Benefits of Scuba Diving: 10 Life-Changing Reasons to Dive

I have been a scuba diver for more than 8 years now. And ever since I started diving, I try to get others to at least try it too.

I have enjoyed the benefits of scuba diving and want more people to experience the same.

Year after year, more and more divers are getting their scuba diving certification. Despite the dangers involved in scuba diving, men and women alike are willing to take the risks so they can explore the underwater world.

Why?

Because the benefits of diving simply outweigh the risks.

If you ask any scuba diver why they dive, you will receive a myriad of reasons. They will give you answers like how diving helped them overcome a personal struggle or how it has made a difference in their communities.

Their stories will be different and diverse, but if there is one thing they will agree on is that scuba diving has changed their lives for the better.

Here are the 10 life-changing reasons why you should scuba dive.

1. Overcome your fears

Fear is a powerful and valuable thing. It keeps you safe and encourages you to practice caution. But fear can also be debilitating. Fear can limit you and prevent you from reaching your fullest potential. It can stop you from being your best self and from living your life to the fullest.

Not everything you’re afraid of should really be feared. Many times our fears are illusions that we’ve created in our heads.

This holds true especially when it comes to scuba diving.

Often times we stop ourselves from doing and achieving things because of what we fear.

“I’m scared of sharks biting me.”

“I might not be able to breathe”

“Isn’t it too deep or too dark?

It is fears like these that prevent you from seeing and experiencing the best parts of our world.

However, with the right knowledge, skills training, and practice, scuba diving will give you the confidence to face your fears. It will teach you to have courage and to believe in yourself.

If you can conquer your fears, you can do anything!

2. Gain knowledge and learn new skills

Another benefit of scuba diving is having the opportunity to gain more knowledge and to learn new skills.

To become a certified scuba diver you actually need to take a scuba diving course. This usually includes a classroom and open water component. The classroom session involves learning the theories and the open water session focuses on the application of knowledge and skills in a dive environment.

Getting your scuba diving certification will help you to properly and safely explore the underwater world.

But it doesn’t end there. Learning never stops when you’re scuba diving. Once you’ve completed your open water course, you can learn more advanced types of diving. You can even take a Rescue Diving Course then you might even want to become a dive professional.

Scuba diving can teach you hard skills like how to breathe underwater using a Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus or how to set up your scuba diving equipment. But many of the things you learn in scuba diving can also be applied in your everyday life.

Scuba can also teach you soft skills like leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, communication, and adaptability. Skills you might find useful at home, at work, or in social settings.

Through scuba diving, you will learn how to be mindful of yourself, others, and your environment. And ultimately become a better person not just underwater but also above it.

3. Maintain a healthy work-life balance

Work plays an important role in our life. But it is also important to maintain a healthy balance between our jobs and our personal life.

When you’re investing too much time and energy into one aspect of your life and neglecting other things that are equally important, it can negatively impact your self-esteem and personal relationships. Doing the same work day in and day out can lead to burnout and stress.

We all need to take breaks from certain routines and taking up scuba diving as a hobby can break that monotony. Instead of spending all your days in the office, you can spend it underwater where you can relax and not think about work.

Scuba diving can help you achieve a healthier work-life balance. It can even be a way to reward yourself after a hard day’s work. This much-deserved break will leave you feeling refreshed, motivated, and happy.

4. Travel and learn about the world

Scuba diving opens you up to a different world of exploration. If traveling is one of your favorite activities then scuba diving will fit in perfectly with your lifestyle.

With 71% of the world covered in water, the possibilities are endless. Scuba diving will allow you to go on underwater adventures in oceans, rivers, lakes, and more. Most of these places are rarely visited and explored. If you’re a scuba diver, you can have the rare opportunity to be among the few who have seen these magical places.

Another benefit of scuba diving is it forces you outside your comfort zone. While you can scuba dive in the closest body of water, you might also be drawn to explore places that are far away. You literally have thousands of dive sites you can choose to visit.

Scuba diving will allow you to see new places, try new things, and meet new people from different cultures. It will change the way you see, feel, and think about the world.

When you’re out there diving the world, you get an education that you’ll never find in a classroom. Scuba diving will allow you to see how the other side of the world lives. Perhaps it might even teach you how to be more humble, tolerant, and accepting of others.

