How Your Health Benefits When You Snorkel

Pat Green   Sep 21, 2021

Snorkeling is a great activity, allowing you to explore the ocean’s depths while learning an entirely new skill set. As you swim through the ocean, which has an average depth of 12,100 feet, you engage many different parts of your body and get good exercise while you do it. If you aren’t enticed enough by the adventures involved when you snorkel Panama City’s beautiful waters, learn about the health benefits you’ll get along the way.

Cardiovascular Health

Whether you’re snorkeling on vacation, during your travels, or just as an everyday activity, your heart will feel the benefits. Your heart rate increases as you snorkel, making your heart pump harder and grow stronger. Cardiovascular fitness is extremely important for decreasing your risk for other health problems, including heart failure, coronary heart disease, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. When you snorkel Panama City’s waters, you also build a great lung capacity and improve your cardiovascular health that way.

Muscle Strengthening

As you fight through the natural resistance of the water, you have to use the muscles in your arms, legs, and back. The first time you put on your snorkeling gear and jump in the water, you may be sore afterwards. As you continue to snorkel, your muscles will grow stronger and you will be able to go even farther and deeper. If you wear fins while you snorkel, you will get a great leg workout as the fins create an increased resistance in the water. By going deeper in the water, you’ll strengthen your leg muscles even more as they overcome your natural buoyancy.

Mental Health

According to the Mayo Clinic, most forms of exercise help to relieve stress and anxiety. This is because exercise releases endorphins that make you feel better. While this physical impact of snorkeling on your mental health is beneficial, the type of breathing required by snorkeling is also a component of why it can reduce anxiety. When you snorkel Panama City’s waters, you need to use controlled mouth breathing. This way of breathing is very similar to meditative breathing techniques that work to relax and calm the body.

Snorkeling is an engaging and unique form of exercise that can make you healthier while you explore the underwater world. If jogging or weight training don’t sound like fun, snorkeling could be the type of exercise for you.