COL.D.D – Cold water swimming for the prevention of Dementia and Depression

The project aims:

• To promote Inclusion and Diversity by engaging isolated adults, particularly from vulnerable groups, in outdoor activities.
• To encourage a healthy lifestyle through cold-water swimming as a potential method to prevent and treat depression and dementia.
• To consolidate and translate existing cold-water swimming methods, equip professionals to conduct safe training.
• To assess the method’s impact on depression.
• To raise awareness, educate, build a supportive community.
• To collaborate with local organizations to promote a healthier lifestyle.

The project will engage in the following activities:

• Collecting Best Practices in cold-water swimming, breath control, and mindfulness for health benefits.
• Synthesizing, Adapting, and Translating these practices into consortium languages (French, Italian, Croatian, Austrian, and Czech).
• Conducting a Learning, Teaching, and Training Activity with two representatives from each organization in health, psychology, or sports.
• Implementing Project Workshops in partner countries, with subsequent adjustments to the self-help and training manuals based on workshop experiences
• Conducting both quantitative and qualitative assessments of participants before the project workshops and performing a follow-up, post-intervention assessment to realize a research paper which will be published.

The project has yielded the following results:

• Methodological Guide on preventing dementia and tackling depression in people aged +50
• Manual in 6 languages about the new methodology
• COL.D.D. handbook providing professionals with an innovative tool on the topic
• Comprehensive research paper to spread the method