I Dipped or Swam in a Body of Water Every Day for a Month To Test the Wellness-Boosting ‘Blue Mind Theory’—Here’s What I Learned

As a born and bred Floridian, I’ve at all times felt most at residence round water. Beginning on the age of eight or so, I welcomed the exhaustion of aggressive swimming, red-rimmed chlorine eyes turning into my norm. Although I stop earlier than highschool, one thing occurred throughout all these practices that related me to the sensation of being in or close to water—a lot in order that I felt noticeably much less comfy after I moved inland for school.

What I’d later be taught is that it’s not only a “me” factor: Research present that common publicity to blue areas—which embody waterscapes and their environment—can enhance your well-being. The truth is, that’s the impetus behind “blue thoughts principle,” which lately blew up on TikTok however was conceptualized in 2015 by marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols in his titular e-book Blue Thoughts (the subtitle of which says all of it: The Shocking Science That Exhibits How Being Close to, In, On, or Below Water Can Make You Happier, More healthy, Extra Linked, and Higher at What You Do). 

Once you’re in or round water, you enter what marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols calls the blue thoughts, a mildly meditative state of peacefulness and satisfaction.

The concept behind blue thoughts principle? Once you’re in or round water, you enter what Nichols calls the blue thoughts, a mildly meditative state of peacefulness and satisfaction. You’re calmer, extra comfy, and really feel extra related to your self and others.

Blue Thoughts grew to become a bible of kinds for me in school, because it outlined and defined the science behind a sense that I’d at all times suspected to be true: I’m only a happier model of myself after I’m close to water. It’s why I moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, post-graduation, the place I might be surrounded by the ocean. And after brief stints in locations like New York Metropolis and Park Metropolis, it’s what additionally introduced me again to Honolulu this 12 months.

All through my time in Hawaii, I’ve at all times assumed the proximity to the shoreline could be sufficient for me to really feel comfy—that hours spent strolling or mendacity on the sandy seashore would do the trick. (And definitely, my psychological state has been higher whereas I’ve had quick access to the coast than it was after I lived in land-locked locations.) However it wasn’t till a visit to Iceland this previous spring impressed me to strive immersing myself in the ocean day by day that I skilled essentially the most profound well-being results of the blue thoughts.

How Icelanders reap the advantages of blue thoughts principle

In Iceland, the daylight is determined by the season due to the nation’s proximity to the Arctic Circle. In the course of the summer time, it’s vivid for many of the day, and blackout curtains are aplenty. In the course of the different seasons, nevertheless, the solar may solely emerge for just a few hours a day. However whilst you may count on Icelanders to expertise seasonal affective dysfunction (SAD) at a comparatively excessive charge, research present the precise reverse: Charges of SAD are markedly decrease in Icelanders than they’re in different populations. The truth is, Iceland was even ranked the third happiest nation on the earth within the 2023 World Happiness Report, slotting in simply behind Finland and Denmark.

Whereas a few of this Icelandic resilience to the cruel local weather could also be as a result of a genetic heartiness solid over generations, College of Iceland professor of folkloristics and ethnology Hafstein Valdimar Tryggvi, PhD, has broadly contested that the rationale Icelanders expertise such excessive ranges of well-being in gentle of the gloomy circumstances is their affinity for bathing in geothermally heated swimming pools year-round.

In Iceland, each city has an outside public pool (of which there are greater than 120), which research present to be the most-frequented gathering locations nationwide. Since 1934, swimming instruction has been required in all Icelandic colleges, so the observe is ingrained early, and Icelanders are recognized to layer swimming into their day by day lives.

