Swimming with dolphins lifts depression

Swimming with dolphins appears to be an effective treatment for mild to moderate depression, according to new U.K. research.

The randomized controlled study was conducted at the Roatan Institutefor Marine Sciences in Honduras and involved outpatients recruited from the United States and Honduras from November 2002 thru December 2003.

A total of 30 people with mild or moderate &to=http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/90/360/15176_whipping.html' target=_blank>depression were involved: Half of them were assigned to swim and snorkel with bottlenose dolphins for an hour a day for two weeks. The rest also swam and snorkeled but not in the presence of dolphins.

All the study volunteers discontinued antidepressant drugs or psychotherapy at least four weeks before the start of the study and did not take any drugs during the study, the researchers said, informs Forbes.

According to Times Online, all got a bit better, as might be expected, but those who swam with dolphins showed a significantly greater improvement, the scientists reported.