Anna Lorraine J.

Lambon March 2, 2023

12-Maxwell

3 Ways Swimming Has Made Me a Better Student

By Sarah Lloyd 06 September 2022, 05:00am

As I sat in the library writing this article, I couldn’t help but think about the amount of schoolwork
that was piling up around me for the week. I had an annotated bibliography and the opening four pages
of an history research paper due for Wednesday, 150 pages of reading and a quiz to study for on Friday,
and a rough draft of another research paper for the coming Monday. I sat there, thought about everything
I had to do on top of practices, and then thought: “Yep, I can do this” because that’s what swimming has
taught me.

I don’t know if my professors have just been being polite, but at the beginning of every semester
when I introduce myself to them and let them know that I’m a swimmer and that I may be missing classes
for meets, there’s always some sort of “Oh, that’s okay! Swimmers are some of the best students at this
school!” as a response, by which I’m constantly flattered. But when I really took the time to think about
it, it makes sense — swimming is the kind of sport that facilitates high-performance students.

1. Time Management

Swimming takes up a lot of time and I’m not just talking about the three-hour workouts everyday.
There’s the commute to and from practice, which can be upwards of an hour each way for some club
swimmers, the time it takes to eat an adequate meal before and after each workout, a shower after as an
attempt to get rid of the chlorine smell, and a good night’s sleep so we can be ready to go for the next
workout, usually a morning one. Add school into that mix and the time that swimmers have to complete
homework quickly shrinks.

Someone on the outside of the sport may think, then, that swimmers let homework go in lieu of
swimming and everything that comes with it. But that’s not the case. Swimmers somehow find a way to
get all of that homework done in the finite amount of time we have to do it because swimming has taught
us the value of time…down to the hundredth of a second.

We learned early to efficiently maximize our time, to squeeze homework in during the rides to and
from practice, finish a book during dinner (much to the chagrin of our parents, of course), and use those
precious few hours between school and practice to get as much done as possible. We’re experts at time
management, in and out of the pool.

2. Attention to Detail

The one thing that I’ve noticed about myself and my teammates in regards to school work is an
obsessive tendency to strive for perfection. Part of this tendency is grade-based, I guess– none of us really
accept anything other than A’s in the classroom. But the other part of it is a genuine pride in our own
work. Why would we work so hard on something we don’t care about?
 I’m convinced that swimming is at least somewhat involved in this characteristic. We spend 20
hours a week for nine months of every year focusing on the smallest details in the pool to make each race
as perfect as it can possibly be. And then we go back and work on those details more because we’re never
quite satisfied with how it turned out the first time.

This perfectionist quality has undoubtedly spilled over into our academic lives. Why else would I
have a recipient of the Elite 89 Award as a teammate? Or a teammate who’s received offers to buy the
furniture she’s made in her studio art classes? This is not a unique phenomenon…swimming produces
excellent students.

Kelsey Ewing, Kenyon College ’16, and the chair she created. Photo Courtesy: Kenyon College
Swimming and Diving

3. A Buckle Down Mentality

Swimming is considered to be one of the most grueling sports because of its individual nature. You
have the choice each and every practice to put as much effort as you want. You have the choice to give
up or keep going when you think you’re going to break. You have the choice to take that extra breath
under the flags or keep your head down to get your hand on the wall first. The best swimmers buckle
down and do what they need to do and, just like everything else about the sport, this quality spills over
into the rest of our lives.

We buckle down in the pool, which means we also buckle down in the classroom. Whether it’s
losing an hour or two of sleep to finish a paper that’s due during an invitational, or spending less time with
our friends on the weekends to get a head start on a project, we know how to get things done. It’s not
enough for us to do things halfway- -we don’t stop trying half way through a race, which means we don’t
half complete assignments.

I’ve never been in a more focused environment than when I was studying in a room with a dozen
or so of my teammates the week before finals. Much like a tough workout, we can keep each other on
task while also keeping the atmosphere light. There’s food, laughter, and jokes that accompany a lot of
high quality studying. Buckling down doesn’t have to mean a miserable existence, it just means that we
get things done quickly, efficiently, and well. Just like in the pool.

We’re Student-Athletes, Not Athlete-Students

At least here at Kenyon, and other DIII schools, we emphasize that we’re students first, swimmers
second. Basically, our academics come first, with swimming taking a backseat when it needs to. But
honestly, swimmers in general are so capable of getting everything done at the same time, that we exist
in a world where swimming and school are on equal terms. Is it permitted to miss practice to do work
with permission of our coach? Absolutely. But we don’t often need to use the lifeline because we’ve done
both so well for so long. But it’s nice to know it’s there. We’re capable individuals, accustomed to
balancing our swimming, school, personal, and social lives with the expertise of tightrope walkers.
 Article #2

Here's why you should introduce your kids to swimming: Top health benefits of swimming for
kids

By Pooja Arora

Concerned that your child is not getting enough outdoor exercise? Swimming is the perfect answer.
Here's a look at the health benefits of swimming for kids

Given the sedentary lifestyle and widespread fascination for gadgets of modern-day children,
parents often worry about ensuring how to make them spend enough time outdoors. The lack of physical
exercise causes children to fall short on stamina and flexibility of the body. It also results in poor posture.
For all these concerns, swimming - with all adequate safety measures in place, of course - is the perfect
answer. The multiple health benefits of swimming for kids makes it one of the best modes of exercises. It
is also a very valuable life skill your child needs to learn.

