Study to trial outdoor swimming as treatment for depression

Scientists hope ‘ecotherapy’ could replace drugs such as antidepressants

(PA)

Outdoor swimming could be prescribed to treat depression as scientists study the benefits of taking a dip in nature over medication.

Experts at the universities of Portsmouth and Sussex, partnering with the NHS, are to examine how ecotherapy affects the illness.

Ecotherapy - offering therapeutic intervention in nature - has already been shown to benefit mood.