The Stress-Relieving Power of Swimming: Blue Space and Mental Health

Introduction

Taiwan’s work culture is notorious for its high pressure. A 2024 survey showed that Taiwanese office workers rank among the highest in Asia for work-related anxiety, and chronic stress has become one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, depression, and a weakened immune system. Exercise is a well-recognized tool for stress relief, and swimming has unique advantages in this regard—it is not just an aerobic exercise, but also engages the deep psychological mechanisms of “Blue Space.”

What Is the Blue Space Effect

“Blue Space” is a concept in environmental psychology that refers to any environment associated with bodies of water, including oceans, rivers, lakes, and of course, swimming pools. Over the past decade, a research team at the University of Exeter in the UK has conducted multiple large-scale studies and found that proximity to blue space significantly improves people’s mental health indicators:

• UK residents living within 1 km of the coast have a 22% lower rate of mental health problems compared to inland residents
• Physical activity (including swimming) performed near blue space is 1.5 times more effective at improving mental health than exercise in ordinary green spaces
• Merely “gazing at the water’s surface” can significantly lower cortisol levels, due to the visual system’s unique processing of reflected light and flowing patterns

Swimming allows you to be directly “immersed” in blue space, rather than just standing nearby and watching, so the psychological benefits are even more pronounced.

Swimming’s Unique Sensory Isolation Effect

Swimming has a quality no other sport possesses: once you enter the water, your hearing, vision, and touch are all dramatically altered.

This sensory “isolation and simplification” makes swimming a natural meditative state. Many regular swimmers describe entering a state of mental clarity shortly after getting into the water, focusing on breathing rhythm and movement itself—a classic description of the “Flow” state.

Swimming’s Impact on Serotonin and Endorphins

From a neurochemical perspective, swimming’s stress-relieving effects have a clear physiological basis:

• Endorphin release: Swimming at moderate intensity or above (20+ continuous minutes) stimulates a significant release of endorphins, producing a “swimmer’s high.” The mechanism is similar to a runner’s high, but due to the sensory environment in the water, the subjective experience is often more serene than euphoric.
• Serotonin stabilization: Aerobic exercise is an effective way to increase the efficiency of serotonin precursors (tryptophan crossing the blood-brain barrier) in the brain. Regular swimmers have higher baseline serotonin levels and better emotional stability.
• Increased GABA: The post-swim muscle relaxation state is accompanied by elevated concentrations of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid, the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter), a substance whose mechanism of action partially overlaps with that of anti-anxiety medications.

Swimming Options in Taiwan’s Blue Spaces

Taiwan is blessed with得天獨厚的 blue space resources:

• Outdoor open-water swimming: Qixingtan in Hualien, the beaches of Kenting, Aodi Beach, and others. Provided safety signage and lifeguards are present, the blue space effect of outdoor swimming far exceeds that of indoor pools.
• Hot spring swimming pools: Hot spring swimming facilities in Beitou, Jiaoxi in Yilan, and elsewhere combine the muscle-relaxing effects of warm water with the psychological benefits of blue space, making them an ideal choice for weekend stress relief.
• Indoor public pools: Even indoors, the sensory properties of water can still provide a certain degree of blue space effect. Pools with skylights for natural light are particularly effective.

Practical Recommendations

• Swimming meditation: Choose a slow breaststroke or backstroke (keeping the head out of water), pair it with slow, deep breathing, and focus on the sensation of the water’s ripples and the body’s buoyancy to enhance swimming’s meditative effect.
• Leave your phone in the locker: Swimming is one of the rare exercises where you can completely disconnect from electronic devices. Make full use of this trait to give your brain time to “go offline.”
• Choose off-peak hours: Taiwan’s pools are less crowded during off-peak times (e.g., weekday mornings from 9–11 AM or after 8 PM), with less noise and distraction, allowing for a deeper blue space experience.
• Pair swimming with a post-swim walk: Take a 10-minute slow walk along the poolside or in a nearby park after swimming to allow the body to gradually transition from the aquatic state back to daily life on land, prolonging the psychological relaxation effect.

Conclusion

In Taiwan’s high-pressure living environment, swimming offers a dual solution that simultaneously meets physiological needs (aerobic training, muscle strengthening) and psychological needs (stress relief, meditative state). You don’t need to fly to Bali to enjoy the healing effects of blue space—your local public pool can give you a 30-minute mental reset every time.

Related Reading

• Swimming and Stress Relief: The Mental Health Benefits of Water Exercise
• Swimming and Mental Health: Scientific Research on Water Meditation and Stress Reduction
• The Benefits of Swimming for Mental Health: The Relationship Between Water Exercise and Anxiety and Depression
• The Benefits of Swimming for Mental Health: Alleviating Anxiety and Depression