Dive into 2026: Six lessons from Scandinavian cold-water therapy

By Laura Hall and Signe Hansen | Photos: Laura Hall

Laura Hall is the author of a new memoir, The Year I Lay My Head In Water, all about a year spent swimming the Scandinavian seas in search of a better life. Scan Magazine explores what she learned and how it might make for a better 2026.

“I didn’t set out to build a better life through cold water swimming at all: I was not as structured as that. In fact, in 2021, I wasn’t structured at all. All I knew was that my job was slowly killing me, I didn’t feel like myself anymore and that stress had built up to the point where I needed to do something about it,” explains Hall about the decision that eventually led her to radically change her life.

A swimming spot at Norway’s Arctic Hideaway, an hour by boat west of Bodø.

In the space of a month, she quit her job and took her first plunge into cold water swimming. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, but felt strongly that the only way she was going to get better was to start doing the things she loved to do and stop doing the things she did not. “So, I gave up meetings and conference calls and instead focused on swimming as often as possible,” she explains matter-of-factly. The change was remarkable. In her own words, here is what she learned:

1. Icelanders have a phrase for the power of water

If you’re having a bad day, Icelanders suggest that you should ‘lay your head in water’. The title of my book comes from that powerful idea: that water can soothe and comfort you, and that water can help you find the answers to what you’re looking for. I strongly recommend travelling to Iceland to seek solutions in their hot pools – one of my favourites is Hvammsvik Hot Springs, where you can bathe in an ice-cold fjord and warm up in little geothermally heated hot pools once used by the Vikings.

In 2021, Laura Hall took up cold-water swimming, plunging into natural waterbodies all over Scandinavia, Greenland and Iceland.

2. Swimming strengthens your connection with nature

Scandinavians are known for their deep connection to nature, and Scandinavian swimmers even more so. I’ve swum with people from Copenhagen to Nuuk and noticed that a connection to nature is a strong reason they dive in. One of my swimming friends noted that when you’re walking through a forest, you’re not as immersed in nature as when you’re swimming, and that’s a reason why it feels so good. I’ve found that spending a year, during which I vowed to myself that I would swim in the sea at least once a week, has put me in touch with nature in a far deeper way than I thought possible.

3. Swimming in Greenland is transformational

I never thought I would have the guts to swim in the sea in Greenland in full view of icebergs floating past. But when I landed on Uunartoq Island in South Greenland, it just felt irresistible. Uunartoq is unique in that it has a hot spring. Then, down the hill from the hot spring, there is a perfect crescent of white sand and the clearest blue water you’ve ever seen. If you saw it in a holiday brochure and didn’t feel how cold the wind was, you would think it was the most beautiful beach in the world. I’m not exaggerating to say that my peak swimming moment was running down the hill from the hot spring to swim in the icy sea, then running back up the hill to warm up.

Uunartoq hot spring.

4. Scandinavian swimming pool changing rooms are a lot

For me, as a Brit, Danish changing rooms have always been a bit of a challenge. It’s expected that you will shower naked in a public shower room – no cubicles – before you put on your swimming costume and get in the pool. Of course, it’s sensible and hygienic, but the idea of being naked in public is quite alien when you have grown up in the UK. That said, I’ve gone through extreme exposure therapy now – the same situation is replayed in changing rooms in Sweden, Iceland and Finland – and am getting more comfortable with it.

Copenhagen Islands Brygge early morning.

5. Saunas are the key to a good cold-water swim

I never considered myself much of a sauna fan until I went to Helsinki. Sauna culture is off the charts in Finland’s capital, and it’s so much fun. I’ve really enjoyed seeing how much heat I can take, feeling the sweat roll off my body and sensing the wave of heat in the air. In Denmark, the saunagus tradition is one to try: that’s where a sauna is paired with scent notes and music, and occasionally a meditation or two as well. I like the ritual of it all. These days, I try to sit in the highest seat and sweat for as long as possible, and I would always rather swim and sauna than just swim alone.

Dive into 2026: Six lessons from Scandinavian cold-water therapy

6. There’s no such thing as a bad swim

Even the days when it’s been hard to swim have been good days. I’ve swum – though dipped might be more accurate for some occasions – in the Arctic, in Iceland, in Greenland, and in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway. You never regret a swim! I still find myself having to talk myself into it on a regular basis – especially if it’s a cold or rainy day and there are other places I’d like to be. But I know that the feeling I’ll have when I get out of the cold sea is worth it, so I focus on that. It’s all about that addictive, electrifying feeling you get in your skin, and the calmness you have in your mind at the end. It’s a real sense of achievement – you should try it sometime.

Bodø floating sauna – saunas are the key to a good cold-water swim, notes Hall.

A final lesson

On top of all the above, the most defining lesson Hall learned during her year of cold-water therapy was simply that life is better when you do what you love. “I know this sounds obvious, but I don’t think it can be overstated: if you want to construct a life you love, you need to fill it with things that you love to do,” she says. For her, that meant meeting new people, swimming, and writing. “For you, it might be different,” she stresses.

Still, with her newly released book, Halls shows you first-hand what happens when you plot a course from a stressed-out, overworked person to one who feels they can do anything. “I’d highly recommend prioritising doing things that you love: I found so many people across Scandinavia doing just that,” she concludes. And as we head into 2026, the idea that a simple, steady habit like cold-water swimming could reshape a year with more intention and joy feels almost too tempting not to try.

The Year I Lay My Head In Water is published by Icon Books and is out on 15 January 2026.

Dive into 2026: Six lessons from Scandinavian cold-water therapy