The brain, the central command center of the body, plays a crucial role in swimming. The brain contains nerve cells that communicate with each other and with the muscles to enable the movements needed for swimming. Swimming involves brain chemicals that stimulate muscle contractions and generate substances that may help promote a sense of well-being.
Components
The brain, composed of three major parts -- the cerebrum, the brain stem and the cerebellum -- contains 50 to 100 billion nerve cells, or neurons, that continuously interact with each other. Neurons transport body messages by an electrochemical processor, or electric current, that occurs when charged chemicals including sodium, potassium and chloride ions move in and out of cells. Constantly changing and regenerating itself, the brain can grow new neurons even at an advanced age.
Movement
A relationship between the brain and muscles helps produce the movements needed for swimming. Neurotransmitters -- chemicals that transmit messages between neurons and across a specialized structure called the neuromuscular junction -- connect neurons to the skeletal muscles. The brain uses the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, its primary chemical for memory, to stimulate a series of events that lead to muscle contractions so you can swim or perform any physical activity.
Cerebellum
Although it accounts for only 10 percent of the brain's volume, the cerebellum contains over 50 percent of the total number of neurons in the brain, according to James Knierim of the department of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University. The cerebellum modifies voluntary movements and helps to coordinate the timing and force of your muscle groups for accurate body movements. This small but crucial part of your brain plays a key role in the adaptation of movements acquired through the trial-and-error method of learning, such as when swimming.
Swimming
Prior muscle movements acquired for walking can conflict with the motions necessary for swimming, says award-winning swimmer Duane Dobko. Optimal walking motion requires the arms to swing back and forth with the elbows loose, whereas successful swimming requires locked elbows for the arms to propel the body forward. The brain takes commands and attempts to perform motor operations in conjunction with previously learned muscle movements. Thus, confusion results when the brain receives a message to lock the elbows. Learning to swim depends on the retention of repetitive, correct swimming motions in the brain's cerebellum. A constant struggle exists between the thinking mind and the cerebellum that can impede the progress of the finest athletes in becoming superior swimmers, according to Dobko.
Well-Being
The brain's activity during swimming may help relieve symptoms of depression. Some antidepressant medications alleviate depression by increasing levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. Swimming produces substances similar to neurotransmitters, called endorphins, that may act as natural antidepressants. In addition, high stress levels limit the creation of new neurons -- a top risk factor for depression, according to the University of Washington. Swimming may boost the production of neurons through a process called hippocampal neurogenesis to help promote a sense of well-being.
References
- The Franklin Institute Online; Exercise; 2004
- Dobkanzie.com; Why Your Cerebellum Matters in Swimming?; Duane Dobko
- University of Leicester; How Does The Human Brain Work? New Ways To Better Understand How Our Brain Processes Information; May 2009
- University of Texas Medical School; Cerebellum; James Knierum, Ph.D., 1997
- Huffington Post; Just Keep Swimming: What Swimming Does for Your Brain; Therese Borchard; October 2010
- University of Washington; Hippocampal Neurogenesis Relieves Depressive Symptoms; Melissa Lee Phillips; November 2003
