Exercise becomes more important as people age.
When you reach your sixties, chances are that your body starts changing in both function and appearance. Your body loses collagen and elastin, causing your skin to hang loosely and become more transparent. Meanwhile, moving becomes complicated as your bones and muscles get easily tired.
Exercise, on the other hand, can do several wonders to your entire health. However, some forms of exercises ‒ when not practised the right way and with safety ‒ can cause different failures and injuries. Take note that falling down and getting hurt can bring a major problem to older adults, which is why it is important to choose a form of exercise that lowers the risk of falls.
New research suggests that swimming is the only type of physical activity that helps lower the risk of falling and getting hurt among older adults. But even so, older adults must ensure that they follow safety precautions while staying in the pool’s vicinity and wear proper swim gear (surf caps, goggles, training suit) at all times.
Compared to land-based exercises, swimming helps create the body’s own base of support and produce a coordinated movement of both upper and lower bodies. Moreover, swimming allows older adults to get in better shape without putting undue stress or strain on their bodies. In case you’re not yet convinced, here are other life-changing health benefits swimming offers to seniors:
Swimming is gentle on the joints.
While many seniors realise the importance of exercise, sometimes it’s just painful to work out. If you choose to practice swimming exercises, your body is apt to stay afloat in the water and that takes much of the work for your joints, leaving with low impact of strain. Swimming also keeps the pressure off from your hips, knees, and spine.
It reduces the risk of developing osteoporosis.
By doing regular water activities, you are improving your bone mineral density or BMD. This test measures the amount of calcium minerals in your bones, which means an improved BMD can help fight osteoporosis that is very common to the elderly. Swimming is highly suggested to older women adults because a decreased BMD can affect millions of post-menopausal women, which leaves them vulnerable to several arthritic conditions and one of them is osteoporosis.
It improves heart health.
Not only the bones are healthy when you practice regular water activities but your heart is healthier, too! Swimming and water aerobics give you a measure of direct control over your cardiovascular health as it helps boost blood circulation, reducing the risk of high blood pressure and other heart-related diseases.
It boosts brainpower.
We’ve always known that the human brain becomes smaller and weaker as people age, affecting their cognitive skills and memory. Regular swimming gives you more brainpower that helps protect your thinking skills and sharpens memory. And, because swimming and water aerobics can be a social activity, it will be a great excuse to avoid the feelings of isolation and loneliness, which normally leads to depression in senior years.
It enhances the quality of life.
There is no science that can explain why people are generally happy when in water. Swimming or just simply taking a dip in the water can be a great form of relaxation, that helps trigger the development of your feel-good hormones (dopamine) in the body and alleviates the pressure of stress, anxiety, and other ailments of the soul. When you are happy, you also improve the quality of your life, making you feel younger, stronger and healthier as you age.