“When you’re swimming vigorously, you are using lots of different muscle groups and, importantly, you are working against the weight of the water,” explains Michael.
Research suggests that even a 20-minute swim exercise can boost brain function.
One of the health benefits that testifies to the holistic power of swimming is what it does to our arteries. As blood vessels, our arteries are crucial. Heart disease, after all, is caused by artery blockage – it’s not a disease of the heart itself. Arteries not only carry blood from one part of the body to another, they also buffer the pulsations of that movement, expanding and recoiling as they do this. Playing this key role takes its toll and, over time, the arteries get stiff and can cause damage to the brain and the kidneys.
An experiment carried out by Prof Hiro Tanaka from the University of Texas, Austin showed that just three months of a swimming exercise programme was highly effective in reducing artery stiffness and reducing the stress transmitted into other organs.
Swimming can help you live longer
Perhaps not surprisingly, given the impact on arteries, swimming can extend your life. Scientists at the University of South Carolina in the US followed over 40,000 men, age 20 to 90, for an average of 13 years and discovered that swimmers had a much lower death rate than non-exercisers.
Swimmers were also 50% less likely to die from all causes than runners or walkers, with land-based exercise, for example, proving less effective in reducing artery stiffness.
Swimming is better for your brain than walking or running
Land-based exercise also has less impact on cognitive function than swimming.
“There are many research studies showing that water immersion actually increases brain blood overall,” says Prof Tanaka. Meanwhile, other research suggests that cognitive function is improved when you are in the water because you are usually in supine or prone positions. “Because of that, the flow to the brain is actually facilitated compared to upright exercises like walking or cycling,” notes the professor.
One study showed that just seven days of swim training improved the memory of rats, with tests on humans returning similar results. In of how long you need to swim for, research suggests that even a 20-minute swim exercise can boost brain function and enable faster reaction times.
