Why Open Water Swimming Is Beneficial to Your Health and the Influence of the Placebo Effect
Open water swimming is all about swimming in lakes, rivers and the sea, rather than at a swimming pool. It can be an invigorating and exhilarating experience, but it also has many health benefits that are unique to this type of activity. We explore here some of the reasons why open water swimming is good for your health and how the placebo effect may play a role in enhancing its positive effects.
Health Benefits of Open Water Swimming
Some of the health benefits of open water swimming are said to include:
Better sleep
Open water swim training can result in a natural increase in the levels of a certain hormone called prolactin in the body which may help to improve the quality of your sleep.
Increased happiness
Other hormones that stimulate the thyroid have been shown to be increased by more than 50 per cent after swimming. This has all kinds of benefits on regulating weight, body temperature, muscle strength but also can improve your mood, making you both healthier and happier. Additionally, open water swimming can boost dopamine and serotonin levels and stimulate the release of feel-good endorphins, which are neurotransmitters that are associated with pleasure and reward.
Boosted immune system
Open water swim training in colder water can reduce the potential over-production of certain hormones that can contribute to impaired immunity, in effect making your more body more robust and resistant to infection. Moreover, open water swimming can make other systems of your body more efficient and more effective, improving your body’s defensive response to damage and therefore potentially reducing your risk of cancer, neurological disorders and chronic respiratory disease.
Preventing and managing long-term health conditions
Cold water and open water swim training can help to improve the management of asthma and Type 2 Diabetes by increasing lung capacity and insulin sensitivity respectively. Furthermore, open water swimming can ease pain, fatigue or depression caused by conditions such as fibromyalgia or arthritis by providing a natural anti-inflammatory effect .
So how does the placebo effect play a role?
Research has found that the placebo effect can ease things like pain, fatigue or depression, which are some of the symptoms that open water swimming can also help with. The placebo effect may enhance the health benefits of open water swimming by creating a stronger connection between the brain and body and how they work together.
For example:
If you have prior expectations for improvement from open water swimming based on verbal cues (such as hearing about its benefits from others), actions (such as actively doing something to address your condition), or social cues (such as feeling reassured by your doctor or coach), you may perceive greater positive effects from it.
If you associate open water swimming with pain relief or mood enhancement based on previous experiences (classical conditioning), you may report decreased pain or increased happiness after doing it even if there is no physiological change. If you receive a placebo treatment (such as an inactive pill) along with open water swimming, you may experience a synergistic effect where both interventions reinforce each other's perceived efficacy.
In conclusion, open water swimming is not only a fun and adventurous activity but also a beneficial one for your health. It can improve various aspects of your physical and mental well-being by stimulating hormonal changes, immune responses, metabolic processes and neural pathways. The placebo effect may further amplify these benefits by influencing your perception of them through psychological mechanisms such as expectations or associations.
