Blue Mind
{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}
{{Short description|2014 book by Wallace J. Nichols}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox book |
| name = Blue Mind
| image = Blue Mind.jpg
| caption =
| author = Wallace J. Nichols
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| country =
| language = English
| series =
| genre = Nonfiction, self-help
| publisher = Little, Brown and Company
| pub_date = July 22, 2014
| media_type = eBook, paperback, audio-book
| pages = 352
| isbn = 978-0-316-25207-2
| dewey =
| congress =
| oclc =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
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Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, Or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do is a bestselling{{Cite news|date=2021-09-03|title=Best Selling Science Books - The New York Times|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/science/best-selling-science-books.html|access-date=2021-10-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903081350/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/science/best-selling-science-books.html|archive-date=2021-09-03}} book by marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols about the effects bodies of water have on human health and well-being.{{Cite book|last=Nichols|first=Wallace J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ISc_AQAAQBAJ|title=Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do|date=2014-07-22|publisher=Little, Brown|isbn=978-0-316-25207-2|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Joyce|first=Nicola|date=2014-08-08|title=Book review: 'Blue Mind,' on the benefits of being near water, by Wallace J. Nichols|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/book-review-blue-mind-on-the-benefits-of-being-near-water-by-wallace-j-nichols/2014/08/08/a504c932-02c7-11e4-8fd0-3a663dfa68ac_story.html|access-date=2021-10-23|issn=0190-8286}}
Contents
The book covers "therapeutic landscapes" as they are referred to in medical literature, specifically ones that are near, in, or on the water.{{Cite book|last=Nichols|first=Wallace J.|url=https://www.littlebrown.com/titles/wallace-j-nichols/blue-mind/9780316252119/|title=Blue Mind|date=2017-06-27|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|isbn=978-0-316-25211-9|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Hoare|first=Philip|date=2014-07-16|title=Blue Mind review – one man's hymn to the power of water|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/16/blue-mind-review-wallace-j-nichols-philip-hoare|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-23|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717054501/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/16/blue-mind-review-wallace-j-nichols-philip-hoare|archive-date=2014-07-17}} The book analyzes studies that suggest living or simply being near bodies of water can have powerful psychological and even physiological effects.{{Cite news|last=Petrow|first=Steven|date=2021-10-16|title=Visit 'therapeutic landscapes' to ease your woes. Why watery locales are healing.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/ocean-healing-therapeutic-landscapes/2021/10/15/8f24ee3a-214b-11ec-9309-b743b79abc59_story.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016143929/https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/ocean-healing-therapeutic-landscapes/2021/10/15/8f24ee3a-214b-11ec-9309-b743b79abc59_story.html|archive-date=October 16, 2021|access-date=2021-10-23|newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{Cite web|last=Cimini|first=Marla|title='Blue Mind': Why being near the water makes you happy|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2017/11/13/blue-mind/857903001/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-23|website=USA Today|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114031805/https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2017/11/13/blue-mind/857903001/|archive-date=2017-11-14}}
= Human condition =
Blue Mind considers the impact of water on the human condition and mental health.{{Cite news|last=Ellwood|first=Mark|date=2021-06-09|title=Our Love of Living Near Water Persists Despite the Dangers|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/business/waterfront-homes-dangers.html|access-date=2021-10-28|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|last=Weinbender|first=Nathan|title=Whether it's a trip to the lake or a session of hydrotherapy, water has the power to heal physically and mentally|url=https://www.inlander.com/spokane/whether-its-a-trip-to-the-lake-or-a-session-of-hydrotherapy-water-has-the-power-to-heal-physically-and-mentally/Content?oid=21784760|access-date=2021-10-28|website=Inlander|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Breakey|first=Sharlene|date=2021-06-09|title=How to Harness the Mind-Healing Powers of Nature's Unbelievable Beauty|url=https://www.prevention.com/health/mental-health/a36662899/nature-mental-health-benefits/|access-date=2021-10-28|website=Prevention|language=en-US}} Author Wallace Nichols told Quartz:{{Cite web|last=Hoare|first=Philip|title=Blue Mind science proves the health benefits of being by water|url=https://qz.com/1347904/blue-mind-science-proves-the-health-benefits-of-being-by-water/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-28|website=QUARTZ|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805224723/https://qz.com/1347904/blue-mind-science-proves-the-health-benefits-of-being-by-water/|archive-date=2018-08-05}}
{{Blockquote|text=People can experience the benefits of the water whether they're near the ocean, a lake, river, swimming pool or even listening to the soothing sound of a fountain. Most communities are built near bodies of water not just for practical reasons, but because as humans, we're naturally drawn to blue space...but even if you aren't in an area where there is easy access to water, you can still experience [its] emotional benefits. Many scribes, poets, painters, and sailors have attested to the feeling of wellness and peace that comes over them when they're in, or near, bodies of water.|source=}}
= Research =
Blue Mind compiles and analyzes recent scientific research that has shown water's favorable cognitive and physical impacts being quantified by experts.{{Cite web|title=Can simply being near the ocean wash away stress?|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wallace-j-nichols-blue-mind-book-tries-to-prove-the-ocean-washes-stress-away/|access-date=2021-10-28|website=www.cbsnews.com|language=en-US}} The book shows proof that living near the shore, for example, has been shown to boost physical health and well-being.{{Cite web|date=2020-07-11|title=How to find your 'blue mind'|url=https://happiful.com/how-to-find-your-blue-mind/|access-date=2021-10-28|website=Happiful Magazine|language=en}} It also provides evidence that water generates a meditative state, which makes us happier, healthier, calmer, and more creative.{{Cite web|last=SUN|first=ADAM DRAPCHO, THE LACONIA DAILY|title=The healing power of water|url=https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news/local/the-healing-power-of-water/article_20b0bc06-cad7-11eb-bc1e-e7181608f450.html|access-date=2021-10-28|website=The Laconia Daily Sun|language=en}}
Reception
The book was received well by critics, and made The New York Times Best Seller list. A review from The Guardian labeled Blue Mind "popular psychology", calling it "a study in water and why it makes us happy". A review from the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography said "Blue Mind is an interesting read and presents a different perspective on water than we typically think about during the course of our hectic days."{{Cite journal|last=Filstrup|first=Christopher T.|date=2019|title=Nichols, W.J. 2015. Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do. Reprint Edition. New York: Back Bay Books / Little, Brown, and Company. {{text|ISBN}}: 978-0-316-25211-9. (Paperback). Suggested Retail Price: $9.98 for Paperback on Amazon.com|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/lob.10338|journal=Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin|language=en|volume=28|issue=3|pages=114|doi=10.1002/lob.10338|issn=1539-6088|doi-access=free}}