Have you ever jumped into a pool on a hot summer day and felt instantly rejuvenated? If so, swimming does more than cool you off. It’s a life-changing endeavor for physical, mental, and social wellness. Whether you’re gliding up and down the community pool, playing in the shallow end or a lake, or racing in the ocean, swimming provides benefits like no other. It’s not just great exercise or an invaluable skill to learn, but it’s also an efficient way to better your life in ways you never thought possible.
What makes swimming so great? Very few exercises utilize the entire body without all the impact and stress. It’s suitable for people of all ages, and it doesn’t require rigorous or expensive gear. All you need is access to water and a bathing suit, and you’re set! So here are ten surprising benefits of swimming that will make you want to do it more often. Not only does it promote better mood, but better sleep, too, so keep reading!
1. Swimming Builds Full-Body Strength
Swimming stimulates your entire body from the arms and legs to the torso and abs. As you swim, your arms are pulling while your legs are kicking and the core is working to stabilize and keep everything engaged. This is unlike weight training where a person focuses on one muscle group at a time; swimming employs the need for all muscles working at once, inherently. Feel tired after a swim? That’s because all the muscles are working—just in a subtler way than sweating it out at the gym.
The water provides resistance which means you build muscle without heavy weights and strains on your system. The kind of resistance you face is virtually imperceptible to the brain; it’s almost as if the body is doing something and the person doesn’t know it until it’s too late. Eventually, you’ll have more toned arms, stronger feeling legs, and a tighter core over time. And since it’s low-impact, your body isn’t going to feel the extreme soreness that comes along with running and weight training. It’s like getting a great day at the gym without the guilt and pain of one. Why wouldn’t you want that?
2. Swimming Improves Heart Health
Your heart is one of the hardest working muscles in your body. Therefore, making it work even harder with swimming can only help the situation. Swimming gets your heart pumping requeriting more blood intake of your muscular needs while working out. Therefore, the more you swim, the stronger your heart will be—as every other muscle learns to acclimate. Thus, it means better circulation throughout the body for a healthier, more energized experience.
Swimming also helps control blood pressure. Swimming isn’t as jarring as running; its less of a stressor on the body. When swimming, blood pressure decreases while still getting in a heart-healthy workout. Thus, swimming works out the heart without putting stress on joints and other areas. So it sounds counterproductive to say that all this action is good for the heart, but look at any healthy swimmer and see how their underlying heart gets an amazing workout while submerged.
3. Swimming Increases Lung Capacity
Lungs are funny organs. We don’t control them or breathe intentionally throughout the day unless we’re swimming. Those who swim learn breath control and must time inhalation and exhalation with strokes, so their lungs work harder, but also, more efficiently, which means they become conditioned to using oxygen more effectively. Over time, this means increased lung capacity and the ability to endure breath holding longer, as well as increased oxygen intake via breathing when not holding breaths.
Ever get out of breath walking up a flight of stairs? Someone who regularly swims does not fall prey to such personal forms of domestic embarrassment. Breath control translates into a power over everyday situations. Those who swim spend more time in water than air, keeping their airways moist, too. Moist air is better for breath control than hot, dry air one is bound to breathe while out on a run, as well. Thus, swimming is the perfect way for lungs to expand naturally, over time, and without one ever realizing one’s ability to breathe would benefit from simply spending time in a pool or ocean.
4. Swimming Reduces Stress
Stress is part of life; stress from work, family obligations, personal endeavors, the struggles of daily life amount to some form of stress piling upon every individual every day. The best way to relieve stress is to swim and let the water wash it all away. Swimming is like receiving a big hug. With the entire body submerged, nothing else matters; stress is relieved as the body adjusts to what it must do to swim.
Studies show that regaining focus while allowing the body to do what it needs to do with low-impact, stress-reducing activity—internally—shows how effective swimming can be. Stroke after stroke becomes meditative as worry cannot penetrate a good session. Plus, stress reduction contributes to the endorphins released by the brain through any physical activity, including swimming, which makes one feel better post-session as if with a new lease on life. Ever feel lighter when you emerge from the pool? That’s the stress you were able to shed simply by swimming.
5. Swimming Helps You Sleep
Having trouble sleeping at night? One culprit could be that you need to swim yourself to sleep. When your body is worked out during the day, it experiences a different type of tired than the mental fatigue from staring at a computer screen. It’s that natural fatigue that helps someone fall asleep faster and more profoundly.
In addition, the water helps relax one’s body, helping it prepare for bed. Imagine this— you’ve swum, your body’s loose, and now, you’re gliding into your bed easily with all intentions of falling into a deeper sleep. Swimming also helps regulate the internal clock, falling asleep and waking when we should. Who doesn’t want to wake up refreshed and recharged? One few laps can do the trick.
