Blue mind – the joy of outdoor swimming

I was reminded by her recent Facebook post of Sue Thomas’ article “Blue mind charts our link with water” from 2014.

“Water makes you happier, more connected and better at what you do,”
Wallace J Nichols

The effects of nature, in its green form, has been well researched as a boost to mental health. Just walking in the woods can raise your mood. Increasingly, particularly since the pandemic, water has been discovered to also be beneficial to health and happiness.

Of course, we’ve always known this. But wild swimming or cold water swimming (as all outdoor swimming is in the UK!) is one activity that’s gaining in popularity all the time. On the coast, it’s been noticeable how many more swimmers (and paddleboards, kayakers and surfers) there have been since 2019.

Float to live - the RNLI slogan to keep safe when in difficulty swimming, written on a beach

Float to Live – the RNLI slogan to keep safe when in difficulty swimming

Organised mental health swims and mindful dips are now a regular occurrence and swimming friendship groups (often of older women) have grown in membership all over the country. There’ll be one near you, probably with a quirky name…

There are of course dangers in swimming carelessly, and there have sadly been deaths, but like any other outdoor activity, once properly researched and prepared for, the benefits far outweigh the downsides. Those near the coast are lucky enough to have access to the sea. It is a shame that there are so few places inland that can be used freely to swim. The campaign for allowing clean and safe inland swimming is very reminiscent of the early rambling movement.

Sue, of course, as part of her interest in technobiophilia, finds similar connections in the online world. It is called “surfing the internet” after all. But I think for now I’ll stick to the real thing. I’m off for a swim… (properly equipped of course!).