Feeling Good With Flipper

ANXIETY

It might be more than a resort attraction -- research that appeared
in the journal Anthrozoos found that people who swam with dolphins also
experienced a decrease in anxiety.

Clinical psychologist Nichola Webb, Ph.D., examined perceived
psychological and physiological well-being in 99 individuals who swam
with captive dolphins at the Underwater World Marine Park in Western
Australia. Webb gave participants questionnaires before and after their
swim to measure general contentment, then compared their responses to
those of 29 randomly selected people who swam without the mammals.

She found that participants who swam with dolphins had a greater
sense of well-being both before and after their swim than did the other
swimmers, suggesting that both the anticipation of swimming with dolphins
and the act itself positively affect well-being. And in a similar study,
Webb found that anxiety was significantly lower in 21 individuals who
swam with wild dolphins at the Bunbury Dolphin Discovery Centre than in
19 randomly selected participants who swam solo.

"There is a need to scientifically investigate the interaction
between humans and dolphins and the positive, healing affects humans
experience," says Webb, who plans to study how swimming with dolphins
affects stress hormones.