As a born and bred Floridian, I’ve all the time felt most at dwelling round water. Beginning on the age of eight or so, I welcomed the exhaustion of aggressive swimming, red-rimmed chlorine eyes changing into my norm. Although I stop earlier than highschool, one thing occurred throughout all these practices that linked me to the sensation of being in or close to water—a lot in order that I felt noticeably much less comfortable after I moved inland for faculty.
What I’d later be taught is that it’s not only a “me” factor: Research present that common publicity to blue areas—which embody waterscapes and their environment—can enhance your well-being. The truth is, that’s the impetus behind “blue thoughts principle,” which not too long ago blew up on TikTok however was conceptualized in 2015 by marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols in his titular e-book Blue Thoughts (the subtitle of which says all of it: The Stunning Science That Exhibits How Being Close to, In, On, or Below Water Can Make You Happier, More healthy, Extra Related, and Higher at What You Do).
If you’re in or round water, you enter what marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols calls the blue thoughts, a mildly meditative state of peacefulness and satisfaction.
The thought behind blue thoughts principle? If you’re in or round water, you enter what Nichols calls the blue thoughts, a mildly meditative state of peacefulness and satisfaction. You’re calmer, extra comfortable, and really feel extra linked to your self and others.
Blue Thoughts turned a bible of kinds for me in school, because it outlined and defined the science behind a sense that I’d all the time suspected to be true: I’m only a happier model of myself after I’m close to water. It’s why I moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, post-graduation, the place I’d be surrounded by the ocean. And after brief stints in locations like New York Metropolis and Park Metropolis, it’s what additionally introduced me again to Honolulu this 12 months.
All through my time in Hawaii, I’ve all the time assumed the proximity to the shoreline can be sufficient for me to really feel comfortable—that hours spent strolling or mendacity on the sandy seaside would do the trick. (And definitely, my psychological state has been higher whereas I’ve had easy accessibility to the coast than it was after I lived in land-locked locations.) Nevertheless it wasn’t till a visit to Iceland this previous spring impressed me to strive immersing myself in the ocean each day that I skilled essentially the most profound well-being results of the blue thoughts.
How Icelanders reap the advantages of blue thoughts principle
In Iceland, the daylight is dependent upon the season due to the nation’s proximity to the Arctic Circle. Throughout the summer season, it’s brilliant for many of the day, and blackout curtains are aplenty. Throughout the different seasons, nonetheless, the solar would possibly solely emerge for a couple of hours a day. However when you would possibly count on Icelanders to expertise seasonal affective dysfunction (SAD) at a comparatively excessive fee, research present the precise reverse: Charges of SAD are markedly decrease in Icelanders than they’re in different populations. The truth is, Iceland was even ranked the third happiest nation on the earth within the 2023 World Happiness Report, slotting in simply behind Finland and Denmark.
Whereas a few of this Icelandic resilience to the cruel local weather could also be on account of a genetic heartiness cast over generations, College of Iceland professor of folkloristics and ethnology Hafstein Valdimar Tryggvi, PhD, has extensively contested that the explanation Icelanders expertise such excessive ranges of well-being in gentle of the gloomy circumstances is their affinity for bathing in geothermally heated swimming pools year-round.
In Iceland, each city has an out of doors public pool (of which there are greater than 120), which research present to be the most-frequented gathering locations nationwide. Since 1934, swimming instruction has been required in all Icelandic faculties, so the apply is ingrained early, and Icelanders are recognized to layer swimming into their each day lives.
“Your coronary heart fee can lower, and you may really feel much less careworn [when in or near water].” —Olivia McAnirlin, PhD, co-director of Clemson College’s Digital Actuality & Nature Lab
Such ample publicity to water could have soothing powers for Icelanders, because it helps to dial down the “fight-or-flight” (aka sympathetic) nervous system and switch up the “rest-and-digest” (parasympathetic) nervous system in its stead. “Your coronary heart fee can lower, and you may really feel much less careworn [when in or near water],” says Olivia McAnirlin, PhD, co-director of the Clemson College Digital Actuality & Nature Lab, an interdisciplinary program which research folks’s connections to the pure world.
Analysis has additionally discovered that the sensory inputs of pure settings (like blue areas)—say, the distinction of blue ocean towards the horizon or the lapping of waves—have a approach of passively centering your consideration, resulting in larger readability of thoughts. And there’s additionally the potential for experiencing awe whereas submerged in a pure physique of water; this will put the mind in a “self-transcendent” state, which means it’s targeted much less on itself and extra in your existence as one half of a bigger complete. The end result: a extra constructive temper and stronger emotions of reference to others.
Although Dr. McAnirlin notes that a few of these advantages encompassed by blue thoughts principle will be channeled by experiences similar to watching waves lap the shore and even listening to a recording of beachy sounds, she contends that the Icelandic apply of repeatedly dipping within the water can maximize the wellness-boosting results.
Certainly, Dr. McAnirlin’s co-director on the Clemson Digital Actuality & Nature Lab, Matthew Browning, PhD, says that some great benefits of being in the water go far past what’s seen and heard. “Additionally they embody participating in bodily exercise, experiencing helpful adjustments within the cardiovascular system [during cold immersion], and absorbing vitamin D from daylight.” It’s no surprise Icelanders have taken to the water so readily.
Experiencing Icelandic bathing tradition firsthand
Once I had the chance to go to Reykjavík, Iceland on the inaugural flight of a low-cost airline route from Washington, D.C. this spring, I could not wait to take a dip within the beloved Sky Lagoon. This explicit pool is full of sizzling geothermal water pumped from beneath the Earth’s floor and blended with cool freshwater, and it’s constructed into cliffs overlooking the ocean in a approach that immerses its guests in nature.
