutes if they warm their core first and dress quickly. It can take longer in very cold conditions or after longer swims.
Is a hot shower bad after cold water swimming?
A very hot shower straight away isn't ideal, since it can lead to a change in blood pressure, potentially leaving you faint and dizzy. Layering up in lots of warm clothing is preferable and then a gradual, lukewarm shower once you're already partly warmed up is a gentler approach.
What should I wear to warm up quickly after a swim?
Lots and lots of layers! A changing robe or warm windproof layer to take the initial chill off while you get dressed in all those layers and then, a hat, mitts, thick socks that you can put on without fine motor skills covers the essentials. Layering a core warmer underneath your clothing and a hot water bottle over can speed things up further.
Do I need special kit to warm up after swimming, or will normal clothes do?
Normal warm clothes work, but kit designed for wet, cold bodies, like fleece-lined changing robes and mitts that go on over damp hands, makes the whole process faster and far more comfortable.