5 Ways Surfing Can Help You live to 100

Surfing for a lot of people is not just a sport it’s a lifestyle… it’s a way in which you live your life, which makes senses to look at surfer as a group of people and the characteristic of the surf lifestyle that can help you live longer the health benefits and incredible.

(1) Keeps you in shape

Surfing has been scientifically and medically proven to have numerous health benefits, with typical surfers having lower body fat good with leaner muscle to weight ratio great flexibility and good skin, plus they exercise a lot especially if you go out for a 4 hour surf session the body has to be in good shape to keep you going

Spending a lot of time in the sea and by the coast has its benefits too. Not only does seawater keep a lot of nasty bugs away, but it’s incredibly beneficially for the body as it has great mineral contents that help improve the function of our skin. Not to mention getting more than our fair share of vitamin d

Also as a surfer, you take your fair share of duck dives and wipeouts and medical evidence suggest that the people who live by the sea or swim in it regularly have more functional and healthier respiratory systems. Due to the sea water being cleansing

(2) Natural Environments

Surfers especially spend a lot of time in natural environments interacting directly with mother nature and the elements it has been shown that exercise in natural environments such as beaches oceans forests and outdoors have much greater benefits for spiritual and mental health than anywhere else.

Every surfer knows the feeling after a hard day grind hitting the ocean unlocks that inner kid and that relaxation and mindfulness that comes with touching the water. Similar state using water have shown that water can have a calming effect reducing anxiety depression and stress, even just sitting out back can be relaxing and a lot of surfers feel like they are meditating or connected to the ocean  this feeling can dramatically change your nervous system, brain organs and hormone production in a good way

(3) Cold water therapy

If you’re Lucky enough(unlucky) enough to live in a cold-water country like the UK it can be an added benefit to your health. Cold water surfers know the feeling of surfing in January and February frozen face and numb feet and fingers but it does have its health benefits. cold water means the body will burn more calories in a session than compared to the hot water of saying Indonesian. That’s great for us as our body also gets the added benefit of increased endorphins, adrenaline and cortisol, not only great for your stoke factor but this also over repeated sessions and years can dramatically change your physiology

People such as WIM HOF who put himself in freezing cold water for hours at a time leading to a huge change in his body’s response ramping up the immune system to fight off bad bacteria and nasty disease, the buildup of brown adipose tissue helps fat reduction, reduced inflammation and less acidity in the body. So try to get a cold water dunking a few times a week and you should be in good shape

(4) Focused Mind

The fountain of youth might be a myth but living longer doesn’t have to be. A number of research papers look at people jobs and social activities as they got older and they found that people who had focus goals and purpose in their everyday life lived longer and had a better quality of life. In surfing a lot of us are focused on the next swell the next wave or the next turn how to improve for next time or what the incoming weather reports say. The sport of surfing requires patience and dedication and is a lifelong journey one that can never be fully mastered but with focus and determination can get pretty good at it.

(5) Relaxing

Yep we all know that feeling of having an amazing surf for a few hours and your body just feels at peace partly to do with the physical exhaustion, but also the mental release of all that energy that has built up if you follow a swell the energy builds and keeps building in anticipation and preparations until finally you go shred and you feel so relaxed, I don’t think there is another feeling like it. Also the tranquillity you feel from just being in the water sometimes alone having time to reflect on things is a real added bonus as in most people’s busy lives they don’t get time to reflect and process things. this process can be really relaxing and calming helping to lower stress levels. surfing also help to give you that good feeling of accomplishment of overcoming the barriers and trial of the surf sometimes the longest paddle outs or the heaviest hold downs make that next ride all that sweeter.

Remember living long is one thing but having a great quality of long life is the goal that why surfing can really help keep your well-being and joy at is max. As long as you get enjoyment every day from the surf then life is pretty good.