The ocean and optimal health!
In 2023 you are the odd person out if you’re not thinking about how to maintain optimal health. Even when we are unable to achieve daily healthy routines, most of us at least try and consider the healthiest foods to eat, the best exercise, and how to reduce stress, stress being a major contributor to all sorts of chronic diseases.
Studies show that being around water has enormous health benefits.
When we get a break from our busy lives, instinctively we retreat to water wherever we can find it. We flock to beaches on our vacations and often participate in all kinds of water sports. At the end of a long day, that shower or bath does the trick to soothe our bodies and minds. We even purchase mini water features for our desktops and homes to get that relaxing vibe that water provides us. The fact that water feels good on us and makes us feel better has become common sense. Science now agrees and has concluded that water improves our physical health and mental well-being.
“In fact, the mere sight and sound of water can induce a flood of neurochemicals that promote wellness, increase blood flow to the brain and heart and induce relaxation.”
– Wallace Nichols, Marine biologist and author of the 2014 book, Blue Mind
The reduction of stress is now widely understood as one of the best ways to keep the body healthy. Keeping stress low is not easy in a world that seems tailored toward producing consistent high stress levels which wears down our immune system.
If reducing stress was the only thing that water did for us it would still be monumental. However, there are some very specific conditions that can be helped by being around water, especially the ocean.
Twelve ways water improves your health.
Clear up sinus problems.
Scientists believe that a marine microbe may improve sinus health. Salt air and water help to keep your nasal passages clear, which improves breathing which itself has many health benefits.
The Simple Act of Breathing.
When you breathe better, you improve your cardiovascular and respiratory health. According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the USA, and chronic lower respiratory diseases ranks sixth.
Sleep Better
If you have ever fallen asleep listening to the sound of waves or rain you ‘ve experienced nature’s lullaby which can provide the most restful sleep. Good sleep is required for our good health. Those who sleep well have better memory, a lower risk of weight gain, better calorie regulation, greater athletic performance, and more emotional and social intelligence. A good night’s sleep also helps to prevent depression, lower inflammation, and build a stronger immune system.
Swimming in seawater, another immune and respiratory booster
Cold water sea swimming stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for repairing the body. There is also evidence that cold water sea swimming can build your immunity since studies show that swimmers in general get less colds during the winter months than non swimmers.
People who live by and swim in the sea tend to have healthier respiratory systems. Seawater washes the nasal passages clearing it of irritating pollens, reducing symptoms of hay fever. Seawater also has antiseptic properties that assist in healing wounds. Sea breezes are pollen-free and clean.
Reduces Depression
Seawater triggers the release of dopamine and serotonin. Two biochemicals directly connected to our sense of wellbeing. In essence, sea swimming can reduce depression.
Live on a seastead, easy access to an active lifestyle
Did you ever notice that prescriptions and doctors’ advice always come with the advice to eat healthier and exercise more? The diagnosis and drugs may change, but the fact that exercising is crucial to good health never does. When it comes to building a daily habit of exercise, it’s often the things you need to do before you can get to your workout that get in the way of consistency. When you live on your seastead, it’s all right there. Swimming, kayaking, cold water plunges, and more all outside your front door.
Abundance Sun and Vitamin D
Research has found that when you spend time near water, you spend more time in the sun, and that even on cloudy days, you are more likely to have healthy vitamin D levels than others. Vitamin D is essential for bone strength, immune system support and other vital functions.
Breathing and Clean Air
Right out of our mother’s womb the first thing we do is take a breath. We can do without food, and even water for a time, but only a few minutes without air. Air pollution in some parts of the world is so bad that it impacts the rate of chronic respiratory conditions and in turn the death rate. Clean air is essential to good health. Seasteaders who choose pollution free locations will keep the air clean by utilizing solar and wind and other forms of clean. This means healthy fresh air all day everyday.
Great for your skin
Your skin is the largest organ of your body. When we think about healthy skin, we often focus only on the face. However, every pore of your skin on your whole body is interacting with your environment all the time. What passes through your skin into the body can help or hurt you. Dermatologists recommend sea salt baths for patients with psoriasis, eczema, and other dry skin conditions. Salt water can help remove scales and decrease itching. Seawater also relieves achy muscles, stimulates circulation, eases muscle cramps helping to relieve stiffness in joints, soothes achy, overworked sore legs and feet. Even if you do not have any skin conditions, a dip in seawater is good medicine for the whole body.
Better Meditation means better health.
Staring at the ocean changes our brain waves’ frequency and puts us into a mild meditative state. This is basic mindfulness made easy. Once you find yourself present, deeper states of mediation are easy to achieve. There are many emotional and physical benefits of meditation which include gaining a new perspective on stressful situations, increasing self-awareness, reducing negative emotions and increasing imagination and creativity. Increased patience and tolerance, lowering heart rate and blood pressure and more.
Weight loss becomes easier as you activate good fat.
There is good fat, and bad fat. What scientists call White Fat, is the kind of fat that causes obesity and all the associated negative health conditions. While Brown Fat actually helps to burn calories. Cold water swimming helps to activate brown fat, which will burn more calories. Combine that with the actual physical exercise of swimming, and you have double whammy weight reduction activity.
Eating more fish and sea vegetables.
Fish is a great source of protein, minerals, and fatty acids. The easier access you have to wild caught fresh fish, the easiest it will be to maintain some of the world’s most healthy dietary staples. Sea vegetables are also rich in nutrients. Nori, Kelp, and Spirulina are just a few sea vegetables along with seaweed snacks and oils that make the list of nutrient dense foods. When you live on your own seastead these fish and sea vegetables are abundant, fresh and organic.
Seasteading IS Healthy Living
Due to its salt and mineral content and its temperature, healthcare professionals recommend ocean water and spending time on the ocean to improve a list of health conditions.
The Ocean Never Stops Giving
The next time you’re considering all the benefits to living on a seastead, do not forget to add to the list that living on your seastead is like bathing yourself 24/7 in a bath of good health and vitality!
Before you go, make sure to sign up for our newsletter here. If you would like to see some of the latest Seasteading projects visit the Waterstudio NL website.
Image source and credit Waterstudio NL: https://www.waterstudio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/VIEW-1A-1.jpg
