Surfing has incredible physical benefits and even more benefits for mental health. Surfing has long been known to heal the mind for centuries, with studies now showing just how beneficial surfing can be.
Studies have shown that physical activity performed in nature has a positive impact physically and mentally. Large bodies of water contain high numbers of negative ions, which have a positive effect on mental and physical states. Exercise and large amounts of negative ions are proven to be immensely helpful in preventative and healing treatments.
Immersing oneself in nature elevates mood, reduces stress, and improves our attention span. In studies involving nature as a therapy, blood pressure has been reduced, insomnia lifted, stress reduced, and more.
Can Surfing Benefit Mental Health?
For many, there is nothing that compares to surfing – the feel of the wind, the freedom in riding waves, a bond with nature itself. You would be hard-pressed to find a surfer who can put into words the true surfing experience in its entirety. We know we love the experience, but there is much more to surfing than joy. Surfing can also be a therapy treatment to improve mental health.
Surfing dramatically improves mental health and brings positive benefits to our health. Countless studies show that exercising in a natural environment and spending time in nature has positive effects on physical and mental health. Doctors have even prescribed surfing to aid in recovering from mental illnesses.
Studies have shown that ecotherapy, which is a type of treatment involving activities outdoors in nature, has been effective in treating depression and other mental disorders. Doctors are now prescribing patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, to surf or to spend time in nature with other activities. These treatments have been largely successful and immensely beneficial to the patients involved.
The prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, and the amygdala are all components of mood regulation. Surfing lowers levels of stress helping the prefrontal cortex to work in optimum mode, and decreases mental fatigue. These effects intensify by having physical activity in water.
Other studies have shown that negative ions can enhance our mood, stimulate our senses, and improve physical ailments. Positive ions harm our physical and mental health. The higher the negative ions, the better off we are, the higher the positive ions, the worse our physical and mental conditions get.
As many of these studies have shown, surfing has a profound positive effect on treating mental illnesses. While this is amazing in itself, the same can be said for preventative measures as well. If surfing does that much to heal mental diseases, it can do that much and more to prevent adverse mental health. We should coin a new phrase, “surfing a few times a week, can give great mental relief.”
What Is Mental Illness
Mental illness is classified as a medical condition that affects a person’s emotions, thinking, or behavior. Just as a physical disease affects how a person lives their daily life, so does mental illness. Mental illness can significantly limit a person’s ability to function in day to day living and limit the ability to work, leave the house, or even communicate with friends and family.
Common mental illnesses are clinical depression, anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Anxiety deals with elevated fear responses that occur often. Depression usually involves loss of interest in activities, low motivation to do things, and low moods for an extended amount of time.
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a psychiatric disorder that generally occurs in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event. Symptoms of this disorder may include severe anxiety, nightmares, flashbacks, and recurring thoughts about the event. Treatment can be vital to reducing symptoms and improving recovery in mental illnesses.
Surfing As A Therapy
Already doctors have moved toward surfing as therapy for several physical and mental disorders. Parents have seen incredible results by implementing surfing into the lives of autistic children. Veterans have long been prescribed surfing for a number of physical and mental reasons.
Many communities and projects have offer treatments involving surfing. These programs have high success rate and are enjoyed by many. Patients do not need to have any prior surfing knowledge and are able to learn in a safe manner.
Negative And Positive Ions
In open areas such as the country, the air has 2,000 – 4,000 negative ions per cubic centimeter. The atmosphere in a large city with polluted air would have near or less than 100 negative ions. You can see there is a significant difference, and you would guess right if you said the large city air would have an all-around negative impact on your health.
It is shown that water sports are highly beneficial, along with snow sports, in boosting your mental state by charging you with ionized oxygen. Large bodies of water or ice give you a more extended period of time that the positive effects stay with you.
If you have ever noticed you feel refreshed after a trip to the ocean, a waterfall, a lake, or even a shower, this is because the water has a high concentration of negative ions. Our oceans typically have 2,000 negative ions per cubic centimeter and 1000 positive. The splashing of the water then causes a splitting of neutral particles of air and freeing electrons, which then causes a negative charge.
How The Brain Responds To Surfing
The amygdala and hippocampus both play a significant role in our responses to stress and threat. The hippocampus, when increased in size, is better able to convey to the amygdala that there is no threat while in safe situations. One study, in particular, showed that physical activity increased the hippocampus by 14% after just eight weeks of exercise.
In 2010 the British National Health Services began a pilot program in which 22 participants were observed who suffered from mental illnesses. After six weeks of surfing with coaches, in the first 30 minutes of surfing, the participants had an increase in positive feelings and a decrease in negative ones.
In simple terms, this means that scientific studies are proving that the brain reacts in a positive manner to nature. It shows us that as we connect with nature, we get a part of ourselves back. We can heal in a way that compares to very few things.
Adventure-Based Physical Activity
Physical activity is a proven crucial therapy for mental illnesses with activities including swimming, yoga, sports, and walking. These activities have been shown to prevent things such as diabetes, asthma, heart attack, and high blood pressure.
Positive improvements to mental health are also linked to physical activity. Exercise has been shown to reduce anger and depression and improve positive mood states, such as happiness or feeling energized.
Adventure-based physical activity is another form of exercise and activity. It is a fun alternative to traditional sports and exercise. These activities are involved in a degree of risk and take place in changing environments. This activity is given a more physical and mental commitment and is of high intensity.
It seems that the brain, body, and mental health all react more intensely and positively while performing adventure-based physical activities. It makes sense seeing that a few hours in the ocean having the time of your life is a little more mood-lifting than sitting on an exercise bike, watching the clock, and feeling the burn.
Never feel bad about skipping the gym to hit the waves. While surfing, your body has an intense workout and burns more than enough calories. While surfing, you get the benefits of working out your body, while also improving your physical and mental states together.
When we look at the positive impact nature has on our lives, it is hard to ignore how essential nature is to our health. Thousands of years ago we didn’t have the technology, cars, and the pollution we do today. It was pure nature and quite possibly what we were intended to be with all along. A bond with nature may be a necessity we have forgotten.