People that take up swimming often make a long-term habit out of it – and they’re doing it for good reason. It can be the ultimate wellness boost.
Over lockdown we saw the rise of wild water swimming over on people’s Instagram accounts (though we quietly ducked out of that one, thinking of the mud), and public pools across the country suddenly had to be booked for once restrictions eased.
Now we’re in summer, swimming is one of the more cooling ways to exercise and get a rush of endorphins (the happy hormone).
Plus, the sport comes stacked with benefits, for both the body and mind.
Avid swimmer Suzie tells us that on average she swims 1.5km every day before work at her local pool.
She does it for cardio exercise, but also for “the best mood boost”.
“It really helps to deal with my anxiety which is particularly high ahead of the working day. It’s a gentle way to move your body with very little impact and allows me to clear my mind, giving me a great mindset to start the day.
“If I’m ever grumpy, my flatmate now actually asks if I’ve been for a swim that day so it’s clearly visibly working for others to see too,” she says.
On her average swim, which is 60 lengths, she burns roughly 260-300 calories, so it accounts for lots of her exercise routine.
Why can swimming be good for us?
Dr Deborah Lee of Dr Fox Online Pharmacy tells GLAMOUR that in many ways and for many people, swimming is “a perfect means of exercise”.
“As we age, the tendency to a sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise, leads to a gradual increase in weight. These factors increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and dementia.
“Ageing is linked to loss of muscle, and many people in middle-age have sarcopenia – a relative loss of muscle strength,” she explains.
The muscle strength aspect is just one way swimming can benefit us.
Dr Lee says swimming is excellent for the following reasons:
- It is a fantastic form of aerobic exercise.
- The water takes the body weight, relieving the pressure on joints. This can be especially beneficial for those with osteoarthritis, or other inflammatory conditions affecting their joints.
- Swimming is suitable for just about everyone, young and old, people with disabilities and injuries, pregnant women and children.
- By pushing against the water resistance, swimming builds muscular strength as well as exercising the heart and lungs. This increases your ‘maximal oxygen uptake’ – the efficiency of your body in getting oxygen to exercising muscles.
- As your physical strength increases, body fat decreases, and there are
- favourable changes in blood lipids (cholesterol).
- Regular aerobic exercise is protective against the development of heart
- disease, diabetes, and cancer.
- Regular swimming helps combat stress and reduces levels of anxiety and
- depression.
- Swimming is a social activity, which helps you feel connected. It can be a way to overcome loneliness.
- Regular swimming has been shown to reduce visceral fat which secretes hormones that cause chronic inflammation, a biochemical process that underpins the development of many of the chronic diseases we see today.
Unlike some other forms of exercise, swimming is largely accessible and can still suit a number of physical aliments and conditions.
How often should we be swimming to get the health benefits?
There’s no right answer here – it all depends on your health goals, Dr Lee says.
“The NHS recommends that one, 30-minute swimming session counts as one of your recommended 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week.
“Moderate-intensity exercise is any exercise that makes you feel a bit hot and sweaty and slightly out of breath, so you should swim fast enough to feel like this. Brisk breast-stroke or slow crawl is an option.
“Swim clubs recommend that swimming for fitness requires 3 to 5 swims per week, of 20 minutes or more per session.
“This will mean fast swimming, and swimming laps with different strokes such as breaststroke, backstroke and front crawl. Eventually, you could build this up to swimming for an hour twice a week. A one-hour swim such as this is a distance of 2 miles!”
How you do it is up to you – if you’re a newbie a class or club might be an easy way in and to hold yourself accountable to showing up.
And if you haven’t yet learnt to swim, there’s no shame in picking up the skill later on in life.
Ultimately, “any swimming is good swimming”, which Dr Lee says is key to your mindset in how you approach this.
How many calories can you burn from swimming?
Dr Lee says: “On average, an adult weighing 150 pounds will burn 400 calories per hour swimming. However, heavier people use more calories. The faster you swim, the more calories you burn. Fast crawl can burn 700 calories per hour.”
It’s important to not obsess over calorie counting of course – the best exercise is a style that’s enjoyed, makes us feel good and we notice ourselves developing in line with our goals.
Are the benefits both mental and physical?
The short answer is yes – exercise in general better both the body and the mind.
After a year of uncertainty and increased anxiety, developing a healthy habit can be a way to instill a sense of routine back into your day to day.
“Your mind and body are very closely interconnected. If you improve one, this will have follow-on improvements in the other.
“Swimming has been shown to raise levels of endorphins, the brains natural pain killers, and hence after a swim you often feel calmer and more relaxed,” Dr Lee says.
Back in 2012, a survey of 1200 adult swimmers aged 16-45 years found that 74% said swimming helped relieve stress and tension.
Dr Lee adds: “Researchers have found that swimming leads to increased levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) – a protein that is essential for the growth and development of neurons in the brain and spinal cord.
“Swimming is also a great way to improve your sleep. Moderate-intensity exercise has been shown to improve the quality and duration of sleep, which again, has numerous health benefits.
“Swimming improves physical fitness and stamina, but, it is likely this will then lead to improvements in self-esteem and resilience in life.”
We could all have some more of that tbh.
Can wild water swimming be better for you, or is it more dangerous if
you’re a beginner?
Interest in wild water swimming has always been there, but lockdown made it more mainstream.
But it’s not something you should just leap into without doing some prep beforehand.
Dr Lee says: “The main difference is the temperature. Swimming pools are kept at a constant 28-30 °C, but open water can be 22 °C or lower.
“There can be health benefits from swimming in cold water. The shock of the cold water leads to an outpouring of cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline, and endorphins. Blood is directed towards your vital organs, your heart starts racing, and you feel a natural body high. Some experts believe regular cold water immersion can boost the immune system.
“However, take care getting started. Always swim with others, not alone. Adjust gradually to cold temperatures, otherwise, you can cause your body to go into shock, and reheat gradually after a cold swim.” To ease this, wearing a wetsuit might help, like this one which allows for freedom of movement while keeping you covered.
Advise on this can be found from The Outdoor Swimming Society.
Also, worried about ticks? They don’t actually get into the water – they’re found in grasses that grow near bodies of water. So you should still check your body afterwards if you’ve walked through these areas to get to the water and go to see your doctor if you see any (due to Lyme disease), but you shouldn’t let this fear stop you taking the leap.
Happy swimming – we’ll meet you by the water.