“Your coronary heart charge can lower, and you may really feel much less burdened [when in or near water].” —Olivia McAnirlin, PhD, co-director of Clemson College’s Digital Actuality & Nature Lab

Such ample publicity to water might have soothing powers for Icelanders, because it helps to dial down the “fight-or-flight” (aka sympathetic) nervous system and switch up the “rest-and-digest” (parasympathetic) nervous system in its stead. “Your coronary heart charge can lower, and you may really feel much less burdened [when in or near water],” says Olivia McAnirlin, PhD, co-director of the Clemson College Digital Actuality & Nature Lab, an interdisciplinary program which research folks’s connections to the pure world.

Analysis has additionally discovered that the sensory inputs of pure settings (like blue areas)—say, the distinction of blue ocean in opposition to the horizon or the lapping of waves—have a manner of passively centering your consideration, resulting in higher readability of thoughts. And there’s additionally the potential for experiencing awe whereas submerged in a pure physique of water; this could put the mind in a “self-transcendent” state, which means it’s targeted much less on itself and extra in your existence as one half of a bigger entire. The outcome: a extra optimistic temper and stronger emotions of reference to others.

Although Dr. McAnirlin notes that a few of these advantages encompassed by blue thoughts principle will be channeled by experiences reminiscent of watching waves lap the shore and even listening to a recording of beachy sounds, she contends that the Icelandic observe of frequently dipping within the water can maximize the wellness-boosting results.

Certainly, Dr. McAnirlin’s co-director on the Clemson Digital Actuality & Nature Lab, Matthew Browning, PhD, says that some great benefits of being in the water go far past what’s seen and heard. “Additionally they embody partaking in bodily exercise, experiencing helpful modifications within the cardiovascular system [during cold immersion], and absorbing vitamin D from daylight.” It’s no marvel Icelanders have taken to the water so readily.

Experiencing Icelandic bathing tradition firsthand

After I had the chance to go to Reykjavík, Iceland on the inaugural flight of a low-cost airline route from Washington, D.C. this spring, I could not wait to take a dip within the beloved Sky Lagoon. This specific pool is stuffed with scorching geothermal water pumped from beneath the Earth’s floor and blended with cool freshwater, and it’s constructed into cliffs overlooking the ocean in a manner that immerses its guests in nature.

Wading into the water of the Sky Lagoon for the primary time, I shortly entered a state of awe, feeling a rising sense of oneness with the world round me—and the pal who’d include me. As we alternated between deep dialog and comfy silence, I discovered that I felt freer in speaking to her than I’ve in different settings, like we had been bonding over the shared expertise of magnificence and luxury.

For so long as I moved languidly by the pool, my ideas took on a dreamy texture. All the pieces from the jagged rocks to the grassy hills to the opposite folks swimming round me appeared delicate and welcoming. And the heat of the water (a toasty 100 to 104° Fahrenheit) was deeply enjoyable.

It’s customary to pair a dip within the Sky Lagoon with a multi-step spa ritual, however my pal and I lingered for near an hour earlier than transferring by the opposite steps: a chilly plunge, heat sauna, chilly mist, physique scrub, cloudy steam room, and bathe.

What actually obtained me was the sensation of being immersed within the heat water of the lagoon, effortlessly buoyant.

What actually obtained me, although, was the sensation of being immersed within the heat water of the lagoon, effortlessly buoyant. The water each lulled and refreshed me—and by the point our slot was over, my fingers had pruned, our taxi was outdoors ready for us, and we had been nonetheless within the lagoon benefiting from each second we had left.

All I might suppose was: What if I, like so many Icelanders, made a dip within the water part of my day by day ritual, too? In spite of everything, I had no excuse to not strive: I stay inside a couple of minutes’ drive of the ocean, in Honolulu, which meant it might take solely minimal effort to see what may come of feeling that buoyant sensation day by day. So, I made a decision to problem myself to get into the water every day for 30 days straight this summer time.

My experiment with blue thoughts principle: Getting right into a physique of water day by day for a month

Week 1

In the course of the first week of my blue-mind problem, my enthusiasm usually made it straightforward for me to hop into my automobile within the afternoon and head to the ocean (a 15-minute drive, although generally longer with Honolulu site visitors). Then there have been the times I merely needed to drift there and be nonetheless, people-watching the shore or bobbing within the waves. I’d at all times been dangerous at meditation, and this felt like a practical substitute.

