Water's unique properties have immediate benefits for the body, such as regulating pain , and research shows not just short-term, but also long-term benefits for mental health, with long-term benefits including potentially reducing the risk of early death, supporting healthy aging, and providing support for those who are difficult to live in. People who move on land offer another form of exercise.
How many times do you need to swim to get the benefits? Any swim is better than nothing, but the more you swim, the more benefits you'll get.
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week, in addition to two muscle-strengthening exercises per week. If you want to use swimming as a form of exercise, try doing 30-minute laps three times a week, and use other days of the week to do other forms of exercise, such as resistance training and walking.
But if you're new to swimming, or to swimming as a form of exercise, start slowly. Rademacher says if you do too much too fast, you could get injured — even in a low-impact sport like swimming. Compared to normal post-workout soreness, here are three signs to watch out for that may indicate you have a potential injury:
- Pain that lasts more than 72 hours
- severe and sudden pain
- throbbing or radiating pain
Here are reasons to delve deeper
1. Swimming can help you live longer
Research shows that regular exercise may extend your life. According to a report commissioned by British Swimming in 2017, swimmers have a 28% lower risk of premature death and a 41% lower risk of death from heart disease and stroke compared with non-swimmers.
2. Swimming can help you stay slim
Swimming is a full-body exercise. "Swimming involves everything from your arms, shoulders, and legs to your core, body, and back," Rademacher says. This means you'll get a lot of metabolic benefits from your cardio, he explains.
According to Harvard Medical School, a 155-pound person can burn about 432 calories swimming for an hour and walking at a moderate pace can burn about 266 calories. A 2021 study found that 16 weeks of swimming significantly reduced body fat and BMI.
3. Swimming promotes heart health
Like other forms of aerobic exercise, swimming can improve cardiovascular health. Swimming makes the heart stronger and allows the lungs to use oxygen more efficiently .
Research shows that swimming is associated with improvements in high blood pressure, blood pressure, and other cardiovascular health markers.
4. These laps strengthen your lungs
If you've been diagnosed with a lung condition such as asthma or COPD, you might like to hear that your lungs are one of the biggest beneficiaries of swimming, according to British Swimming.
Swimming trains the muscles involved in breathing, which means it builds lung capacity and aids breathing techniques. Also, if you suffer from asthma, a swimming pool is an ideal environment for exercise because it is moist, warm, and generally a low-pollen environment.
But if you have lung disease or other conditions that may affect your ability to exercise, talk to your doctor before starting swimming.
5. Swimming can enhance brain power
In general, exercise is associated with improved cognitive abilities, but when researchers looked at the specific cognitive benefits of swimming, they discovered a unique benefit.
In one small study, participants who participated in a 20-minute moderate-intensity swim processed visual information and responded faster on cognitive tests taken before and immediately after the swim. Dr. Cote said that although the effect was small, the fact that exercise produced a noticeable change after just one exercise was noteworthy. Another study linked swimming to improved short- and long-term memory in mice.
Both studies are in the preliminary stages, but researchers in both studies concluded that the data suggest further research is warranted.
6. Water exercise can make you feel better
All exercise can enhance mood. But one study found that among people, a session of swimming improved mood more than a session of aerobics. Regular swimming can reduce stress, reduce anxiety and combat depression due to the release of happy chemicals in the brain, specifically endorphins, dopamine and serotonin.
7. Swimming can help you fall asleep
Improved sleep is a benefit of any exercise routine. This includes swimming. Exercise helps reset your body's internal clock and restore your natural circadian rhythm.
According to the National Sleep Foundation's 2013 U.S. Sleep Poll, which focuses on sleep and exercise, people who engage in aerobic exercise report better sleep quality; 76 percent of those who engage in light, moderate, or vigorous exercise 83% reported very good or fairly good sleep quality, compared with 56% of inactive people. In the survey, swimming was classified as a vigorous aerobic exercise. What's more, exercisers spent more time in restorative, deep sleep.
8. For people with chronic pain, swimming may help
Conditions like arthritis and fibromyalgia often lead to reduced mobility and, in many cases, short- or long-term pain. This is where swimming can come into play. A range of aquatic activities have been shown to help improve physical function and quality of life in people with musculoskeletal conditions.
A three-month swimming program can reduce joint pain and stiffness and improve muscle strength in people with osteoarthritis, a study shows.
The buoyancy of the water increases drag, but at the same time has a smaller effect. This is ideal if you have stiffness or joint pain. If you do suffer from fibromyalgia or worse pain, consider aquatic physical therapy to help get you started and ready for possible lap swimming.
9. Swimming is good for bone health
About 54 million Americans have osteoporosis, or low bone mass, which increases their risk of developing osteoporosis, according to the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation. , one in two women will fracture a bone due to osteoporosis, and one in two women will fracture a bone due to osteoporosis.
While resistance training and high-intensity activity have been the gold standard for improving bone density, swimming may also help. A 2020 review found that swimming three to six hours a week improved bone mineral density in postmenopausal women, especially those who were long-term swimmers. But it's worth noting that people who exercised less than three hours a week did not experience any benefit to their bone health.
