Posted on 07/23/2014 5:17:54 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A new book sets out to answer some big questions about the brain and bodies of water. "Blue Mind" explores why so many of us are drawn to the ocean, and how this scientifically connects to our health and happiness, CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy reports.
Most of us know that feeling of calm we get when we are on, in or just near the water.
"This is what you want if you're in the midst of a stressful week," said Wallace J. Nichols, a marine biologist and conservationist who lives near the central coast of California. "You just want to hit that big blue reset button and get out here."
Nichols spent much of his professional life trying to protect endangered sea turtles. Now he's exploring the scientific reasons for why humans have such a deep connection with the deep blue.
"There are all these cognitive and emotional benefits that we derive every time we spend time by water, in water or under water," Nichols said.
The marine biologist dubbed it our "blue mind," the mildly meditative state our brains enter when exposed to water.
Initially, Nichols was apprehensive that people would dismiss him as a California beach-lover, but he attests that his thesis is scientifically backed.
"Once you get into it, you realize that it's chemistry, it's biology, it's physiology. It's deeply personal but it's also strong science," Nichols said.
The science is still evolving, but Nichol's work is getting plenty of attention. He began hosting "blue mind" seminars that are attracting neurologists and psychologists from around the world.
Brain imagining indicates that proximity to water floods the brain with feel-good hormones such as dopamine and oxytocin. Levels of the stress hormone cortisol actually drop. Scientists have also discovered that the brain prefers the color blue above all others and water increases our ability to focus.
"Our response to water is deep," Nichols said. "It's human, it's about life and it's about survival."
In fact, our bodies consist of about 60 percent water and our brains, a whopping 75 percent.
"So when you see water, when you hear water, it triggers a response in your brain that you're in the right place," Nichols said.
From rafting to kayaking to surfing, water therapy is increasingly being used to treat a variety of ailments, including wounded veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress and depression.
"I think connecting public health to a healthy ocean is critical," Nichols said. "It helps you relax, just literally sucks the stress out of your body and out of your mind."
So the next time you gaze into that blue horizon, you'll know that feeling you get really is all in your head.
No. NY & LA are proof.
I am from Minnesota and we had a home next to a creek with a pond nearby. In the summers we went “up north” to a lake cabin. The sound of the waves against the rocks and the hull of the aluminum boat are relaxing.
For those away from an ocean, here you go: Calming Seas 11 Hours Ocean Sound for relaxation, yoga, meditation, reading, sleep, study https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f77SKdyn-1Y
12 Hours - Heavy Rain on a Tin Porch Roof with Thunder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPUQY8mMr6A
We have a 40 ft sailboat ON the ocean. I spend as much time there as possible and would live on a boat in a heartbeat if I could talk hubby into it.
I tell everyone.......if anything ever happens to hubby you’ll find me living on the boat. Can’t think of anything better.
Lake beaches yes, Beaches along the Great lakes are nice. Beaches in Alaska and Washington state are nice.
You can have all your white sandy beaches.
Swimming, in at least a somewhat controlled environment.
Yay!!! good for you. I could live on our sailboat. Our boat is surrounded by live aboards that wouldn’t have it any other way.
The secret to living on a boat is to not let the water in. From above or below!
Even if I had the $$ I am not sure I wouldn’t go nuts living on a boat. Many are too small and seem restrictive.
I would probably go stir crazy.
I was standing in the middle of an Iowa cornfield tonite. It’s about 7 feet tall now. A beach has a sound to it that can be relaxing. But a cornfield has its own sound too. Very relaxing. It has a certain sweet smell to it now also. Good times.
I believe that the energy released from the crashing waves is what recharges my body. I know...woo woo right? I just know that when I head to the Oregon coast..and spend a bit of time walking or just standing by the crashing waves...I feel better and calmer and ready to tackle any thing.
I also think some of us are water people and some of us are recharged in a different way.
I am lucky to live where I do and lucky to be married to a man who understands my need to be near the pacific ocean.
I amanother not claustrophobic but I do need my space. We have owned our boat 14 yrs and we looked at a bunch before finding this one. I would crawl on board and immediately exit shaking my head no. Ours has tons of room on board. She is beamy. People who have never been on board are shocked at the room.
If I was gonna live on one it would be a double cabin motoryacht. They are like condos on the water.
There are some fabulous beaches in Alaska...they don’t always have the crashing waves...but they have a serenity all their own. I particularly like the Sitka area and Prince of Wales Island.
in Washington...Rialto beach is amazing...and far from the white sandy beaches of Hawaii. (I actually love white sandy beaches...but don’t get to one very often anymore.)
In Oregon there are countless outstanding beaches with beautiful vistas...and not too crowded...and primarily open areas owned by the state and public access is free. Yay!
I wonder if used fishing boats or ex-navy boats can be used as yachts? lol
Of course 570,000 Euros is pretty darn expensive.
and they have a coaster right next to the water
Some years ago I considered buying a 40ft yawl, built to my specifications by a builder on the eastern shore in Virginia. Can’t remember the name of the builder. It was a wooden hull. Lovely boat. And was determined to live on it if I bought it. My wife was not as enthused about that as I was.
Call me when ‘hubby’ is not in the picture :)
Nice! Maybe it’s just that I grew up with it, but somehow it seems entirely natural for roller coasters, ferris wheels and other amusement rides to be located at the beach!
I was born and grew up in Iowa. Later moved to Ohio and spent several years sailing on Lake Erie. Also bareboated in the Bahamas, out of Marsh Harbor. Sailing is in my blood. Ancestrally speaking too! I have spent many weekends on a sailboat on Lake Erie. Never feared the lake. We went out when the small craft warnings were urging others to get off the lake. Best sailing!
Also sailed in the Bahamas. Bareboat charter. Great way to go!
Nothing about the sounds in a cornfield compare to the sounds of water on one of the Great Lakes or the ocean! Live and let live...and sail the seven seas!
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