The best place to relax is near water

Have you ever wondered why many of us seem to have a natural affinity for oceans, rivers, and lakes?

Or why a palpable sense of peace and calm washes over us when we’re near larger bodies of water?

A couple of recent scientific studies may further our understanding into the nature of this phenomenon. I happened across a post by @adamgrant and was happy to have something backed by science that I’ve long intuited:

The mere sight of water can help activate our parasympathetic nervous system. This is the same system that allows us to better “rest and digest”, and both studies came to similar conclusions. In just 2 minutes, our system begins to regulate and becomes more at ease.

The psychologists behind the research speculate that it may have evolutionary roots: since being attuned to visual cues for water helped our ancestors avoid dehydration, the mere sight of water can be a relief.

See you at the beach. For science.