Wading into the water of the Sky Lagoon for the primary time, I shortly entered a state of awe, feeling a rising sense of oneness with the world round me—and the pal who’d include me. As we alternated between deep dialog and cozy silence, I discovered that I felt freer in speaking to her than I’ve in different settings, like we had been bonding over the shared expertise of magnificence and luxury.
For so long as I moved languidly by way of the pool, my ideas took on a dreamy texture. All the pieces from the jagged rocks to the grassy hills to the opposite folks swimming round me appeared tender and welcoming. And the heat of the water (a toasty 100 to 104° Fahrenheit) was deeply enjoyable.
It’s customary to pair a dip within the Sky Lagoon with a multi-step spa ritual, however my pal and I lingered for near an hour earlier than transferring by way of the opposite steps: a chilly plunge, heat sauna, chilly mist, physique scrub, cloudy steam room, and bathe.
What actually obtained me was the sensation of being immersed within the heat water of the lagoon, effortlessly buoyant.
What actually obtained me, although, was the sensation of being immersed within the heat water of the lagoon, effortlessly buoyant. The water each lulled and refreshed me—and by the point our slot was over, my fingers had pruned, our taxi was outdoors ready for us, and we had been nonetheless within the lagoon profiting from each second we had left.
All I may suppose was: What if I, like so many Icelanders, made a dip within the water part of my each day ritual, too? In any case, I had no excuse to not strive: I dwell inside a couple of minutes’ drive of the ocean, in Honolulu, which meant it will take solely minimal effort to see what would possibly come of feeling that buoyant sensation each day. So, I made a decision to problem myself to get into the water every day for 30 days straight this summer season.
My experiment with blue thoughts principle: Getting right into a physique of water each day for a month
Week 1
Throughout the first week of my blue-mind problem, my enthusiasm usually made it straightforward for me to hop into my automotive within the afternoon and head to the ocean (a 15-minute drive, although typically longer with Honolulu visitors). Then there have been the times I merely wished to drift there and be nonetheless, people-watching the shore or bobbing within the waves. I’d all the time been dangerous at meditation, and this felt like a practical alternative.
Week 2
Throughout the second week, my dips within the ocean had extra selection. Some days, my problem meant wading into the water absolutely clothed after a sweaty run. Different days, I took my exercise to the water in a full-on swim, tracing laps within the shallow surf till I’d hit a sure time threshold.
A e-book I really like, Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui, says that we are able to expertise a novel state of circulation—the feeling of being “within the zone,” wherein you might be each absorbed by and solely targeted on one thing—whereas submerged in water, and that an evolutionary need for survival maximizes the potential for coming into a circulation state whereas swimming.
As I swam for brief bursts throughout this second week of my problem, I developed a brand new appreciation for the circulation state of swimming. I targeted on the feeling of water cradling my physique and waves lapping at my heels, of endorphins coursing by way of my system whereas I labored my muscle mass. Unable to take heed to music or in any other case distract myself, I used to be out of the blue, startlingly current, however usually misplaced my grip on time: fully within the zone.
Week 3
By this level, admittedly, I began getting uninterested in my drive, extra particularly discovering parking close to the seaside. I discovered myself considering: Wouldn’t a bathe have the same impact as wading into the ocean? Didn’t that depend as being in water?
Whereas this blue-mind problem was new to me, upon sharing it with a couple of associates, a number of of them talked about having made the same guess with themselves after they’d first moved to Honolulu. However issues obtained in the best way. Visitors down the boulevard was a catastrophe after work. Wouldn’t or not it’s a lot simpler to simply—not?
As I satisfied myself to proceed with my newfound ritual regardless, the advantages turned extra in regards to the private nature of the problem and fewer in regards to the water. I used to be blockading particular time to be away from my cellphone and distractions, for one. It was additionally a aware time I’d mapped out to take heed to my physique. I all the time felt small and quiet and a part of the pure circulation of issues throughout my ocean dips, even when I may solely spare thirty seconds or so.
Week 4
The fourth and ultimate week of my problem felt notably vital as a result of I used to be touring to a lakeside cottage on the east coast and due to this fact jet-lagged. And it was additionally my busiest work week of the 12 months, a time after I knew I’d be glued to my pc, feeling unable to commit any time or consideration to hopping within the lake.
However, fortunately, that lake was solely steps away, which made staying dedicated to my problem even much less time-consuming than it had been at dwelling. And the change of surroundings infused my each day dips with new which means—although one night time, I almost forgot and needed to soar into the lake near midnight, which was a giggly skinny dip.
The takeaway from my experiment with blue thoughts principle
My each day blue-mind-inspired routine supplied a potent state change—a relaxing, mind-clearing interruption to the monotony of working from dwelling. If there’s one factor I hate, it’s realizing I’ve been inside all day, and the solar’s about to go down. Each day water immersion turned a remarkably environment friendly approach to do all of the issues that make me really feel instantly refreshed: getting outdoors, being constant, and maybe most poignantly, channeling the awe of the pure magnificence round me.
Plus, one thing about toweling off after every dip gave me that very same satisfying feeling of wrapping up a fast exercise—that full-body exhale of committing to being damp (besides with salty sea water, within the case of my problem, as a substitute of perspiration). Possibly that’s what made my muscle mass unclench and my limbs really feel unfastened and cozy for the remainder of the day, even when my ocean dip had lasted only a few seconds.
Whereas I did join a membership at a pool near my dwelling when the 30 days ended, and I nonetheless spend most days hurtling right down to the shore when I’ve a spare second, I haven’t made it out to swim each day since (although the thought is much more interesting since finishing the problem). Regardless of months of being a tragically dangerous surfer, I’ve additionally resolved to enterprise out on my board almost each day, even when which means getting humbled by the whitewash. Simply don’t ask me to chilly plunge repeatedly (but).
