If you’re like most people, your life is stressful. You’ve got a lot going on at work and there are deadlines to meet and office politics to maneuver. Running children around to after-school activities jam-packs your schedule. And even minor health issues can cause stress, too.
Finding ways to relax is a must. And a backyard swimming pool can be the soothing setting you need in order to steal away from the tensions of daily life. Here’s how you can use your pool to offset stress.
Healthy heart, healthy body
Stress can have a big impact on your heart’s health. When stress is high, your body may react with a headache, stomach pain or back strain. Tension decreases your energy level, messes with your sleep, and can make you feel downright awful.
Scientists believe that stress causes the body to release adrenaline, a hormone that drives your heart rate, breathing and blood pressure up. Essentially, it’s preparing for “fight or flight.” If there’s no relief from the stress, your body remains in this state for days or weeks.
So it’s important to have an outlet to alleviate stress. A swimming pool is ideal for that. Dipping into the water, your body will float in the pool as the stress fades away.
Healthy immune system
Stress can also cause your immune system to take a dive, inviting a cold, flu or bug into your body. When your immune system is weak, it can’t fight illness. But if you own a pool, you can dive into the crystal-clear water to relax. Shut your eyes, float on your back and breathe really deeply. You’ll quickly slough off the cares of the day and watch the stress float away.
Healthy mind
Your mental health is a key to your overall health. And relaxing will help you get there. When you can relax, you’ll reduce fatigue and frustration, and have the energy and confidence to handle whatever comes your way.
In your pool, you’ll have the ideal atmosphere to practice relaxing, blow off steam, or meditate – activities that lead to good mental health.
The ability to relax affects more than just your mental health. Your memory will improve, too, when you can turn off the stress. Have you ever experienced memory failure when you were under stress? That tension causes your mind to become distracted, so it’s more difficult to remember facts, people or places.
Give your brain a rest and improve your memory with some relaxing minutes by the pool. Lie down on a chair and soak in the sun next to the rippling water, or take a dip in the shallow end, and just let the water wash over you.
There are a ton of benefits to owning a pool. One of them is relaxation and the way the backyard oasis facilitates a stress-free environment. Use your pool as a way to promote a healthy heart, healthy immune system, and healthy mind – as well as a means to getting your family together.
