Health Benefits of Scuba Diving You May Not Know About:

1. Improved cardiovascular fitness

Maintaining good cardiovascular fitness is important for living a long, healthy life. It’s also important for staying safe while scuba diving. Thankfully, scuba diving itself can provide excellent cardiovascular benefits. Swimming is one of the best forms of aerobic exercise, which means you can get in a great cardio workout while diving. Regular participation in scuba diving can provide cardiovascular benefits such as weight management, better blood circulation, reduced blood pressure, and improved sleep quality.

2. Increased muscle strength and endurance

In addition to being a good cardio workout, scuba diving is a great way to build muscle strength and endurance. Swimming, especially against a current, forces divers to use muscles in their legs, core, and arms. This effort helps to build lean muscle mass and promote muscular endurance. This makes scuba diving a great way to increase strength without putting too much stress on your joints.
And don’t forget about those tanks! Carrying scuba tanks and other gear is another way to improve upper body strength. Additionally, lifting tanks activates muscles in your arms, back, and core, making diving a true full body workout!

3. Improved posture and flexibility

Swimming also helps to increase flexibility and improve posture. When your legs are slow kicking your fins through a current underwater you’re lengthening your muscles and engaging your core. This helps to improve flexibility in your lower body and increase torso strength, which will help improve posture. A strong core is key for having that perfect posture and almost every movement a scuba diver makes has some form of core engagement.

4. Reduced stress levels and improved mental health

It has been commonly documented that being close to the ocean can have positive impacts on mental health and scuba diving is no exception. A study of 176 scuba divers found that after two scuba diving experiences, divers experienced improved mental health, including a reduction in stress. Additionally, the mental health benefits of scuba diving are often connected to the breathing techniques required underwater.
The practice of breathing slowly and deeply is also used in meditation and aids in relaxation, calmness, and reduced levels of stress and anxiety. As a result, scuba diving acts almost as a form of meditation, allowing divers to reduce stress levels and drastically improve their mental health.

5. Therapeutic benefits for physical and psychological injuries

Scuba diving can also have significant therapeutic benefits, specifically for military veterans and others who have experienced psychological disorders. As a result of the focus required to participate in scuba diving and the feeling of weightlessness while underwater, injured veterans reported an improvement in levels of anxiety and depression, and a reduction in insomnia following their participation in recreational scuba diving.

6. Improved social life

Scuba diving is a social activity. Even as a solo diver, you’re usually diving with at least one other person, if not a small group. As a result, scuba diving can have a tremendous impact on a diver’s social life. When diving, you have the opportunity to meet new, like-minded people and bond over your underwater experiences. A recent study found that divers with disabilities experienced an enhanced quality of life and improved self-confidence through these social experiences.
Additionally, a healthy social life has been shown to have a positive impact on physical and mental health, often leading to lower blood pressure, reduced risk of chronic illness, a stronger immune system, and reduced stress.