Living in Blue Spaces like Lake Como Can Make You Happier: Here’s The Scientific Evidence
“Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake.”
© Lakeside
There are some sunny days on Lake Como where everything is incredibly blue.
Seriously: the lake is blue, the sky is blue, the mountains have a particular shade of blue that reflects the water. There seems to be an infinite return of blue light that embraces everything.
View from Plesio | © Elisa Maglia
The eyes are satisfied, the mind gets rid of any negative energy, the soul is quiet; you feel in tune with the environment around, and that’s really a priceless feeling.
There’s only one way to call all this: well-being.
Pure well-being.
View on Bellagio from Menaggio, Lake Como | © Lakeside
So the question is: is it true that the exposure to blue spaces, such as lakes, springs, rivers and seas, benefits our mental health? Is it true that the combination of water and light has a therapeutic, meditative, and recreational effect on our mind? Has the soundscape of a lake environment a restorative power?
Tremezzina and Isola Comacina | © Veronica Pachulski
Well, the answer to all these questions is YES.
The science has been quite consistent for at least a decade: being close to the water is good for our mind, but also for our body. The view on a blue surface like a lake brings physical and mental well-being, from higher levels of vitamin D, to better social relations, up to the improvement of attention.
Let’s have a look at some interesting scientific evidences about this.
“Happiness is greater in natural environments”: a 2013 study
Let’s start with a 2013 study on happiness in natural environments, led by George MacKerron (Department of Economics, University of Sussex) and Susana Mourato (Department of Geography & Environment, London School of Economics & Political Science).
The study involved 20.000 smartphone users who had to record their sense of well-being at random intervals through an app that presented them a brief questionnaire while using GPS to determine geographical coordinates.
On average, study participants were significantly and substantially happier outdoors in all green or natural habitat types than they were in urban environments.
Image via Pexels
Specifically, coastal margins were found by some distance to be the happiest locations, with responses approximately six points higher than in a continuous urban environment. The researchers equated it to “the difference between attending an exhibition and doing housework”.
As Dr Mathew White (senior lecturer at the University of Exeter and Environmental Psychologist with BlueHealth) reported on an interview on The Guardian, there are three established pathways by which the presence of water is positively related to health, well-being and happiness:
In the aquatic environments there’s less polluted air and more sunlight. Also, water means biodiversity, that is always a big indicator of well-being for a place.
People who live by water tend to be more physically active – not just with water sports, but also with walking, jogging and cycling along the water edge.
Water has a psychologically restorative effect: spending time in and around aquatic environments induces a positive mood and reduces stress.
Ely from our team, on a sunny (and happy) day at Lake Como
The value of short walks in blue spaces
In 2017, another study seemed to confirm the idea that blue spaces have a positive impact on our general well-being.
A team from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) has undertaken the first international review of quantitative studies (35 in total!) on the health effects of blue spaces.
Their findings, published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, show that contact with blue space is absolutely beneficial, particularly for mental health (stress reduction and perceived well-being) but also in terms of promoting physical exercise.
But there’s more: in 2020, still the ISGlobal team has implemented another study to assess psychological and cardiovascular responses to blue spaces’ exposure during short walks.
One of the best walks of Lake Como: Greenway, from Colonno to Tremezzo
A sample of 59 healthy adult office workers was randomly assigned to a different environment (i.e. blue space, urban space, and control site) on 4 days each week, for 3 weeks. For 20 min per day, they either walked along a blue or an urban space or rested at a control site. Before, during and/or after the exposure, the equipe measured self-reported well-being and mood, blood pressure, and heart rate variability parameters.
The results have been outstanding: the researchers found significantly improved well-being and mood responses immediately after walking in the blue space compared with walking in the urban space or when resting in the control site. Cardiovascular responses showed increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system, both during and after walking along the blue and urban spaces.
Image by Hiking Como Lake
The conclusion is still the same: short (or long) walks in blue spaces can benefit both well-being and mood.
The words of our clients
You may think here at Lakeside we are biased when we say Lake Como is a panacea for the soul, just because we’re all born here and we love it.
© Lakeside
That’s why we collected some of our clients words as external voices: people who genuinely feel better when they are here. There has to be a reason…
Beverly Harper, from California
‘For my whole adult life I have not lived in a home that has not in someway been connected to water, be it an ocean, a lake or a stream. However, the closer I am to water the happier and more content I feel. Bodies of water are such an important source of vitality for me. Only when I am by water do I feel a deep sense of peace, tranquility and equilibrium in life. When I am in my home in Argegno on the banks of Lake Como I hear the gentle lapping of the water outside my window and feel like I can reach out and touch the water from my living room. It is mesmerizing to watch how the lake changes color and mood with the movement of the sun and the moon. For me this is such a very special happy place.’
Louise Gooding, from Switzerland:
Being lakeside brings a sense of calm. A stillness.
I already live in the Swiss countryside which has its own unique calming qualities, but the lake provides a whole different level of peacefulness.
When you spend your days on school runs, working, battling traffic to get into town, to just be able to sit and watch the waves here in San Siro, the wildlife and even to explore the surroundings is something I personally cherish on our visits.
Rachel, Phd Biologist, from Colorado:
Rezzonico is my tranquil space; my happy place. I look out over the water to find clarity and peace. The mountains ground me and I can feel the shifting energy and fluidity in the gentle waves on the shore of the lake. The benches in Rezzonico (San Siro) remind me to take the time, sit, relax and simply look out over the water. The view is spectacular and I always feel like I am in the home I was always meant to be in. That image is the one I use when I meditate when I am away from Lake Como.
Conclusion
The famous “call of the lake” that many people confirm to feel is something real and scientifically proved: don’t underestimate its power!
Now you finally know that when you think “I need to go to Lake Como and get my head cleared there”, you are experiencing the need of a place that will make you feel really better.
So… all you have to do straight away is just booking your 2021 flight to Lake Como!
References
Gascon, M.; Zijlema, W.; Vert, C.; White, M.P.; Nieuwenhuijsen, M.J. Outdoor blue spaces, human health and well-being: A systematic review of quantitative studies. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 2017.
Cristina Vert, Mireia Gascon, Otavio Ranzani, Sandra Márquez, Margarita Triguero-Mas, Glòria Carrasco-Turigas, Lourdes Arjona, Sarah Koch, Maria Llopis, David Donaire-Gonzalez, Lewis R. Elliott, Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Physical and mental health effects of repeated short walks in a blue space environment: A randomised crossover study. Environmental Research, Volume 188, 2020.
George MacKerron, Susana Mourato, Happiness is greater in natural environments. Global Environmental Change, Volume 23, Issue 5, 2013.
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