Wellbeing | Why the Sea Makes you Happy

Why we really do like to be beside the seaside…

We’ve been exploring the health benefits of the sea for centuries, from bathing in its salty waters to breathing in the cleaner air of the coast. But the power of the sea to improve our wellbeing is so strong, you can actually reap the benefits without even rolling up your trouser legs and getting your feet wet. 

A recent study from the University of Exeter found that simply living near the sea had protective benefits against anxiety and depression, with those living close to the sea less likely to experience mental distress. However, that benefit was reversed if they moved inland. In fact, just looking at the sea and out to the skyline can have a positive effect on mental health. A 2015 study found that having a sea view could slow heart rate and increase happiness, and hearing the sound of waves has a similar effect. 

Of course, we’d all love nothing more than a permanent view of the changing sea from our windows, but if you’re a little land-locked, there are still plenty of ways to enjoy the benefits of the sea. On days where you can’t get to the water, here are some ways to bring it to you

Make a plant pot pond 

If digging a pond is out of the question, Helen Rook author of Urban Wild (Bloomsbury Wildlife) suggests this clever idea. Take a pot (preferably without holes). Fill with water, then add a couple of deep water and marginal plants (choose one for spread and one to cascade). Position out of direct sunlight and enjoy watching the wildlife it’ll attract.

Visualise the ocean

There are many guided meditations that use water as an aid for relaxation. Find one on a meditation app or simply sit for a while, close your eyes and imagine the sounds, smells and feel of your favourite watery environment. 

Have a soak in the bath

Oprah Winfrey is so keen on bathing – her ‘restorative escape’ and ‘ideas time’ – that she had a bathtub designed to fit her body. While that might be a bit ambitious, you can still benefit from the increased creativity, calm and ideas that come with a long soak.

Listen to the waves

The sound of water is very relaxing and can help you fall asleep, reduce stress and anxiety and clear your mind. You can find wave sounds on YouTube or next time you’re by the coast, record them so you can listen and picture yourself there again when you’re in need of a boost of vitamin sea. 

These ideas were taken from our July 2022 issue, in which Rebecca Frank wrote about Blue Space Thinking and why we are drawn to the water. The wonderful sea view pictured is by Marilyn Harrison. It’s just one of the rooms with a sea view that we featured in our My Place pages this month. 

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More things we love about the sea…

More from our blog…

Six amazing sea creatures

The seas around the UK are home to creatures as wondrous as any found in more exotic waters

Long-snouted seahorse (Hippocampus guttulatus)

With its protruding spines, downward gaze and prehensile tail, this most beguiling fish looks like a shy, prehistoric ghost. Floating upright, it hangs motionless waiting for its prey to pass, which it then sucks up through its long snout. Found in seagrass habitats from Scotland to Dorset.

Moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita)

Most often seen when masses, known as a ‘bloom’, are washed up on the beach. Which is a shame, as they look most beautiful floating in transparent clusters. Moon jellyfish can grow up to 40cm in diameter and have short hairy tentacles that hang from their dome like a fringe. They are mostly harmless, though may sting sensitive skin. 

Brittle star (Ophiothrix fragilis)

This elegant starfish has long slender arms which they can cleverly self-amputate if being attacked; the arms regrow. Brittle stars prefer to live in great gangs (called ‘aggregations’) on the sea bed, their arms raised to catch plankton; can number up to 1,500 per square metre. Usually in deep water but sometimes under boulders and in rockpools.

Snakelocks anemone (Anemonia viridis)

Unlike other anemones, Snakelocks anemone’s bright-green tentacles remain out all the time: all the better to sting and capture small fish. They can be found on the seabed, attached to large seaweeds, and in sunny rockpools, where their flowing tentacles with their purple tips sift through the passing currents.

Goose barnacle (Lepas anatifera) 

Attached to rocks and other objects by a long black penduncle and with a chalky white shell which opens to reveal spiky fronds, this unusual creature has an alien-like quality. 

Spiny spider crab (Maja squinado) 

Often disguised by seaweed and sponges that grow all over it, this large knobbly crustacean has long-jointed legs, small claws and spiky shell. It can be found in South and West England and its sustainable numbers mean it’s increasingly eaten in the UK, although most are exported to France and Spain.

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Life Skills | Sea kayaking

A day spent learning a new skill is mindful and mind full (in a good way) living. This month, Kate Pettifer learns sea kayaking.
 
A pond off the A10 is where I learnt to canoe. It involved a minibus and changing out of school uniform, so it was a while ago. The idea of getting out to sea on a kayak, in Dorset’s beautiful Studland Bay, is all the temptation I need to try it again.

