Scuba Diving & Health Benefits
Did you know that diving can provide many health benefits? And not just for your body. You can also greatly impact your mental well being while increasing your understanding of life in our oceans.
At a simple level biodiversity includes all life on our planet, both aquatic and land dwelling, which makes up all of our ecosystems.
Scuba diving allows us to interface directly with our aquatic environment. It enables us to educate ourselves and other people about this ecosystem. Animal interaction can be a large part of diving. It’s hard to describe the feeling when someone has their first encounter with a giant pacific octopus. It takes about 15 seconds for a new diver to realize this leviathan is no monster at all and that their intelligence is so obvious. They are inquisitive, gentle and shy.
Diving is also a great way to meet new people and be part of an ever growing community. Demographics show that more and more people are learning to dive but what’s most telling is that people from age 20 to 39 now make up most of the new divers on Vancouver island. You know what they say? Location, location, location. Well, we have it all here.
Confidence also comes with your development as a diver. As new divers get out diving their knowledge increases as they master skills and build confidence. Often we see their family and friends signing up for open water courses because of what these new divers have told them.
At Pacific Pro Dive we see this as an investment in our community. We are able to offer training from open water scuba diver up to scuba dive instructor to help build the next generation of responsible divers.
Travel is also an option of what you can do and where you can go to dive; from cave diving in Tulum, Mexico, World War II wreck diving in Truk Lagoon, Micronesia, big animal encounters in Galapagos, South America or night diving in Port Hardy, Vancouver Island. Travel also enables you to see how other cultures live.
It has been proven that scuba diving has a positive impact on mood, promotes mindfulness and from studies we can now say that it also improves levels of anxiety, depression and social functioning as well as a reduction in insomnia. Over the past two years many more people have become involved in not just diving but snorkeling, free diving, surfing and swimming. We encourage people to get out and enjoy our environment while being committed to keeping our planet blue, clean and alive.
