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posted by mrpg on Friday July 27 2018, @11:59PM   Printer-friendly
from the a-YT-video-works-too dept.

Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard

[...] There is a clear correlation between close proximity to a body of water and better psychological and overall health outcomes, said Michael Depledge, chair of Environment and Human Health at the University of Exeter Medical School.

Depledge has been studying the effects of so-called "blue environments" for a decade, helping to shepherd a number of research projects that have caught the attention of the U.K. government and the European Union (EU).

Spending time near the water, "promotes physical activity and general fitness," reducing the incidence of diabetes and other diseases associated with obesity.

But it also slows down our heart rate and reduces stress hormones, boosting our mental health, which Depledge calls "the second great epidemic we're facing."

I told you fishing was good for the soul but you were all poo-poo, he's a redneck, poo-poo.

Source: Being Near a Body of Water Makes Us Calmer and Healthier, Science Shows


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  • (Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Saturday July 28 2018, @01:40AM (3 children)

    by AthanasiusKircher (5291) on Saturday July 28 2018, @01:40AM (#713904) Journal

    Since humans once lived in caves...

    [Citation needed]

      "Cavemen" are a stereotype but don't seem to have been common.

    I mean yes, we have evidence that some early humans lived in caves, but it certainly doesn't seem to have been the predominant dwelling place for significant numbers of homonids or homonins. Certainly no evidence that this was common enough to create an evolutionary pressure; humans are poorly adapted to cave dwelling compared to animals that commonly live there.

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  • (Score: 1) by exaeta on Saturday July 28 2018, @04:02AM (2 children)

    by exaeta (6957) on Saturday July 28 2018, @04:02AM (#713929) Homepage Journal

    I haven't personally conducted a survey on the amount of evidence supporting the "humans were cavemen" theory, but it should be noted that at temperatures below essentially 68F, chance of death increases substantially with each decrease in degree. And interestingly, 68F is roughly the cave temperature of most surface caves (as you go deeper underground the temperature actually rises, unsurprising given magma is probably quite hot).

    Mind you, before the days of air conditioning, any man-made shelter would essentially be a cave anyway, so it doesn't much change the point.

    --
    The Government is a Bird
    • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday July 28 2018, @01:35PM

      by Reziac (2489) on Saturday July 28 2018, @01:35PM (#713984) Homepage

      I think the point is caves are a lot less common than are downed trees and for that matter, open savannah.There just aren't enough caves to house a viable humanoid population. And if we'd evolved as cave dwellers, some apelike relative would so live to this day -- and none do.

      I suspect the study is looking at the wrong thing: it's not proximity to water that's calming; it's proximity to open space that lacks all visible threats. The lizard part of the brain that's on the lookout for predators 'knows' that open, vacant space hides nothing, which naturally reduces stress. (At least if the water isn't full of alligators.) Hence I find open desert "calming" in the same way.

      --
      And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
    • (Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Saturday July 28 2018, @02:09PM

      by AthanasiusKircher (5291) on Saturday July 28 2018, @02:09PM (#713989) Journal

      but it should be noted that at temperatures below essentially 68F, chance of death increases substantially with each decrease in degree. And interestingly, 68F is roughly the cave temperature of most surface caves

      [Citation needed]

      Absent other significant geological features (e.g., magma vents), cave temperatures usually tend toward the mean surface temperature in that region. Which means cave temps vary. In a hot region, they may indeed be near 70F. In a temperate region (e.g. large parts of Europe and Asia where we know primitive humans lived) they may be more like 55-60F. In a moderately cool region (e.g. northern U.S.) they may average 50F or lower.

      (as you go deeper underground the temperature actually rises, unsurprising given magma is probably...

      Yes, but generally only once you get nearly a mile underground or more (again, absent other geological features that would vent from deeper underground). And temperature generally rises only quite slowly with descent, so a cave that's 50F on average is not going to become more hospitable quickly... And I don't think primitive hominids were wandering around deep underground without light sources.