The beach is the arguably the ultimate destination for most trying to fulfill their summer bucket list. Between the warm sun and the waves of water washing up on the shore, it's hard for anyone to not enjoy being there. But the positive effects that it brings may do more than initially believed.
According to Inc.com, recent studies have shown that just being at the beach can benefit your brain — and to a further extent, your mental health. Every aspect of the beach has been proven to positively affect our mental health from the sound of the blue ocean water, the smell of it lingering in the air, to the sand beneath your feet. The beach environment as a whole has been scientifically proven to boost your mental health.
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Via beachacresresort.com
The ocean water at any beach is said to be calming due to the sound of waves crashing on the sand, as well as the gorgeous blue color we see. The scent that comes off it also calms you down.
While just visiting the beach will give you the aforementioned benefits, that's not the only way that that's possible. Experts from a 2012 study from the University of Exeter Medical School in Cornwall, UK pointed out that living next to a beach would generate the same benefits as visiting one. Residents who lived by the beach were said to healthier — both physically and mentally — than those that lived elsewhere.
Granted, it is a bit extreme for anyone to simply up and move to a beachside home for the sole purpose of improving your mental health. After all, not everyone can afford to make such a move. But just visiting the closest beach will calm you down and put you in a better mood than before. So if you're able to get to one, it's wise to make it happen before summer reaches its inevitable end. Your mental health state will surely thank you for it.