Doctors are prescribing Blue Therapy

Blue Therapy

Experts have found that spending time in blue spaces such as rivers, lakes and the sea boosts our emotional wellbeing, lowers the risk of stress, anxiety, obesity, cardiovascular disease and premature death. Even the sound of water can be enough to reduce stress in people.

The concept of blue health emerged almost 10 years ago when researchers at the University of Sussex asked 20,000 people to record their feelings at random times. They collected over a million responses and found that people were by far happiest when they were in blue spaces.

It’s simple. I went into the water. When I came out, I was a better person. Better than when I went in.

Some of the main ways that blue spaces benefit health are;through physical activity, stress reduction, providing a space for socialisationc

In fact, blue spaces are so good for your health that in places like the UK, they can be now prescribed by your doctor! This of course is not news to any swimmer, surfer, windsurfer, stand up paddler or sailor. We may not have known to call it “Blue Therapy”, but we have always known what legendary surfer Doc Paskowitz (who lived to be 93) stated so eloquently. “It’s simple. I went into the water. When I came out, I was a better person. Better than when I went in.” (The surprising benefits of blue spaces, BBC Future Planet, 9th November 2022)