Benefits of Aquatic Therapy for Recovery and Sobriety

21 million Americans have at least one addiction, but only 10% seek treatment.

There’s no singular way to approach addiction recovery. Some people respond well to group therapy and counseling, while others can lean on family support. Some addicts require completely different types of therapy to avoid addictive thoughts.

In this post, we’re going to examine alternative addiction treatments, notably aquatic therapy. Many drug and rehab centers are equipped with swimming pools these days, so keep reading and find out how you can stay sober with aquatic therapy and water aerobics.

Aquatic Therapy Is a Mood Booster

Spending time in the pool is a proven mood booster. As with other types of exercise, swimming releases endorphins into the brain, which bring about feelings of positivity, happiness, and an overall sense of well-being.

These feelings are incredibly important as you go through one of the most difficult periods of your life. Addiction, especially when you’re coming off a substance, has a way of hurting your self-worth. Counteracting that with water aerobics will help you adapt to sober living in a positive way.

Pain Reduction and Water Aerobics

Water is particularly good for pain reduction, which is a common symptom of the detox process. Many addicts begin taking drugs or drinking due to chronic pain resulting from some other illness. As you learn to deal with this pain without drugs, water aerobics will really help.

Aquatic therapy is great because the water supports your body, relieving stress on joints and muscles. Swimming laps also expand the spine and limbs, helping to relieve pressure and pain.

Manage Depression During Addiction Recovery

If depression and anxiety are a big part of your addiction, exercise will be an important part of your recovery. In addition to flooding your brain with endorphins, swimming helps you raise serotonin levels.

Aquatic therapy helps deal with oxidative stress as well. People with depression generally have higher levels of oxidative stress and harmful free radicals.

Those dealing with stress and anxiety have higher cortisol levels. Swimming is a calming activity that lowers your cortisol levels considerably.

Swimming Laps Improve Sleep

Getting the right amount of sleep per night will help you get through rehab. You need between 7 and 9 hours per night for your body to recover during this stressful time. If you don’t get enough sleep, you’ll be more irritable and susceptible to the stressors of being in rehab.

Swimming laps and doing water aerobics will tire you out, if nothing else. When your body is physically exhausted from exercise, getting to sleep isn’t difficult at all. Your body will then have time to recover, and you’ll be ready to face each day.

Swimming Toward Sobriety

Addiction recovery is anything but easy. If you’re having trouble dealing with the day-to-day of drug and rehab centers, aquatic therapy could be the answer. These are a few of the benefits, but the only way to see if it works for you is to try it out, so get in the pool and swim toward sobriety.

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