Millions of people in the United States frequent pools and visit beaches daily. More than half of Americans either can’t swim or cannot perform all the basic swimming skills.
Although learning to swim might not seem critical, it’s one of the most important skills people can develop.
Here are a few reasons why learning how to swim is beneficial:
Swimming is Essential for Safety
One of the main benefits of learning how to swim is safety. According to the American Red Cross, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children under 14.
Approximately eight adults die from accidental drowning daily in the United States. In addition to the possibility of drowning, not knowing how to swim can lead to nonfatal submersion injuries.
Knowing how to swim is essential to safety, regardless of age. When you know how to swim, you significantly reduce the risk of drowning and other submersion injuries when you are by water.
While many people feel content to use floaties or stay in the shallow or shore end of pools and beaches, accidents can happen. Swim lessons help develop confident swimmers who can stay afloat, tread water, and move safely.
If you want to visit a beach, splash in a neighborhood pool, or go out on a boat, knowing how to swim can mean the difference between life and death.
Swimming is Great Exercise
Swimming is an excellent form of exercise that offers a variety of health benefits. Swim England reports that swimming regularly significantly decreases your risk for early death, stroke, and heart disease.
This activity has also been linked to lower BMI and greater calories burned during workouts, which makes it ideal for combating obesity and staying healthy.
Learning how to swim helps you take advantage of a low-impact, high-cardio activity that you can use to stay in shape and prolong your life.
Swimming has Mental Health Benefits
There are a host of mental health benefits that come from swimming as well. Swimming helps produce flow, which boosts happiness and feelings of satisfaction.
It also creates endorphins which improve mood and cause feelings of joy. Because swimming is a cardiovascular activity, it also helps manage stress, anxiety, and feelings of depression.
In a time when people are feeling more anxious and more depressed than ever, mood-boosting activities like swimming are valuable. Taking the time to learn how to swim early will allow you to reap mental health benefits from this activity for years.
Swimming Allows for Fun Sports and Activities
Knowing how to swim opens the door to a variety of fun activities. You need to know how to swim before learning how to surf, go kayaking or white river rafting, or play water polo.
Bucket list adventures like swimming with dolphins, kitesurfing, snorkeling with sea turtles, completing a triathlon, and cave diving are only possible for people who can swim.
When you learn to swim, you keep yourself from being limited to land-only activities and excursions. You can welcome more fun and adventure by becoming a strong swimmer.
Swimming is a Life-Long Skill
Another benefit of learning to swim is that you always remember once you know how to swim. People who learn to swim can rely on muscle memory to allow themselves to enjoy swimming and stay safe in the water for the rest of their lives.
This is great because swimming is a low-impact, helpful, practical exercise for elderly individuals with aging joints. By learning to swim at a younger age, you can take advantage of this exercise when you are older and have less mobility.
There are many times when this skill will be helpful throughout an individual’s life. Kids and teenagers go swimming parties; many middle schools and high schools have swimming units in gym class, many adults like going on cruises and other boating excursions, and plenty of adventure seekers enjoy jet skis and parasailing.
Learning to swim as soon as possible opens up many opportunities to enjoy spending time in the water. It’s never too late to start learning to swim and helping your kids swim safely.
