It’s nearing toward the end of Summer, and after all the swimming you’ve done with the family, you’re beginning to wonder if it isn’t time to get a pool of your own. Whether you pull the trigger on that new installation, or decide to pick up a membership to a pool and spa, there are numerous health benefits that say you should soak in a little more water. Here are 5 of the best health benefits of swimming pools and spas.
5. Spas Improve Cardiovascular Health
Soaking in water up to your neck can help to improve cardiovascular health, because while fully immersed, your heart has to pump harder to get blood to your organs. In a more scientific sense, water pressure covering your body increases evenly distributed pressure, in turn increasing your cardiac volume. So even if you’re not swimming, your heart is still getting a workout! However, if you want to be more active…
4. Swimming Exercise Can Save Your Joints
Swimming as an exercise is great because it keeps your heart rate pumping high, but without the expense of high-impact like you’d find in running. This watersport can help to build endurance and muscle strength, all while managing a healthy weight. You’ll also notice improved cardiovascular fitness, stemming from a healthier heart and set of lung.
For the above reasons, swimming is great for seniors who are trying to stay fit and active. Added benefits would be that swimming can help seniors take care of varicose veins, as whether it’s just an extra half hour of walking, or spending 20 minutes doing the breaststroke every day, more bodily movement will help increase your circulation.
3. Spas and Hydrotherapy Can Help You Sleep Better
A nice, warm dip in the spa, especially before bedtime, can really help you catch more sleep. According to the experts at Blue Haven Pools, since warm water helps to increase blood flow, some of the blood supply from your head is actually diverted to the rest of your body, which actually causes your brain to slow down. Thus, increased blood flow and warmth help both your muscles and your brain relax and decompress. On top of that, when you become immersed in warm or hot water, your internal body temperature also rises. After a while, it will level off and begin to drop again, which is essentially what happens when you fall asleep anyway!
2. Swimming Can Improve Coordination, Balance, Posture, and Flexibility
Because swimming is such a low-impact sport, some studies have shown that swimming can help improve your posture over time. “There’s no hard impact on your back like there is with running, and instead of being bent forward like you would be on a bike, your back tends to be arched slightly in the opposite direction,” says Indiana University researcher, David Tanner to TIME magazine.
To boot, coordination is naturally improved by repetitive, asymmetrical movements, while balance comes over time as you learn to balance yourself in the water. Swimmers are also generally more flexible as a result of their activities, because of the natural push and pull of the water on joints and muscles.
1. Spas Can Help Reduce Headaches
It shouldn’t come as surprising that, alongside improved cardiovascular activity, better joints, and improved relaxation, spa baths and swimming can also help reduce headaches. Dilated blood vessels in the head can decrease pressure in the cranium. Add to that the destressors, and it’s easy to see why it works. If you have problems with headaches and pressure points aren’t helping, consider taking a dip in a spa bath.
Remember Swimming Pool Safety:
Never swim alone if you can help it, and always wear the proper ear and eye protection while in the water. Also, make sure that you clean your ears after getting out of the pool. Poorly cleaned ears can lead to hearing loss as well as swimmer’s ear.
Now, if you haven’t already, jump on into a pool or a spa and soak in those health benefits!