Want to see where in world you can go diving? Check out this post on the best dive maps to help you plan your travels.

5. Meet amazing people

Another benefit of diving is that it allows you to meet new people that you never thought you’d encounter.

The dive community is amazing. Its reach is far and wide. There are scuba divers all over the world and you can meet them in your travels or even online through social media.

While you might encounter divers who behave badly, they are the exemption and not the rule.

Scuba diving will help you build a global network of friends and contacts. Through diving, you will meet people who have the same passion and values as yours.

Some people have formed lifelong friends because of scuba diving. And some even end up marrying them.

Fair warning though, don’t date a girl who dives.

6. Improve your health

Scuba diving can be a physically demanding activity. You might need to walk distances while carrying your gear just to get to dive sites. You might need to jump or roll off a boat. You might need to swim long distances and fight some waves and currents.

When you are diving you are constantly in motion. It is a form of exercise.

From the time you put on your scuba gear to the time you exit the water, you will burn a lot of calories while diving. On average a diver can burn up to 600 calories an hour, depending on water conditions and how much effort they put in.

Diving will give you a full-body workout that will get your heart pumping and your muscles moving. If you scuba dive regularly and eat healthily, you can actually lose weight and tone muscles in your legs, shoulders, and core.

7. Encounter amazing animals

Another benefit of diving is the diverse marine life you’ll encounter while scuba diving.

Our oceans, rivers, and lakes are home to many species, and seeing them in their natural habitat is always an extraordinary experience. When you’re diving you get to see them behave in their own world.

And trust me, it is so much better than watching them on Youtube or Netflix.

You will never forget the first time you scuba dive with a million sardines. Or that time you witnessed a mandarinfish mate during a night dive. And no matter how many times you encounter a sea turtle, a shark, or a manta ray underwater, you will always squeal in glee.

Scuba diving is a also great way to learn about specific marine animals and ocean conservation. You can get even get certifications on distinctive dive specialties focused on ocean life.

8. Experience zen

When you go scuba diving, you will understand why many men and women have called this their version of therapy. The moment you get into the water, you cannot help but leave all your worries and problems behind, even for a little while.

Scuba diving requires you to practice deep breathing and to be present at the moment. It is a wonderful form of meditation or relaxation.

Being able to breathe underwater and be surrounded by the most beautiful part of our planet will give you a natural high.

It can be physically exhausting, but the mental and emotional benefits of scuba diving make it even more worthy to pursue.

Scuba diving has helped many individuals deal with stress, anxiety, and self-esteem issues. It might even help you deal with depression or heal a broken heart.

9. Earn money

Another advantage of scuba diving is you can make money from it. Many people start scuba diving as a hobby, but they progress and become dive professionals.

One of the advantages of scuba diving as a career is its flexibility. You can do it as a part-time or full-time job. Many dive professionals have regular jobs on the weekday and then become dive guides or instructors over the weekend.

Another scuba diving benefit is that not a lot of people are doing it. So this can help you stand out in some job applications. Not only does scuba diving make you a more interesting person but it can open up some job opportunities for you that you’ve never considered before.

You can find unconventional jobs related to scuba diving. For instance, scuba divers who are into photography can make money as an underwater photographer. Those who love to write have created blogs about diving or work for scuba diving websites or magazines.

10. Make a difference in the world

Another benefit of scuba diving is it will make you appreciate the world we live in. It will make teach you how fragile ecosystems are and the importance of preserving them.

Diving will expose you to the issues our world is facing, then it will make you want to do something about it.

With the little time we have on our planet, we can either do our part to either destroy it or make it better. Scuba divers often choose the latter.

Scuba diving will make you an ocean advocate. And let’s face it, the world needs more of those.

You will start saying no to plastic when you can since you’ve seen firsthand how it has polluted the oceans. Then you will even join international coastal cleanups to remove trash in oceans, beaches, and waterways.

One day you might even work for an ocean non-profit organization or start a company to help save our seas.

Fighting for causes bigger than yourself makes your life more meaningful. When you make a difference in the lives of others, you are able to live more fully and intentionally.

If you like to use your social media for good, read this article on how you can use Instagram to advocate for the ocean.

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How has scuba diving changed your life? What scuba diving benefits do you enjoy the most? What are your reason for scuba diving? Leave a comment below!