Why Skydiving is Good For You

Everyone knows that skydiving is a high-adrenaline, high-excitement activity. After all, it’s the most popular bucket list item there is! But beyond the rush, is skydiving good for you? 

It sure is! Skydiving is well known in popular culture as a daredevil activity for adrenaline junkies and risk takers, but no one ever talks about why skydiving is good for you. There are incredible mental and physical benefits to skydiving that go far beyond the initial adrenaline rush that is associated with jumping out of an airplane. 

Need more to confidently answer, “Why should you go skydiving?” Check out all the reasons below! 

Physical Fitness and Health Benefits

What does skydiving do to your body? A lot more than you probably think! Even tandem skydiving is a physically involved experience, and the more skydiving you do, the more your body changes to acclimate to the activity. 

Skydiving is great for both strength and flexibility. Being able to maneuver your body in the airplane, in freefall, and under canopy all require a certain amount of muscle. Crouching and scooching around in the plane is great for the legs and glutes, and climbouts are often a full-body workout. Moving around in freefall is equally universal when it comes to muscle groups. And landing the parachute is like a mini pull-up!

The positions required for stable freefall are like yoga-lite. Arching your body requires core and back flexibility, and the more you do it, the easier it gets. Having the pressure of 120 mph wind helping you stretch is the best exercise partner there is! You’ll feel nice and loose after a good freefall sesh. 

But the health benefits don’t stop there. Even your cardiovascular system gets in on the fun. Increased heart rates and surges of adrenaline get your blood pumping and result in a good dose of recommended cardio. 

Every part of skydiving includes physical exertion, all the way down to dealing with the gear. A typical skydiving rig weighs about 20 pounds, and a tandem rig comes in around 50 pounds. Just showing up at the dropzone and carrying your gear around is a workout! 

So if you’re someone who just can’t get excited about going to the gym, maybe skydiving is a more enticing option for staying fit! 

Mental and Emotional Well-being

Is skydiving good for your mental health? Your body isn’t the only thing skydiving is good for. Some of the most impactful benefits skydivers enjoy are mental and emotional. The way skydiving boosts self-confidence and improves your mood is something you can’t find anywhere else. The physical benefits are just icing on the cake. 

The most noticeable change after going skydiving is in your self-confidence. Overcoming a fear or challenge like jumping out of an airplane is a monumental life event. Falling through the air is not a natural state for the human mind! So showing yourself that you can conquer that fear drastically changes your state of mind. Everything in life will seem easier after skydiving. If you can jump out of an airplane, you can do anything! 

Skydivers also tend to be in generally better moods. Why does skydiving make you happy? Because being passionate about something in life and pursuing and achieving goals improves your whole outlook and point of view. Having something to consistently look forward to keeps your eye on the prize. 

It’s also a matter of chemicals. The release of dopamine during skydiving leads to an increased sense of pleasure and happiness. And even when you’re not actively jumping out of an airplane, you can recall those feelings and relive them until you get to jump again. That’s because dopamine improves memory, attentiveness, and overall cognitive function. 

It’s no wonder so many people get hooked on skydiving!

Enhanced Situational Awareness

In the same way that skydiving improves mental health, it also increases your mental resilience. Jumping out of airplanes is like exercising your brain. Stressing our brains results in mental training that helps better our reactions and awareness the same way stressing our muscles leads to more physical strength. 

Learning to manage the sensory overload and inherent risks of skydiving improves our stress response in all areas of life. There’s a lot to think about on a skydive. Typical procedures, altitude awareness, body position, the goal of the skydive – all this on top of being prepared to react to any emergencies that might arise. 

Training your brain to handle all of this at once elevates your mind to a new level of awareness and stress management. Add in the adrenaline rush that comes with skydiving and you’re putting your brain through the equivalent of a stress management boot camp. 

And the best part? All of this training and enhanced ability translates to everyday life situations. When your brain is used to operating in high-stress environments, the whole world slows down. It becomes easier to react to unexpected circumstances. Things that used to seem stressful or overwhelming are suddenly easier to deal with. 

And the mental experience is cyclical. The more you skydive, the more your brain adjusts to the environment. As that happens, you become more and more aware, in turn increasing your sensory stimulation during the experience. Skydiving is the gift that keeps on giving! 

Communication and Social Skills

The positive impact of skydiving reaches far beyond your own body. Skydiving pushes you out of your comfort zone in so many ways, including how you interact with other people. Skydivers all have one thing in common – we love skydiving. But beyond that, we are an incredibly diverse group of people. 

Existing at a dropzone means learning how to get along, and even be friends with, people you might never encounter in your typical circles. Not only that, you also have to be able to communicate with them effectively enough to keep everyone safe in a high-stress environment. 

Planning and executing safe and successful skydives takes teamwork and effective communication. There aren’t many places where you can take part in a planning meeting that includes discussion on how to make sure everyone stays alive and safe. Skydiving teaches participants how to state their goals, communicate personal boundaries, and problem-solve as a team. 

Even hanging out after a day of jumping requires a certain amount of social skill. Navigating sometimes emotionally intense conversations helps with empathy, tact, and open-mindedness. 

Are you ready to elevate your life? Turn things up a notch and come see what skydiving is all about! Blue skies.