While the mental health of young Europeans has been in continuous decline in recent years – as shown by increased anxiety, sleep disorders, irritability or depressive episodes – a survey of young people in the world of scuba diving is said to paint a very different picture.
Marking European Mental Health Week (4-11 May), the organisers of the One Health Underwater project say that their international survey has highlighted a “significant link” between scuba diving and the psychological well-being of young adults.
Scuba is being studied as an approach to tackling what this major public-health issue because it is based on moderate physical activity, immersion in a natural environment, controlled breathing, sustained attention, self-confidence, co-operation with a dive-buddy and emotional regulation.
176 questions
Funded by the EU’s flagship programme Erasmus+, the project is led by the French Federation for Underwater Studies & Sports (FFESSM), medical research and insurance organisation Divers Alert Network (DAN Europe) and Belgian university college HE2B.
The survey, which was announced on Divernet last November, involved 1,669 regular divers in the 18-29 age range speaking six languages. Its set of 176 questions based on validated scientific scales is claimed by the organisers to make it “one of the most comprehensive tools ever deployed in the field of diving”.
‘Joyful, relaxed and able to think clearly’
More than half of the respondents dived at least once a month, 77% on scuba and 21% both on scuba and as freedivers. In general, participants exhibited a high level of mental well-being, scoring above 55 out of 70 on the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS).
More than 80% of the divers reported regularly feeling joyful, relaxed, able to think clearly or open to new experiences. Analysis of the mood profile confirmed this trend, with positive adjectives such as ‘active’, ‘calm’, ‘attentive’, ‘fit’ and ‘relaxed’ outweighing negative emotional states.
More than 90% of respondents described themselves as active and 86% as calm and attentive, while indicators of tension or irritability remained in the minority. 93% of participants considered diving to be an important activity in their lives.
Relax and heal
“Diving under the right conditions contributes to mental well-being by engaging the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps the body relax and heal,” commented FFESSM president Dr Frédéric Di Meglio.
Infographic summarising the project findings
“Diving offers a unique setting where physical activity, mindfulness and emotional regulation come together,” added DAN Europe’s research & education vice-president Prof Costantino Balestra.
The project enters a new phase this summer, with a dive-camp organised at a French adventure sports centre. A cohort of divers will be monitored over a set period, with repeated assessments via questionnaire and analysis of salivary biomarkers.
Vulnerable youth
Subsequent phases will aim to integrate diving into supervised inclusive health-and-fitness programmes tailored to vulnerable youth, and then move to disseminate educational resources and final results to professionals, policymakers and the public.
“One Health Underwater aims to establish scuba diving as a credible and innovative alternative to conventional approaches to well-being, particularly for the most vulnerable young people,” say the organisers.
“Beyond psychological well-being, this approach also promotes resilience, active citizenship and respect for the marine environment among younger generations.”