The best feeling is seeing the sea when driving to the seaside. The first glance of the glittering water, the first breath of fresh sea air, and the first foot onto the sand are unforgettable and special to us all.
It’s no surprise that the seashore can improve mental health, given the health advantages of nature. Listening to the waves on the beach is a basic example. Combining repetitive crashing waves with proximity to nature can induce a meditative state, reducing tension and increasing relaxation and enjoyment. Victorians prescribed sea air for serious ailments like TB. As water is supercharged with beneficial negative ions, they were partly right.
You’ve probably never heard of healthy negative ions, yet when you breathe them in, they aid your body with stress and energy. They boost serotonin, the hormone that regulates mood, wellbeing, and happiness, and oxygen absorption. They remove pollen, mould, bacteria, and viruses from the air. That’s why a deep breath when walking on the beach can instantly improve your mood.
Negative ions also energise cell metabolism, increase immunological function, purify blood, and balance the autonomic system to promote deep sleep and healthy digestion, which is why a vacation to the sea is so rejuvenating! Negative ions are found naturally, although they are abundant around moving water.
Free radicals, positive ions, always balance out negatives. Positive ions ‘steal’ electrons from healthy cells to neutralise their charge, which can cause despair, anxiety, and insomnia.
Our lifestyle creates more positive ions than nature does, causing an imbalance in the air and our bodies. Positive ions are produced by daily items like TVs, phones, and laptops, as well as fluorescent lights, indoor spaces, and air pollution. In crowded cities and urban areas, they’re easy to be exposed to too much, which can impair brain function and suppress the immune system, causing anxiety, breathing difficulty, fatigue, headaches, irritability, lack of energy, poor concentration, and nausea.
Negative ions can counteract the harmful effects of positive ions, and the best way to receive them is to be in nature. They’re abundant in forests, beaches, and waterfalls, especially after a storm—another reason why rain is beneficial for you. A walk on the beach helps restore your mental and physical health since moving water is abundant!
Positive ions aren’t the only harmful thing you could be breathing in in urban places. Pollution has been connected to stress, blood pressure, and heart rate, even if you don’t have air quality difficulties. Breathing fresh, unpolluted air near the coast will help repair that harm and naturally improve you.
It’s not just the sea; it’s also how you act there. The seaside is connected with leisure, relaxation, and activity, all of which improve our lives yet are rarely done.
Dr. Elliott’s study found that we exercise more and longer near the coast. The study discovered that coastal residents are more inclined to exercise regularly since there are more options to be active, whether it’s surfing, running, fishing, or just walking along the shore. Surfing and kayaking may lower the risk of dementia and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Elliott noted that exercise improves mental health “and when combined with being in a natural, coastal environment, these effects become even stronger”.
Many of these activities are social, which is another benefit of the shore. It’s connected with good times and sociability because many people go there to relax and have fun. It’s suitable for all ages and skills, so grandparents and friends can enjoy it. It’s no wonder the beach is excellent for us—spending time together in a healthy setting and doing something physically useful!
There’s a belief that “sea air” helps you sleep, but if you’re having trouble sleeping, a trip to the beach may assist. A vacation to the beach is thought to ease stress and worry, lack of physical exhaustion, and hormonal imbalance, which can inhibit sleep.
In just ten minutes, you may absorb your daily vitamin D through your skin and reduce stress, anxiety, and hormones. That implies that a brief beach walk can improve your health and help you fall asleep later.