Dear fellow swimmers
Rain and research demonstrates open water is still the best to boost mood!
Did you know that rain can actually boost our mood? Just like an outdoor dip, standing, walking or even dancing in the rain can be as beneficial as a plunge.
There's a reason people like being beside water whether that's walking along a beach, watching waves or standing beside the roar of a waterfall. When air molecules are broken up by moving water, negative ions charged with energy are thrown into the atmosphere and the air we breathe. These negative ions are then in our blood and brains and have been linked with biochemical changes that have a positive impact on mental wellbeing. It's one
reason why outdoor swimmers are so happy! And perhaps it's one of the reasons we flock to the water for even a few minutes in the darkest, wettest months and feel better for it.
When clouds burst with rain, these negative ions are also released and so if you can't get your swim fix, a walk in the rain could be the answer to boosting your mood. Authors Lucy Jones and Matt Gaw write about the idea if you want to learn more. So if this endless rain has disrupted your usual swim
routine, how about just standing out in it, face to the sky, and embrace it...
A new rise in open water swimming
Getting outside, whatever the weather, has also been in the news this week after the updated Reconomics 3.0 research was released. Commissioned by the Sport and Recreation Alliance’s Water Outdoor Recreation Division, the report provides compelling evidence of the immense economic and social value that outdoor
recreation delivers to the UK. The overall report demonstrates that outdoor recreation is a growing, it is a significant contributor to the economy, produces significant savings of NHS resources and produces significant uplifts in mental wellbeing.
Swim England, one of the research sponsors, reports a rise in open water swimming across the UK. In 2016-17, around 266,000 adults swam regularly in lakes, rivers or the sea. By
2023–24, this number had more than doubled to 543,000. This increased interest demonstrates the growing recognition of open water swimming as a fun, accessible and rewarding way to stay active and connect with nature.
It is always exciting to read research that backs up what we already know at Outdoor Swimmer, and we hope we continue to help swimmers with their open water experiences at whatever level or interest they
have.
This weekend, I am off to Sussex to fully embrace the rain and find a way to swim regardless. I hope you all do, too. After all, we know it makes us feel better, the research and science backs it up.
