🔋ATP#1: Why water is good for your brain

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Living in Chile, the longest and narrowest country in the world, has a big advantage: You’re always close to the Pacific Ocean. From where I live in Southern Chile, it’s just a 30-min car ride to the coast.

And each time I’m there, I feel how it relaxes me and how this large body of water makes my problems look so incredibly small. Looking at the ocean is one of my favorite ways to relax. And hotel owners know that people love looking at water and happily pay more for a room with sea view.

But is there any scientific evidence on the benefits of looking at water?

Absolutely yes! Let’s take a look:

A large-scale study by MacKerron and Mourato, with over 20,000 UK participants, used a smartphone app to track people’s well-being. The researchers randomly prompted app users on different days and at different moments to respond to a brief questionnaire while tracking their GPS location to identify which surroundings they were in.

The participants were significantly happier in natural spaces (green or blue spaces) than in urban environments. Moreover, when directly comparing marine/coastal locations with other natural (green) environments, people felt best in the former.

Thus, while people felt happier in all natural environments, the greatest benefits were observed for marine/coastal locations. Promising results!

Another study by White and colleagues used a different approach, showing people images of natural and urban environments, some of which also contained water elements. People indicated how attractive the depicted environments were to them, how willing they were to pay for them (to visit the place and for a hotel room with this view), how positive they made them feel, and perceived restorativeness (potential for relaxation).

Both pictures of natural and urban environments received better evaluations when they contained a water feature. The most preferred environments combined an aquatic scene with a green feature and contained no built features. Still, the good news is that even a water feature in a built, urban environment proved beneficial. Looking at a river or a small city pond could already make you feel better and calm you down.

But what happens in your brain & body when you look at water?

Coss and Keller measured their participants’ blood pressure and heart rate in different natural and built contexts and also asked them about their subjective well-being.

Results revealed that just 1:40 min of looking at water decreased blood pressure and heart rate, indicating relaxation at the physiological level. Participants also indicated feeling significantly more relaxed after looking at water than other scenes (including a wide green space). And the good news is: The calming effect of water even worked when looking at an artificial swimming pool.

To sum up, looking at water calms down your brain and body. It’s a terrific tool you can leverage to feel better. Even if you only have access to a small river or pond in the middle of the city, there’s already a huge health benefit. You might also consider getting a water feature for your home.

Bottom line: Try looking at water more often. It’s good for your brain and well-being.

I hope you found this first newsletter edition useful.

Until next time!

Best wishes,

Patricia (Dr. Schmidt) from creatorschmidt.com.