I’m on a three-hour taster session: we kit up at the hut, then it’s down to the beach to practise our paddling, sitting on the sand, wearing wetsuits, helmets and spraydeck skirts. As you do. Josh, our instructor, runs through the basics. In touring kayaks, we head across the bay towards Old Harry Rocks to practise going forwards, backwards, left and right. No swimmers are harmed, no boats bashed – I take this as a success.

Then – joy of joy – we’re out of the wind and alongside the chalky cliffs, paddling serenely through mirror- calm shallows, a colourful garden of seaweed swaying just centimetres below in the bathwater-clear sea.

We paddle onto a pebble beach, only accessible by boat. Josh talks a bit about the geography and nature of the area. We sample pepper dulse, a feathery purple seaweed with a buttery-then-fiery taste. Then it’s back in the canoes to manoeuvre through a gap in the rocks, into open water, to see Old Harry himself. Paddling under an arch in the cliffs is a real highlight, before we set off back.

It’s a fairly strenuous couple of hours – sitting upright, bracing your legs, and paddling, of course. But touring kayaks lend themselves to slow and steady handling, so there’s no pressure to bomb along. More than exercise, though, it feels like a privilege to visit such a picturesque spot from sea level, enjoying the clear waters and the peace that bobbing around on the sea can bring.

A three-hour sea kayaking taster with Fore/Adventure costs £60; foreadventure.co.uk.

 

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Escape | Outing to the sea

For a truly nostalgic day trip to the seaside, track down a steam train special. On page 60 of July’s The Simple Things, Travis Elborough takes a train to the sea.

‘As someone who grew up by the seaside but has lived in two landlocked cities over the past three decades, I need few excuses to head to the
coast on a whim or having spotted a decent weather report. Like Ishmael in Moby Dick, I am occasionally gripped by an almost uncontrollable urge to ‘get to sea’. And my preferred means of reaching these longed-for shores is invariably a train.

‘Although railway stations can be the stuff of humdrum commutes,disruptions
and disputes, I treasure the possibilities they offer as means of escape to coastal adventure. The destination boards at Manchester Piccadilly, Leeds, Chester, London’s St Pancras and Fenchurch Street proffering the options, respectively, of visits to Blackpool or Morecambe, Scarborough, Llandudno, Broadstairs and Margate, Southend and Leigh-on-Sea.

‘Here a railway ticket can serve as a passport to a place of sights (if not actually sun), sea and vinegary fish and chips, where parking is no concern of mine. Travelling light on these occasions only helps to add a certain devil-may-care air of fleetfootedness to the whole affair.’

Read more in July’s The Simple Things.

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The essential winter beach kit

Inspired by our February issue, in which Clare Gogerty takes us on an exhilarating journey to some of our finest winter beaches, our shopkeeper, Louise Gorrod, has compiled the essential The Stuff of Life winter beach kit for those wishing to head coastal and blow away those late winter cobwebs. 

Warm layers, wellington boots, waterproof coats and bags, a packed lunch to feast on and your own portable tea making facility will set you up nicely for such an adventure.

For those not willing to brave the sand and shingle quite so early in the year, there are some great coastal inspired homewares and stationery products on the shop too. Don't forget to send us a postcard!

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Images from top, left to right: Seasalt tea towel by Ulster Weavers, £6.50 | Oilcloth bag by Ulster Weavers, £19.00 | Organic print sweatshirt by Lost Shapes, £32.00 | Wellington Boots by Story Horse, £35.00 | Raincoat by Story Horse, £40.00 | Yay! lunchbox by Quince Living, £7.50 | Ghillie Kettle by The Glam Camping Company, £47.50 | Pack away bucket by The Glam Camping Company, £19.95 | Set of coastal greeting cards by Alfie’s Studio, £8.00

September sea swimming

Dive in, the water's lovely! Try sea swimming this September.

Take that, Mediterranean... Sea temperatures are at their annual peak this month - with 2014 being an especially good year to take swim off British shores.

If you've got a free weekend this month, head to the coast. All this year's hot weather has raised sea temperatures to their highest since records began and with September always providing the warmest waters, this month promises to be balmier than ever.

Swimming, particularly outside in a natural environment, has been proven to rejuvenate mind and body. In his new book, Blue Mind, Wallace J Nichols looks at the scientific evidence behind the life-enhancing effects of being in or near water.

"Water meditates you," he asserts, "unleashing the uninhibited child in all of use and unlocking creativity and curiosity, the antidote to the blue screens that keep us awake, nervy and twitchy."

Nichols explores how being close to water makes us happier, calmer and also more successful in life and relationships. If you don't fancy immersing yourself, you can experience the benefits simply from watching water, where we enter a state of 'drift', almost hypnotised by the seemingly static but gently changing scene.

Give it a go and share your favourite swimming spots with us please - leave a comment, tell us on Facebook or Twitter.

Want to know more? Visit the Outdoor Swimming Society

Want a good read? Try Haunts of the Black Masseur - The Swimmer as Hero.