We all know that scuba diving is a very enjoyable and relaxing sport, but did you know that it is truly good for your health…mind, body and soul? Whether you are a beginner recreational diver interested in seeing the beautiful reefs of the sea, or an experienced deep sea diver who travels to depths seldom seen by the human eye, scuba diving can provide numerous benefits.
Here are the Top 10 from Health Fitness Revolution and author of the book ReSYNC Your Life Samir Becic:
- Physical fitness: Swimming is one of the best modes of aerobic and anaerobic work we can do. It provides both a cardiovascular workout and a muscular workout as we move against the natural pressure of the water on our bodies with little to no strain on our joints.
- Flexibility and strength: Your muscles also work harder underwater as you move against the resistance of the current and the water itself. With this, you strengthen your muscles as well as develop your flexibility and endurance. Like swimming, which builds up the muscles in your thighs and shoulders, diving can help tone your different muscle areas, consequently giving you better posture.
- Healing effects of water: One other little known benefit to being at depth is a healing factor. This was demonstrated and experienced by researchers that remained in an underwater habitat for several weeks. The human body uses oxygen to repair cuts and tears that we may get in different tissues within our body.
- Breathing: Slow, deep breathing is important in scuba diving to optimize air consumption and bottom time. An added bonus is that deep, steady breathing promotes a calm attitude and reduces the risk of a lung-expansion injury.
- Stress reliever: Similar to breathing during meditation, breathing slowly and deeply while diving induces a calm, relaxed state while the diver focuses on the underwater environment rather than thinking about problems they may be experiencing in daily life. This helps to reduce stress and balance the nervous system. A relaxed, calm state of mind has been proven to promote a positive attitude and prevent depression.
- Social health benefit: When you dive, you meet other like-minded people that share that common interest. It’s easy to make friends among divers as you will find a sense of community among them. It’s an exhilarating feeling to surface from a dive full of wonderful memories of your experience and then to be able to talk about and share them with good companions who are just as excited as you are!
- Travel to warm climates: They say that travel is the best form of education and most people relish in the experience of visiting new places, experiencing a different culture, and all the new sights and smells and tastes that go with it. Dive travel abroad also means you are likely to meet fun people from all over the world with whom you have a common interest.
- Sunlight: One of the most important benefits of sunlight is that it supplies the body with vitamin D, which promotes the absorption of calcium in the body and is also responsible for the transference of calcium within the cells. This provides strength to the bones and increases endorphin production in the brain, which contributes to a healthy nervous system.
- Improve blood circulation: While working all your body muscles simultaneously during a dive, you also give yourself a full cardiovascular workout. The muscles used require oxygen, so your blood vessels open for improved circulation to supply the needed oxygen.
- Reduce blood pressure: Related to exercising your circulatory system, diving can also help lower blood pressure. There are studies reporting that those who dive on a regular basis are less likely to be prone to strokes and heart attacks.
Here are a few items you may need to take with you on your next scuba diving trip! Click on them to see more on Amazon!
I tried scuba diving for the first time and loved it so much im looking into getting my scuba diving certification. I like how you mentioned scuba diving is a stress reliever. I think this is true because deep breaths is calming and can relax the nervous system. I can’t wait to be certified and learn more things about scuba diving!
I have always thought it sounded so fun to try scuba diving, but I didn’t realize there were health benefits to it as well! It’s interesting how you point out that it teaches you to control your breath to be slow and deep. That, in turn, helps you to be more relaxed in your everyday life. I imagine that it will be really important to make sure we get proper lessons before we try this. We’ll have to look for places near us that teach it very in depth so that we can be safe and have fun!
After reading your artical, I could & can agree with much of what you said. I’ve been certified in scuba longer than many people have even been alive. I’ve logged over a 1000 hours under water. Some of my experiences include hundreds of hours between Folsom lake, Lake Climentine, the American, Bear, & Feather Rivers, Also, Minors Revenue, Secret, Granite quarts, Mexico, Hawii, San Diego, Monteray, and many other places along the coast of Calf. Pueget Sound, Guam, Siapan, and the Red Sea. I’ve done Under water photogerphy, spear fishing, night diving, wreck diving, else that I’ve Salvage, dove on seven WW-II, air planes, 3 WW-II. Ships, and many other types of artifacts. I can attest to the fact that Scuba diving has been my biggest and best form of releasing strews. Better than any thing else that I’ve done,