Do You Know The Effect Of The Sea On Your Brain?

The sea is healthy from all points of view. In fact, when the human being has the opportunity to appreciate these infinite expanses, changes in his perception and his emotional state take place. Changes that multiply when infinite space has rhythmic movements. This is why many people can spend hours contemplating the sea.

The brain is endowed with a property known as plasticity. It has to do with the fact that everything we experience produces a change in its architecture, big or small. For example, meditation and looking at the sea are two experiences that bring about a powerful change in mental state.

“We were me and the sea. The sea was alone and me too. One of the two was missing. ”

-Antonio Porchia-

1. The sea stimulates creativity

It has been shown that environments overloaded with simultaneous stimulation generate stress. This is what happens when, for example, we move on a large avenue in the city. There are a lot of cars, a lot of people, a lot of constructions… Our gaze is assailed by hundreds of stimuli at the same time and this causes a feeling of exhaustion.

With the sea, it’s just the opposite. It is a large body of water on which little stands out. Waves, sea birds and maybe a few boats. Each element is completely identifiable. Faced with this, the brain reacts by imagining and creating. The environment allows us to devote a good part of our resources to generating new thoughts, whereas with other more stimulating visions, we should devote a part of them to focusing our attention.

2. The sea facilitates meditation

The sea is not only offered to the view, but it is quite an experience that involves all the senses. It has a soft and rhythmic rumor, which is picked up through the hearing. At the same time, the blue and green colors of the ocean are tones that calm the mind. The sea also reaches the smell, with its mineral and life scent.

All of this together stimulates the appearance of alpha waves in the brain. These waves are specific to sleep. But in this case, they appear during wakefulness and in front of a fixed and little variable point of attention. This brain state is the same one attained through meditation and has the power to help us remove toxic elements from the mind.

3. The sea contributes to relaxation and reduces anxiety

This is perhaps the most visible effect of the sea on the brain. The color, movement and expanse of the sea have a resting effect on the brain and the entire nervous system. In front of our eyes, we have a completely open space, which is complementary to the infinity of the sky and brings a feeling of tranquility.

Instinctively, the calm sea generates confidence. This is due to the fact that it is a flat expanse, where there are no hidden places. Our brain accepts it as an absence of threats and therefore eliminates alerts. The result is a relaxation of the nervous system. Also, there is something in us that knows, biologically, that we came from there. That life comes from there. This is why we feel, to a certain extent, in a “familiar” and protective place.

5. The sea stops the rumination of thoughts

Rumination of thoughts consists of coming back and coming back systematically to the same idea, in an obsessive way. But when you do that, you never come to an interesting conclusion, but rather you get back to where you started. The same questions. The same answers. And that worries.

The sea helps us to stop these pernicious cycles of thought that look like a path through the door. It is indeed a space that has little connection with our daily environments. There aren’t many things that can ease our routines. It is a rupture and it contributes to make us free from obsessive ideas, which haunt us in everyday life.

6. The sea has a relatively hypnotic effect

The simple contemplation of the sea helps us to enter a new mental state. As we pointed out previously, this promotes the production of alpha waves. At the same time, from an emotional point of view, the sea exerts a great attraction. This leads to a relativization of the concept of time. This is why we can spend long moments facing the sea without realizing it.

The sea, ultimately, is one of those wonders that reveal us to nature. It allows us to experience a transcendent and regenerating moment. It is almost equivalent to therapy, thanks to its extraordinary effects on the brain. Without a doubt, it is one of the great places to go when worries come over us because in its waters we can let go of what worries us.

Also read: