08/07/2019
Why Triple O Games works close to the sea? 🏝Because we care about our team health and well being.
Fleming's colleagues at the University of Exeter's European Centre for the Environment and Human Health have begun a project called "Blue Gym" to study how natural water environments can be used to promote human health and well-being.
In one experiment, study participants were shown photographs of ocean views, green fields or cities, and asked how much they were willing to pay for a hotel room with each of those views. People were willing to pay more for the room with an ocean view, the results showed.
When you put a person in a beach environment, "It's not going to be any great surprise to you that people relax," said study researcher Mathew White, an environmental psychologist at Exeter. The question, he said, is how many people experience such health effects, and how much they impact people's health.
White and colleagues have also looked at census data in England to see how living near a coast affects people's health. They found that people who lived closer to the coast reported better health.
It's possible that the people living closest to the coast are simply wealthier and have better access to health care. But the study found that the health benefits of ocean proximity were greatest for socioeconomically deprived communities.
The researchers also looked at the effect of moving near a coast. Moving closer to the sea "significantly improves people's well-being," White said — by about a tenth as much as finding a new job. The seaside environment may reduce stress and encourage physical activity, he added.
The researchers are now doing lab experiments to study the physiological benefits of coastal life. In the experiments, people in stressful situations, such as dental surgery, look at either a virtual beach, or the dental room. The trial is ongoing, but early studies suggest people report feeling less pain when immersed in a beach setting.
These studies suggest ocean exposure could be a useful form of therapy, Fleming said.
