What is afterdrop?
When we come out of the water - even if we were comfortable in the water and were not at all cold - we sometimes start to shake, shiver, feel unwell. And it's hard to keep warm.
What is happening in our body? Well this is what we call the afterdrop – the cooling of our body which continues 10 to 40 minutes after leaving the water: and not only of the skin but also inside our body – the cold passing from outside to inside.
As Mike Tipton explains to us in our open water podcast, you can even model it with a watermelon or melon. The larger you are, the longer this cooling will take as well as the reverse heating process which takes more time.
Some tips to limit this afterdrop phenomenon – simply aiming to warm up slowly and gradually post-swim:
- Take off your wet clothes and put your feet dry (long live the b each parka );
- Change into warm clothes and above all do not hesitate to put on layers of clothing;
- Drink something hot and eat a little something;
- If possible, a sauna or shower.
If this subject interests you, don't hesitate to listen or re-listen to our podcast episodes with Mike Tipton and Nicolas Iconomidis.
