Swimming is one of the most popular pastimes and sports in the United States. A study from Playtoday shows that roughly a third of Americans swim at least once a year, with many hitting the pool much more frequently.
As seniors, it’s difficult to find physical activities that we can enjoy without risks of safety or injury. Low-impact exercises are perfect for this, and pool fitness is one of the best ways to ensure both health and relaxation for seniors.
If you’re curious about using a heated swimming pool for health benefits, we’re here to help. Read on for a quick look at how senior aquatic therapy and exercise through swimming can help you.
Physical Benefits of a Heated Swimming Pool
What are the physical benefits of a heated swimming pool beyond an enjoyable hobby? Swimming is more than just a way to pass the time. Here are some of the health benefits of your heated pool.
Warm Water Therapy
Warm water therapy is a medical practice that’s particularly useful for people struggling with mobility. Warm water helps your muscles to relax and increases blood flow. These qualities together will help your body relax and lose tension as a whole.
Healthline looks at the health benefits of hot water as:
- Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease
- Better management of your blood sugar
- Lowered blood pressure
There are many other benefits, and while Healthline is looking at baths, the same is true for heated pools. These benefits pair excellently with the others to help make this the best low-impact exercise for seniors.
Helping to Improve Circulation
Did you know that there are health benefits to both hot and cold water? While cold water is good for reducing pain, inflammation, and swelling, hot water has different benefits.
According to MedicalNewsToday, warm water will help to boost cardiovascular health. By doing so, your circulation is much better.
Stronger circulation is great for ensuring the right amount of oxygen is reaching your body. That can help immensely with pain, numbness, and more.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, poor circulation can lead to a tingling, cold sensation. These symptoms most often affect your limbs and extremities.
Increasing Mobility and Flexibility
Another benefit of senior aquatic therapy is increased mobility and flexibility. It’s often difficult for seniors to find good whole-body workouts due to pain, injury, and mobility challenges.
That becomes a vicious cycle where an inability to exercise worsens the consequences of not exercising. A heated swimming pool provides seniors the relief and ease they need for many ailments while enabling safe exercise.
Mental Health Benefits
There’s more at work with a heated swimming pool than just physical benefits. Here are some of the mental health benefits that pool fitness can have for seniors, especially when paired with other healthy activities.
Stress Relief and Regulating Mood
Many of us work out when we feel the need to relieve stress. Doing so can help our mind balance out the chemicals in our brain and body to better manage stress. But did you know a heated pool can do the same?
According to the National Library of Medicine, exercise has beneficial effects on our mood and anxiety symptoms. The study goes on to state that aerobic exercise and physical activity, in particular, have the greatest effect on exercises.
Opportunities for Social Interaction
Social interaction is another thing that many of us struggle with in our golden years. Socialization has many benefits, making it core for healthy aging activities.
There are many social interactions that one can have during their swimming exercises. Swim meets, simple sports, and exercise groups all can bring socialization to your low-impact exercise.
Therapeutic Effects
Mental and physical benefits are one of the main reasons that senior aquatic therapy exists. But the therapeutic effects aren’t to be overlooked. Here are some of the main therapeutic benefits of using a heated swimming pool.
Pain Management
Pain management is a critical benefit of pool fitness. Physical therapy often uses pools for treatment. That’s because the relative weightlessness removes much of the stress from joints and muscles.
Relaxation for seniors is ideal when using heated pools for pain relief. The easing of muscle tension will also help to reduce muscle pain and take the sting out of old injuries.
Pool Fitness and Low-Impact Exercise
Low-impact exercise gets its name from not having as much of an impact on your body’s joints. A high-impact exercise is something like running. Every time your feet come down, it’s putting weight and pressure on your legs, hips, spine, and more.
As a low-impact exercise, pool fitness won’t impact your joints in the same way. You’ll be able to exercise for much longer with less pain. Instead, it’s likely that you’ll feel that pain lessened by the end of your workout.
Accessibility and Safety
Do you have concerns over the safety of pools for seniors? These are hot-button topics that designers work to remedy. Here are some of the ways a heated swimming pool focuses on accessibility and safety.
Shallower Depth
A shallower depth can help to prevent many of the issues seniors may experience. If the pool is shallow enough for the senior to stand, they’ll be at a lower risk of drowning. A pool should still be deep enough for the senior to float.
Handrails, Anti-Slip Design, and More
Handrails on the sides of pools make it easy for seniors to enter and exit the pool. Having something to hang onto while floating can also reduce fatigue.
Anti-slip designs on anything around the pool also help. These designs help to reduce the risk of falls near to pool or slipping while entering and exiting the pool.
Making the Most of a Heated Swimming Pool
A heated swimming pool is the perfect way to enjoy relaxation for seniors. The low-impact exercise of senior aquatic therapy is also a great addition to your healthy aging activities.
At the Conservatory At Plano, we’re proud to help our residents bond and socialize. You’ll feel at home with the ability to customize your experience, from our exquisite amenities to the wonderful Plano environment we’re a part of. Be our guest today to see if we’re the community for you.