Importance of swimming for children

Introducing your children to swimming is a great way to establish the importance of a healthy
lifestyle. One of the biggest advantages of swimming is that it allows children to be naturally adventurous
and have fun. Both kids and adults tend to exercise for longer periods of time while swimming than while
pursuing most other types of exercise.

The human body is 90% buoyant when in water up to the neck, and this makes swimming a perfect
low-impact yet high-energy workout for children. It is also less strenuous on the body when compared to
any other sport or workout. Further, the natural buoyancy of water and its effect on the human body is
more calming than other forms of exercises.

One major physical benefit of swimming is that it triggers the release of endorphins. Endorphins,
famously known as the 'happy hormones' or the 'feel-good chemicals', lift our spirits and leave us
refreshed.

Swimming has been proved to be an effective form of physical exercise for both mind and body. It
is a great exercise regimen for the joints, offering around 20%-30% more mobility than many playground
sports. At the same time, it offers a challenging workout which is not too harsh on the joints and
connective tissues in the body.

Swimming boosts the cardiovascular capacity while increasing muscle strength, offering a good
alternative to higher-impact activities like basketball, running and weightlifting.

Health benefits of swimming for kids

Swimming is a wonderful exercise and offers so many health benefits to children. Of course,
swimming helps in weight loss; however, there are other primary benefits too:

• Maintenance of optimal body weight

• Increased muscle strength and tone

• Physical fitness (providing an entire body workout that helps to keep it in great shape)

• Better hydration for the skin that makes it feel soft and smooth, and prevents dryness

• Improved heart health because of cardiovascular exercise

Why your child should learn to swim

It is important to teach children to swim as early as possible. Here's why:

• Knowing how to swim ensures that a child has the ability to cope with an accidental fall
into a water body. It is also a life-saving skill that once learnt, can never be forgotten.

• Parents of picky eaters will love the fact that a session in the pool boosts appetite. On the
other hand, swimming for weight loss helps prevent childhood obesity which is a rising health
concern. This, in turn, can help prevent / control juvenile diabetes.

• Swimming also offers a goal-oriented approach and fosters a healthy competitive spirit.
Once a child becomes comfortable in the water, he will become keen on setting targets for himself
and bettering his own timings. This process will go a long way in the making of self-motivated and
high-performing adults.

• Additionally, swimming is a perfect way to stay cool, engaged and active. In the process,
your child will get to develop confidence in the water, perfect his strokes and may even enter the
competitive league.

• Apart from mastering the various strokes in swimming, there are water games that add
to the fun and make the pool a great place for group activity and workouts.

Safety first and always

Whether it is a private swimming pool or a public facility, ensuring safety while swimming is of the
utmost importance. Swimming caps, water goggles, swimwear and other swimming accessories not only
add zing to pool time, but also contribute to your little one's safety.

And finally, swimming is a great way for you to bond with your child. Helping your kid learn to swim
is not only joyful and inspiring but an important responsibility for a parent. Learning how to swim can turn
your water-shy child into a confident individual. So make the most of your weekends and gift your children
and yourself some quality time for fun and games in the water, and enjoy the multiple benefits of
swimming!
Article #3

The joy of swimming: How getting in the water can improve physical and mental health

By Jack Bantock and Louis Leeson, CNN Video by Amy Li, CNN

As summer edges closer and temperatures gradually rise, more and more of us will take to the
water in search of a range of benefits for body and mind. Not a fan of running? Swimming may not merely
be a good alternative, but a more efficient one. Using all your muscles, swimming ensures a full
body workout and as such, 30 minutes of exercise in the water is equivalent to 45 minutes on land,
according to Swim England. Even a leisurely swim can burn upwards of 400 calories an hour, over double
the amount of walking.

The comparative low impact of water activities in contrast to running make them perfect outlets
for those nursing minor injuries, as well as the elderly. And it’s not just short-term gains, there’s also
lasting benefits to swimming. Regular swimmers have a 28% lower risk of early death and a 41% lower
risk of death due to heart diseases and stroke, according to a report by Swim England’s Swimming and
Health Commission in 2017.

Calm waters

While the physical boosts of swimming are widely documented, the mental health benefits of
getting into the water are less well-known, yet equally as impactful. In 2019, nearly half a million Brits
living with mental health diagnoses said that swimming had reduced the number of visits to a medical
health professional, according to Swim England. Open water swimming in particular – with its naturally
colder temperatures – is increasingly understood to have mental health benefits. For those willing to
brave the chill, the feelgood hormone dopamine is released by getting into cold water, ensuring an
endorphin rush that can last hours after drying off. Research into cold water’s anti-inflammatory
properties by the University of Portsmouth in the UK has reaped a growing body of anecdotal
evidence that it can dampen the inflammatory responses that cause anxiety and depression.

