Recreational Diving Practice for Stress Management: An Exploratory Trial

Frédéric Beneton (1) , Guillaume Michoud (2) , Mathieu Coulange (1) , Céline Ramdani (3) , Marc Borgnetta (4) , Patricia Breton (5) , Régis Guieu (1) , Jean-Claude Rostain (1) , Marion Trousselard (2, 3, 6, 7)

1 DS-ACI / UMR MD2 - Dysoxie, suractivité : aspects cellulaires et intégratifs thérapeutiques
2 EVDG - École du Val de Grâce
3 IRBA - Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées [Brétigny-sur-Orge]
4 Institut Nationale de Plongée Professionnelle [Marseille]
5 Union Nationale des Centres Sportifs de Plein Air [Paris]
6 APEMAC - Maladies chroniques, santé perçue, et processus d'adaptation
7 Chaire de Mindfulness, Bien-être au Travail et Paix Économique [Grenoble]

Background: Within the components of Scuba diving there are similarities with meditation and mindfulness techniques by training divers to be in a state of open monitoring associated with slow and ample breathing. Perceived stress is known to be diminished during meditation practice. This study evaluates the benefits of scuba diving on perceived stress and mindful functioning. Method: A recreational diving group (RDG; n = 37) was compared with a multisport control group (MCG; n = 30) on perceived stress, mood, well-being and mindfulness by answering auto-questionnaires before and after a 1-week long UCPA course. For the diving group, stability of the effects was evaluated 1 month later using similar auto-questionnaires. Results: Perceived stress did not decrease after the course for the MCG [ The divers showed a significant reduction on the perceived stress score (p < 0.05) with a sustainable effect (p = 0.01)]. An improvement in mood scale was observed in both groups. This was associated to an increase in mindfulness abilities. Conclusions: The practice of a recreational sport improves the mood of subjects reporting the thymic benefits of a physical activity performed during a vacation period. The health benefits of recreational diving appear to be greater than the practice of other sports in reducing stress and improving well-being.

Mots clés: perceived stress; mindfulness; sport; stress; recreational diving

Domaines: Psychologie

Frédéric Beneton, Guillaume Michoud, Mathieu Coulange, Céline Ramdani, Marc Borgnetta, et al.. Recreational Diving Practice for Stress Management: An Exploratory Trial. Frontiers in Psychology, 2017, 8, pp.2193. ⟨10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02193⟩. ⟨hal-01767528⟩