This is the effect the sea has on your brain

The sea and the ocean cause a great impact on the way we think, feel and relax.

It is well known that our brain is constantly changing, even when sleeping or when we think we have a blank mind.

It's what's known as brain plasticity: everything we experience causes our brain (and our nervous system) to change in real time. This means that there is there is no moment in which our mind remains the same as it was some time ago..

However, there are certain experiences that modify our mental life more consistently than others. That is, the type of changes they introduce in our brain are more recognizable and uniform.. This is the case of what happens during meditation or, for example, when we feel that we are in front of the sea or the ocean..

Our mind changes when the sea surrounds us

There are many poets for whom the sea has been an element of clear inspiration; Pablo Neruda, for example, always made reference to this gigantic body of water in his poems. And that is not by chance: the sea causes a great impact when you see it, and staying on its shores or in its waters for a while makes our brain activity change a lot.

Let's see how it influences us.

1. It relaxes us and takes us out of our state of alertness.

The sea transmits a feeling of tranquility that spreads to all parts of the body. The continuous and soft sound of the waves and the omnipresence of the color blue (which appears not only in the water, but also in a sky that in the sea is not obscured by mountains or buildings) make us relax deeply.

In addition, near the sea it is difficult to find blind spots where possible dangers are hidden, because almost everything is flat and in sight. The consequence of this is that we can allow ourselves to move away from the state of alertness into which our sympathetic nervous system puts us when we detect sources of stress.

2. Facilitates meditation

Visual and sound stimuli related to the sea and the murmur of the waves are very characteristic, and alter the activity of our brain. Concretely, they potentiate the appearance of waves alphawaves, related to a state of relaxation and low effort in which, however, the ability to manage the focus of attention does not disappear, something that does not occur during sleep.This is not the case during sleep.

When neurons are firing in the alpha wave pattern, the facility to carry out activities such as meditation and mindfulness is enhanced; This is why secluded beaches are a place where normal meditation or tai chi is often practiced..

3. It allows to break with rumination

Rumination is that vicious circle that follows our thoughts when we are obsessed by a concern.. Natural environments such as forests have proven to be good locations to walk through so that rumination disappears, and the same goes for the sea.

This is so because both the sea and forests are places where there are hardly any elements that can be interpreted as references to our daily life, so our thoughts can disengage from these obsessions. can disengage from these obsessions, since nothing we see, touch or hear reminds us of our problems..

4. Generates low-cost wellbeing

Experiencing the immensity of the sea produces a curious form of well-being that arises from something as simple as attending to stimuli related to this type of natural landscape. It is a kind of hypnotic effect. in which we can stay for a long time and in which, surely, our cultural heritage plays an important role.

5. Enhances creativity

It has been proven that contexts that induce us to direct our attention outward quickly and obsessively for a long time produce stress and negatively affect the solution of novel problems. negatively affect the solution of novel problems.. This is so because our brain is adapted to detect specific external stimuli very quickly, instead of dedicating resources to connect ideas with each other.

The sea, by facilitating relaxation and providing a simple environment composed of few elements, facilitates the release of our creativityIt also allows us to connect ideas that have never been related before.