Swimming has been seen to positively contribute to many parts of your body. It greatly improves your overall heart health, muscle health, and mood. Another benefit you can receive from swimming is getting a developmental boost, most especially for younger children.
1. Boosts Physical Development and Coordination
As swimming provides exercise and body coordination, it boosts your body’s overall organ functions, develops muscles, and faster develop both fine and gross motor skills. An Australian study on children was able to find that those who took swimming lessons were able to develop language, coordination and overall physical development faster than those who did not by almost 7 months. This means swimming can give children more of a development boost that traditional activities such as drawing or playing with building blocks. This overall physical development also lessens the chances of developing diseases such as obesity.
2. Boosts Development of Brain Activity
Since swimming increases the blood flow and oxygen, the brain is able function better and aid in overall brain development. For one, it aids in the development of the hippocampus by promoting neuron activity, increasing memory and learning capacity. With the cross-patterned movements involved in swimming, your nerve fibers and corpus callosum are also given a developmental boost. The corpus callosum is what connects the left and right brain hemisphere to promote better communication between both sides. This also leads to improved cognition and brain function.
3. Boosts Social and Emotional Development
With an improved development of brain activity also comes development of good mental health. Swimming also stimulates brain chemicals which can boost your mood, lessen chances of depression, as well as release tension and panic attacks. Being enrolled in swimming lessons on the other hand, provides young children the opportunity to develop good social skills. A study by Griffith University was able to find that children that took swimming lessons had more developed socially and emotionally— by an average of 15 months! These children had an easier time adapting to different situations and interacting with adults and peers.
Many activities can help in child development, but swimming seems to give a developmental boost. From physical, mental, to social development, reap the benefits for your little ones as soon as you can. They will surely help your child in the long run!
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