5 Health Benefits of Snorkeling

Did you know that there are many health benefits of snorkeling?

If you hadn’t considered it before, here are 5 reasons why you should take up snorkeling to improve your general well-being and enrich your life.

1. Snorkeling is great for your body

You don’t naturally have to be a mermaid or merman, all experience levels can reap the health benefits of snorkeling. As a hobby or recreational sport, snorkeling is excellent for your overall fitness.

Working those hamstrings, hips, quads, calves and ankles while strengthening and toning your core, you can easily burn over 300 calories snorkeling for one hour.

Snorkeling is also great for cardiovascular health, since it increases your heart rate, while helping decrease certain risks such as heart disease, heart failure, high cholesterol and blood pressure.

The health benefits of swimming and snorkeling are endless!

2. Snorkeling relieves stress

The underwater world could not be more opposite of the stress-driven lives we live today - It is quiet and serene in the sea.

Snorkeling allows your mind, body and soul the down-time it needs.

It is the perfect way to ease your brain of anxiety, stressful thoughts and pent up negative energy.

Snorkeling is great exercise, which is proven to release endorphins, so naturally the snorkeling side effects of this enjoyable sport will lift your mood.

This just goes to show that not only are there huge health benefits of snorkeling, but many mental benefits of snorkeling too.

3. Snorkeling helps with your breathing

Snorkelers regulate their breathing while using a snorkel tube.

Breathing through the mouth limits your airflow and creates resistance, meaning your breaths become more efficient, even and calm.

As a result, this increases the function of your lungs.

This controlled breathing technique is similar to yoga and meditative methods, therefore snorkeling side effects will include a better lung capacity, relaxed and even breathing, a calm body and a focused mind.

4. Snorkeling is a great way to socialise

Snorkeling is a fun way to connect and spend quality time with others.

There aren’t many snorkeling health risks, however it is generally safer to snorkel as a couple or in small groups, just in case you get into any trouble in the water.

If you’re a lone-snorkeler there are tons of ways to meet fellow snorkel-enthusiasts by joining travel groups on Facebook or simply visiting some of the worlds most famous snorkeling destinations.

There is nothing better than sharing your travels and snorkeling experiences with friends and family!

5. Snorkeling brings you closer to nature

The ultimate benefit of snorkeling is that it brings you closer to nature.

However snorkeling often gets overlooked by scuba diving.

For sure, there are many benefits of diving, but that doesn’t mean that the experience is anything less as a snorkeler.

Snorkeling allows you to view the reef from above, often in shallower waters meaning you don’t loose the vibrant colour of the fish and coral.

Simply by snorkeling, you can encounter incredible underwater creatures and many reefs can even be snorkeled directly from the shore.

We can learn a lot by observing marine animals such as Turtles, Mantas, Sharks and species of reef fish which can all be seen while snorkeling.