Written by Dr. Sanjana V.B Bhms,dbrm,cdn

Founder & medical director of siahmsr wellness.in

All rights reserved with siahmsr digital healthcare[siahmsr wellness]

Reviewed by SIAHMSR medical team.

Health benefits of swimming

     Swimming is one of the best public recreational activities as well as a sport item. In some countries, swimming lessons are an integral part of the educational curriculum. Swimming involves repeated motions known as strokes in order to propel the body forward. While the Freestyle is widely regarded as the fastest out of four primary strokes, other strokes are practiced for special purposes, such as for training.

       Swimming needs proper training and guidance to practice as a sport item, exercise or recreation events. The general health condition of the swimmer should be checked before start joining it. Because swimming is associated with certain amount of risk along with its health benefits in some groups of people with certain diseases. Lack of proper training and types of swimming settings or area may pose risk of accidental drowning.

     Swimmers are at risk of incapacitation due to panic and exhaustion, which may cause death due to drowning. Other dangers include getting an infection from water. Hence practice swimming in a safe pool under supervision of a trainer.

Swimming in natural settings and rivers has the risk of infection and contact with harmful aquatic fauna.

     Swimming is a great workout method for all age groups with immense health benefits and recreation. Swimming provides both physical and mental benefits. It can maintain your heart, lungs, and muscles in good healthy condition and take away the impact of stress off your body. It also helps you maintain a healthy weight. It also helps to build endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness. It helps to relax your body and mind, alleviating stress.

How does swimming help your body & mind ?

1. Swimming can improve body flexibility, coordination, balance and posture.

2. It helps to build up cardiovascular strength-

Swimming as an exercise, it strengthens the heart, lungs, and circulatory system. Swimming does not put excess strain on a person’s joints because of buoyancy effect.

3. It is good for people with injuries

 For people with  injuries or other movement limiting painful diseases of skeletal system, it  may be difficult to do high impact exercises. Such groups may prefer swimming because the water gently supports the muscles.

4. It improves multiple sclerosis symptoms

Water keeps the limbs buoyant, so people with multiple sclerosis (MS) may benefit from the support and gentle resistance that water provides. It improves MS-related fatigue and depression.

5. Swimming is a recommended form of exercise for pregnant women.

 Weight gain can cause joint and muscle pain during pregnancy. Swimming is good for pregnant women because the water can support this weight. But practice it only after consulting with your doctor. The hygiene of swimming pool water and premises is very crucial in choosing swimming as a recreation exercise for pregnant women.

10. Swimming burns your extra calories

Swimming is a wonderful exercise option to burn calories. However, the outcome of burning calories is dependent on body weight and the intensity of swimming. Vigorous swimming is essential for burning calories.

11. Swimming regulates your blood sugar

A research study in premenopausal women found that swimming three times per week improved glucose (sugar) control and insulin sensitivity. The study found that low volume, high intensity intermittent swimming was more beneficial than swimming at low intensity for 1 hour.

12. It helps improve sleep

Swimming and the physical activity level improved by that, helps in good sleep especially in those people who are accustomed to sedentary lifestyle. It is a good exercise solution for insomnia or sleeplessness.

13. Swimming can improve your mood

The physical activity of your body induced by swimming releases endorphins, and endorphins are capable of making your mood pleasant.

Aerobic exercise may elevate and stabilize mood and swimming can help  to reduce stress-induced depression.

Steps for Healthy Swimming

·           A. Sanitation of pool.

Pools, hot tubs, and water playgrounds with proper chlorine or bromine levels and pH are less likely to contain and spread germs.

Use test strips to ensure that the water has a proper free chlorine (amount of chlorine available to kill germs) or bromine level and pH.

Free chlorine level: at least 1 part per million (ppm) in pools and water playgrounds .

Bromine level: at least 3 ppm in pools and water playgrounds .

pH (affects how effectively germs are killed or inactivated): 7.2–7.8.

·       B. Training guide & staff

·       Injuries and drownings are less likely when trained staff and adequate safety equipment are present.

·       Stay out of water if you have any infection.

·       Shower before you get in to the water.

·       Use well-fitting, Coast Guard-approved life jackets, for flotation assistance.

·       Dry ears thoroughly after swimming.

Research data related to the benefits of swimming 

     Swimming can improve mood in both sexes. For people with fibromyalgia, swimming can decrease anxiety , and exercise therapy in warm water can decrease depression and improve mood.[1] [3]

·        A 20-week Ai-Chi aquatic exercise program produces a significant pain reduction in MS [multiple sclerosis] patients that lasts for 10 weeks after the end of the program. It also improves other MS-related symptoms, including disability, depression, and fatigue[4].

·       Low-volume high-intensity intermittent swimming is an effective and time-efficient training strategy for improving insulin sensitivity, glucose control and biomarkers of vascular function in inactive, middle-aged mildly hypertensive women [5]. Thus swimming helps people with diabetes and high blood pressure [Hypertension].

·       In this study, 8-week swimming training at moderate intensity exhibited beneficial effects on systolic blood pressure, arterial stiffness and blood supply to the brain in overweight adults. It is worth noting that these changes in hemodynamics did not last 4 weeks. Therefore, further studies are still needed to clarify the underlying relationship between improvements in arterial stiffness and alterations in wall shear stress or  WSS [the blood flowing along the vascular vessel creates a tangential friction force, known as wall shear stress].

References

1.    https://www.medicaljournals.se/jrm/content/abstract/10.2340/16501977-0168

2.   https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/swimmers/health_benefits_water_exercise.html#eleven

3.    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17278933/

4.    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3138085/

5.    https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00421-016-3441-8

6.    https://biomedical-engineering-online.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12938-016-0274-y