Hidden Treasures of New York

The Blue Health Phenomenon

Recently, the “Blue Health” initiative, a European research group led by scientists at the University of Exeter in the U.K., has found evidence that spending time in or around water may be just as beneficial to human health as spending time in green spaces. “You can take almost all the green-space research, sub in the word blue, and find a lot of the same effects,” says Wallace J. Nichols, PhD, a marine biologist and former senior scientists at the non-profit Ocean Conservancy.

Nichols is the author of Blue Mind, a book that explores the benefits of time spent in or around water. He says that being near water is naturally calming, which may help explain why so many of us seek out beaches or other water-adjacent destinations during our vacations. But water does more than combat stress or induce a state of relaxation. “Water is also a source of creativity and inspiration,” he says. “When you look at water, there’s what people describe as this soft fascination — something that is interesting and that holds your attention, but not in an information-rich way.”