Week 2

In the course of the second week, my dips within the ocean had extra selection. Some days, my problem meant wading into the water absolutely clothed after a sweaty run. Different days, I took my exercise to the water in a full-on swim, tracing laps within the shallow surf till I’d hit a sure time threshold.

A e-book I like, Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui, says that we are able to expertise a singular state of stream—the feeling of being “within the zone,” wherein you’re each absorbed by and solely targeted on one thing—whereas submerged in water, and that an evolutionary want for survival maximizes the potential for coming into a stream state whereas swimming.

As I swam for brief bursts throughout this second week of my problem, I developed a brand new appreciation for the stream state of swimming. I targeted on the feeling of water cradling my physique and waves lapping at my heels, of endorphins coursing by my system whereas I labored my muscle tissue. Unable to take heed to music or in any other case distract myself, I used to be instantly, startlingly current, however usually misplaced my grip on time: utterly within the zone.

Week 3

By this level, admittedly, I began getting uninterested in my drive, extra particularly discovering parking close to the seashore. I discovered myself pondering: Wouldn’t a bathe have an identical impact as wading into the ocean? Didn’t that rely as being in water?

Whereas this blue-mind problem was new to me, upon sharing it with just a few pals, a number of of them talked about having made an identical wager with themselves once they’d first moved to Honolulu. However issues obtained in the way in which. Site visitors down the boulevard was a catastrophe after work. Wouldn’t or not it’s a lot simpler to simply—not?

As I satisfied myself to proceed with my newfound ritual regardless, the advantages grew to become extra concerning the private nature of the problem and fewer concerning the water. I used to be blockading particular time to be away from my cellphone and distractions, for one. It was additionally a acutely aware time I’d mapped out to take heed to my physique. I at all times felt small and quiet and a part of the pure stream of issues throughout my ocean dips, even when I might solely spare thirty seconds or so.

Week 4

The fourth and last week of my problem felt significantly important as a result of I used to be touring to a lakeside cottage on the east coast and subsequently jet-lagged. And it was additionally my busiest work week of the 12 months, a time after I knew I’d be glued to my pc, feeling unable to dedicate any time or consideration to hopping within the lake.

However, fortunately, that lake was solely steps away, which made staying dedicated to my problem even much less time-consuming than it had been at residence. And the change of surroundings infused my day by day dips with new which means—although one night time, I practically forgot and needed to bounce into the lake near midnight, which changed into a giggly skinny dip.

The takeaway from my experiment with blue thoughts principle

My day by day blue-mind-inspired routine offered a potent state change—a chilled, mind-clearing interruption to the monotony of working from residence. If there’s one factor I hate, it’s realizing I’ve been inside all day, and the solar’s about to go down. Every day water immersion grew to become a remarkably environment friendly strategy to do all of the issues that make me really feel instantly refreshed: getting outdoors, being constant, and maybe most poignantly, channeling the awe of the pure magnificence round me.

Plus, one thing about toweling off after every dip gave me that very same satisfying feeling of wrapping up a fast exercise—that full-body exhale of committing to being damp (besides with salty sea water, within the case of my problem, as a substitute of perspiration). Perhaps that’s what made my muscle tissue unclench and my limbs really feel free and comfy for the remainder of the day, even when my ocean dip had lasted only a few seconds.

Whereas I did join a membership at a pool near my residence when the 30 days ended, and I nonetheless spend most days hurtling all the way down to the shore when I’ve a spare second, I haven’t made it out to swim day by day since (although the thought is much more interesting since finishing the problem). Regardless of months of being a tragically dangerous surfer, I’ve additionally resolved to enterprise out on my board practically day by day, even when which means getting humbled by the whitewash. Simply don’t ask me to chilly plunge frequently (but).