6. Swimming Improves Flexibility
Are you tight and stiff when sitting too long? Swimming can help loosen your body. As you swim, your body works in ways to stretch and extend both muscles and joints. Every arm stroke extends the arm; every kick with a leg extends that leg, and even your back will improve its range of motion over time. Unlike yoga, where one has to learn different poses, swimming essentially stretches for you as you move through the water.
This new flexibility is ideal for everyday scenarios—reaching up to a high cabinet or squatting down to tie your shoes becomes effortless with decreased muscle tension. In addition, flexibility prevents injuries as muscles that are more flexible are less likely to pull or tear. Why do you think swimmers move so effortlessly through the water? It’s because, on a day-to-day basis, they’re accustomed to making micro and macro movements all over their bodies. Swimming is like one big stretch; it’s enjoyable and keeps the body flexible.
7. Swimming Helps Control Weight
With all the easy snacks in the world and busy lives, it’s not easy to keep off a healthy weight. One of the reasons people love swimming is its ability to burn so many calories without even feeling like a workout. People who swim short distances quickly or long, leisurely laps can burn hundreds of calories in one session. Plus, because swimming uses the entire body, it serves as a fantastic way to tone muscles all while increasing one’s metabolism.
While jogging can get boring quickly, swimming never gets boring, from using different strokes to holds. You might swim laps to do the crawl or sidestroke, or you may need to stop for a floating breather, but at no point will you get disinterested in the activity. Plus, because the water makes you feel lighter, you might even work out for more extended periods without tiring. It’s no wonder we get so hungry after a swim; we’re using so many calories and at the same time, building muscle with each stroke.
8. Swimming Improves Focus
Can’t focus during the day? Make a huge deposit into your local pool or YMCA. Swimming is a time-consuming task that involves focus: learning breath control while doing laps means you have to get into the rhythm of what needs to be done, and that level of focus transfers to other tasks during the day.
Plus, your brain gets a break from being overstimulated. There are no buzzing reminders, notifications, and horn alarms while you’re in the water. Instead, you go with the flow and accept what’s happening around you at that moment. Have you ever had a brilliant idea seemingly out of nowhere while doing laps? That’s the clarity from the water coming up to inspire more creativity as you focus on what’s in front of you at that moment. Sometimes literally diving into a clear mind can keep you more focused than ever.
9. Swimming Builds Confidence
There is a natural sense of value from being an able swimmer. Whether you learn to tread or refine a favorite stroke, goals can be achieved along the way. Every time you swim an additional lap beyond your original comfort zone or perfect a new stroke, these little wins foster increased self-esteem. This self-esteem is transferred out of the pool as well into situations where we might choose to challenge ourselves.
You’ll learn to love your body when you swim. The more you achieve and the more powerful you feel, the more you’ll appreciate what your body can do for you. It’s less about how you’re going to fill out your bikini and more about how toned and empowered you’ll feel. Have you ever seen a confident person cannonball into a pool? That’s going to be you in a month after all that you can accomplish in the pool. It’s an empowering experience that makes you feel like you can take on anything.
10. Swimming Reinforces Community
Swimming is used as a communal activity. While you may swim alone, you’re still likely to encounter other swimmers along the way. Perhaps you swim with friends; perhaps you join the local swim team; there’s always some water aerobic or aqua exercise class—swimming invites community. Whether people are sharing a lane or playing together, swimming can make exercise feel like a game. People are more likely to laugh, engage with friends between laps, or take a break in the shallow end.
In addition, those who go to communal pools or local beaches meet people who frequent the same spots as everyone enjoys being in the water. Everyone wants to enjoy themselves and relax; meeting others fosters friendships. Have you ever tried NOT talking to someone at the local pool? It seemingly doesn’t happen! Everyone wants to engage and get to know others while enjoying companionship and bolstered social lives.
Conclusion
Swimming is not just another summer activity to cool off; it’s a life-changing experience for your body and mind. The advantages of swimming—competing with full body conditioning, stress relief, sleep opportunities—are out of this world. Swimming is low impact and something almost everyone can enjoy. Whether the community pool or your hometown lake, a few minutes to a few hours of swimming will create a positive shift in one’s life and health.
So what are you waiting for? Head to your nearest community pool in your bathing suit and dive on in. You don’t need to be Michael Phelps—a few minutes in the water will change your body’s mindset and subsequent movements. Imagine how you would feel after a few classes stronger, readjusted, and more confident, and tell me that’s not how you want to live your life. So come on in, the water’s fantastic—and so are the benefits of swimming!