Just being in a so-called “blue environment,” close to the ocean or a body of water, is known to
lower stress responses. Writing for CNN last summer, frontline worker Dr. Mark Lieber reflected on the
transformative impact of even brief dips in the pool in helping alleviate the weight of the previous year,
literally and figuratively. “My first thought as I dove under the surface of the water was that I felt a little
more buoyant than usual, likely due to the added pounds brought on by quarantine,” Lieber said. “But as
I continued to glide through the water, my initial concern about weight gain was replaced by a feeling of
catharsis, as though the water were cleansing me of the stress that had accumulated during the
coronavirus pandemic. “Stroke after stroke, I could feel my mood lifting, my mind clearing and my body
loosening.”

‘Epiphany moment’

Rachel Ashe, founder of Mental Health Swims, is a living testament to the positive mental impact
of open water swimming. Based in the UK, Mental Health Swims is a volunteer-led peer support
community that organizes open water meets up and down the UK. Having received her mental health
diagnosis in 2018, Ashe initially took up running but lost confidence after some frightening slips on ice
during the winter. By the close of the year, she was feeling “really unwell” and “everything was
challenging,” yet on New Year’s Day, Ashe – quite literally – dove into a new future. Braving the ‘Loony
Dook’ – an annual event that sees fearless participants take to the freezing waters near Edinburgh,
Scotland – Ashe returned to the beach shivering but changed. “It was very painful and I didn’t enjoy it,”
Ashe told CNN Sport, “but the very alien feeling of connection with my body after living unhappily in my
poorly mind for such a long time was a real epiphany moment for me.”

Six months later, 30 people joined Ashe for a swim meet and the group’s growth has been
exponential ever since, even through the pandemic. This year, Mental Health Swims will host over 80
swim meets – from Cornwall in the southwest of England all the way up to Loch Lomond in Scotland – led
by trained volunteer swim hosts with an emphasis on inclusion and peer support. Reasons for joining vary.
For some, it’s the sense of community, while others search for mindfulness and that post-swim endorphin
rush. Ashe loves the water as an alternative safe space from the more intimidating environment of the
gym, a passion that has breathed new life into her mental health. “I have learned that my differences are
a strength rather than something to be ashamed of,” Ashe said. “I never thought I could do the things I
do today. “I will always have a mental illness, but I am much better at looking after myself these days. I
still have big feelings, but with medication, therapy, outdoor swimming and healthy, happy relationships,
I am doing really well.”

‘Revitalized’

Few are better suited to speak to the physical and mental health benefits of swimming than Sarah
Waters, who lives in the coastal county of Cornwall. Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis during her time
at university, Waters has lived with symptoms of the chronic inflammatory disease for over a decade.
Aggressive treatments and medication proved massively draining, and after returning from traveling and
working in Australia, a lump on her neck turned out to be skin cancer. The physical and emotional toll of
operations to remove the cancer and shifting treatments was compounded by the need to shield during
the pandemic, but Waters’ fortunes turned a corner when – after a little nudge from her mother – she
took up sea swimming. “She started going and she kept saying, ‘You’ve gotta come in, it really does help
with your mental health,’” Waters told CNN.

“When you get out, you get a bit of a rush, almost like you’ve been awakened in a way. I know that
sounds really weird, but it definitely does give you that tingly feeling that you’ve achieved something that
you never thought you would be able to do before. And so began a dogged commitment, even through
winter, to swimming two to three times a week – at times, Waters’ only way of leaving the house due to
shielding requirements. From easing muscle stiffness and increasing flexibility in the joints, swimming has
a number of physical boosts for those with arthritis, according to charity Versus Arthritis, whom Waters
has written for. For Waters, these physical boosts dovetail with the mental health benefits.

“You always do get the fear feeling, just before going in like, ‘Can you do it?’” Waters said. “But I
do it and then afterward it’s a sense of achievement in a way, for your physical and mental well-being, it
definitely does do something. “With all the meds, you can feel quite fatigued a lot of the time – when
you’ve got a day off, you’re just so tired that you don’t feel like you’ve got the energy to do it – but once
you’ve done it, it does revitalize you. “Once you start improving your symptoms of anxiety or depression,
it can physically give you benefits as well.” After finishing his first swim in over a year, Dr. Lieber looked
ahead to the start of a four-night stretch working in the hospital’s intensive care unit. “I usually dread the
first of these night shifts,” he said. “But somehow the task seemed more manageable than usual.
“Whatever happens tonight, happens. No matter what, there will always be tomorrow.”

References:

Arora, P. (2017, June 6). Here’s why you should introduce your kids to swimming: Top
health benefits of swimming for kids. Health Benefits of Swimming for Kids, Physical Benefits &
Importance of Swimming for Children | ParentCircle. https://www.parentcircle.com/health-
benefits-of-swimming-for-kids/article
Leeson, J. B. (2022, July 29). The joy of swimming: How getting in the water can improve
physical and mental health | CNN. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/29/sport/joy-swimming-
physical-mental-health-spt-intl/index.html
3 Ways Swimming Has Made Me a Better Student. (2022, September 6). Swimming World
News.https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/3-ways-swimming-has-made-me-a-better-
student/