MAY IS NATIONAL WATER SAFETY MONTH!
When school is out for the summer and the weather heats up across the country, poolside recreation is in. American backyards are where children can enjoy aquatic playgrounds, others get in their daily exercise of lap swimming, and many kick back, relax, and unwind to the tranquil sounds and sights of trickling, glistening water.
That’s why May is the perfect time to observe safer water practices with National Water Safety Month!
This summer, pools, hot tubs, and spas will continue to have an overwhelmingly positive impact on our lives. And there’s a lot to celebrate!
Water Boosts Physical Health
Swimming is one of the best exercises because it provides all of the benefits with none of the negative impacts on the body.
Swimming may not come with weights, but this full-body workout moves all your muscles from head to toe against the water’s resistance. Swimming builds cardiovascular fitness, endurance, and strength, helping you maintain a healthy heart and lungs. In fact, 30 minutes in a pool is worth 45 minutes of the same activity on land. And you get the benefit of vitamin D from the sunshine.
As a result, swimming is one of the best and most efficient ways to lose weight. It can burn more than 200 calories in just half an hour—more than double that of walking.
Water Improves Mental Health
Throw a healthy diet into your life, in addition to your 30-minute-a-day, three-times-a-week swimming routine, and you’ll stay fit and healthy, as well as maintain positive mental well-being.
Why is water so good for us mentally? Did you know that from birth we are connected to water? Babies’ bodies are 75 percent water. As we age, we are still made up of a majority of 60 percent water—our brains are three-fourths water and our bones are nearly one-third water.
So we have a natural connection to water. No wonder just the presence of water soothes us. A Mappiness study shows that people are happier when they are outside. But add water to the picture and they are 5.2 percent happier.
Regular swimming can reduce stress, improve mood, boost optimism, and enable better sleep. In fact, 1.4 million adults believe swimming has significantly reduced their anxiety and depression symptoms, a Swim England survey says.
All of these benefits can add years to your life. Those with active lifestyles and positive mental health increase their life expectancies by almost 10 years.
Swimming’s Popularity Soars, and So Does the Need for Water Safety
There are 10.4 million residential and 309,000 public swimming pools, and an additional 7.3 million hot tubs operating in the U.S.
California tops the list of most sales and installations for above-ground pools, in-ground pools, and hot tub sales. Texas and Florida are second and third in above-ground pool and hot tub sales, and they flip places for in-ground pool sales. Ohio and Illinois finish out the top five in above-ground pool sales. Illinois also makes the list of most hot tub sales, followed by New York in fifth place. And Arizona and New York are fourth and fifth, respectively, on the list of most in-ground pool installations.
No wonder swimming is the fourth most popular sport or activity in the U.S., according to the U.S. Census Bureau. For children and teens between the ages of 7 and 17, swimming rises to the No. 1 most popular recreational activity.
In fact, 36 percent of children ages 7 to 17, and 15 percent of adults go swimming at least six times annually.
That’s why learning how to swim is so important. The Red Cross says more than 50 percent of Americans either can’t swim or don’t know basic water competency skills. With eight out of 10 Americans planning to swim in a pool this summer, that’s why swim lessons are so important.
The goal of swim lessons is to make children and adults safer in and around water, says the USA Swimming Foundation. Swimming lessons from a certified instruction, school, or organization reduce the chance of drowning by 88 percent.
Pool, Spa & Hot Tub Maintenance is Essential to Water Safety
There are no doubts that a properly maintained and operated pool, spa, or hot tub is rewarding for its users by bringing hours of water fun and recreation.
For a safe experience, these water spaces should provide clean, clear water and have effective, properly operating equipment and effective operation.
Controlling water quality is necessary to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases, according to the World Health Organization. Proper operation, maintenance, and disinfection (e.g., with chlorine and bromine) of pools, spas, and hot tubs should remove or inactivate viruses and bacteria.
