There’s also evidence it can slow down the aging process.
A long-term study at Indiana University Bloomington’s Counsilman Center for the Science of Swimming found that Masters Swimmers (over age 35) who swam roughly 3,200 to 4,500 meters (about 3.2 to 4.8 kilometers) three to five times a week, postponed the aging process. And not just for a few years but for decades, according to traditional age markers like muscle mass blood pressure, and lung function.
And you don’t have to beat out the lengths. The research shows even a small amount of swimming each week helps you stay younger for longer. And it is not just body age it can help with.
If you still do not believe it, read the article below to understand why swimming helps us to be younger!
Swimming is a sport that cradle to grave
First, you have to understand that in order for you to look younger on the surface it is imperative that your spirit be young first. You can’t always be anxious and stressed and look young, right? So your mind is relaxed, not tense, then your face will be much younger.
Second, in addition to being stress-free, you also need to have a healthy body. You can’t expect to look young if you are sick today, sick tomorrow, right? Did you know that every time you are sick, your blood circulation is weak, your metabolism is poor, your face looks pale, you look completely less sharp.
Conversely, if you have a healthy body, plus a clear and relaxed mind, your face will be much younger than your age. And swimming is the method to help you get two things: a strong body and a relaxed mind. These two things combined will help you stay younger for longer. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of swimming!
Healthy body:
Your body becomes stronger
Regular swimmers will gradually gain muscle strength throughout the body. When immersed in the water, you will need to coordinate the use of many muscle groups together to be able to move, thereby making almost all of your limbs move, support to improve strength.
Swimming is considered to be the best full-body exercise to improve body flexibility. When you swim, you stretch, twist, and pull your whole body to move through the water, these movements make you more flexible than any other sports exercise.
Continuous stretches performed on each stroke can help increase flexibility and endurance.
Swimming helps your body stronger
Weight Loss
That’s true! Everyone knows that swimming is a great way to burn calories, but most don’t realize it can be just as efficient as jumping on the treadmill. Depending on the stroke you choose and your intensity, swimming can burn equal or greater calories than running.
Additionally, you don’t have to worry about sweat in your eyes. For example: for 10 minutes of swimming you burn 60 calories with the breaststroke, 80 calories with the backstroke, 100 calories with freestyle, and an impressive 150 with the butterfly stroke.
For perspective, running a 10-minute mile burns around 100 calories. Therefore, a strong 30-min butterfly speed session can burn 150 more calories than running a 5K in the same time frame.
Good for cardiovascular
Cardiovascular exercises involve the heart, lungs, and circulatory system. A well-rounded exercise, such as swimming, will include this type of exercise. Studies have shown that swimmers have half the risk of dying compared to those who are inactive. A study from 2016 found that swimming can help lower blood pressure and control blood sugar.
Relaxed mind
Stress relief
Love that natural endorphin kick? While many talks about a runner’s high, swimming can bring about all those feel-good emotions too.
In addition to the happy hormones, you also can feel a relaxation response similar to yoga. As we mentioned previously, swimming stretches your body constantly. Combine this with deep rhythmic breathing, and you can experience a relaxation rush that’s very unique to the sport.
Swimming is also calming and meditative, as the sound of your breathing and the water rushing by helps you focus inward and drown out all other distractions. This lowers stress and depression naturally. It is a fact that stress is the number one contributor to aging, so swimming is the best anti-aging therapy. It reduces the inflammation of joints and muscles, leaving your body feeling relaxed and stress-free.
Research also shows that swimming can reverse damage to the brain from stress through a process called hippocampal neurogenesis. So, if you feel like you’re drowning emotionally, jumping in an actual body of water may be exactly what you need to find your feel-good feet again.
Good for your sleep
Swimming is good for our mental health
One health benefit of swimming is that it helps you sleep better at night. In a study of older adults with insomnia, scientists found that the goal of increasing quality of life and sleep will have positive results when swimming regularly.
In addition, the elderly are more susceptible to musculoskeletal problems, so other forms of movement such as jogging or cycling may make them hesitate.
However, when swimming, water will help support your body in a maximum way, thereby helping your legs and arms to function but avoiding unwanted injuries.
Through the two main benefits of swimming on the body and mind, we can clearly see that: Swimming is not an elixir to help improve aging, but it helps us to be beautiful both literally and figuratively. Not only beautiful on the outside but also beautiful on the inside, a healthy body, and a beautiful mind, surely we will be much younger, right?
So what are you waiting for without jumping into the pool for a few laps and we will see how you feel. That’s why they say swimming is ‘cradle to grave.’ You simply adjust the pace to your age and ability.