Could spending time near water be the key to improving your mental wellbeing?

A new scheme has been launched to encourage people to improve their mental health by being closer to water

(Getty Images)

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week, which means plenty of companies are launching new campaigns with the aim of encouraging people to find new and interesting ways to improve their mental health.

The latest is a “blue prescribing” scheme launched by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WW) and the Mental Health Foundation (MHF) in order to help hundreds of people boost their mental wellbeing by spending more time near the water.

The scheme will see 300 people who are experiencing poor mental health enrol in a six-week-long health programme in London, during which they’ll take part in various activities in areas with water nearby.

The programme is aimed at people who have limited access to areas with water, such as wetlands, rivers and streams.

The activities have been designed to boost people’s understanding of wetland nature and to encourage them to carry on visiting areas near water to improve their physical and mental health.

Participants will have their travel paid-for and, following completion of the scheme, will be offered further funding from healthcare company SimplyHealth in order to encourage them to take a nature-based, mental-health, self-management course online.

But what exactly is it about being near the water that improves people’s wellbeing to such an extent?

Endless studies have shown how beneficial it can be to one’s mental health to spend time closer to nature and in green spaces, but few have focused on water alone.

Research conducted by the MHF by YouGov found that out of more than 4,000 adults, 65 per cent said they found being near either the coast, rivers, lakes or ponds had a positive impact on their mental wellbeing.

Given that previous research has found that people are more likely to experience mental illnesses in areas with greater population density, it might be something to do with the fact that areas that are near water tend to be less populated.

A recent systematic review and meta-analysis of all of the evidence about how being near water has a positive impact on our mental health also found that living closer to and having more water within your local area could significantly increase your physical activity levels, which is known to improve mental wellbeing.

“Blue spaces were also shown to lower stress and anxiety, while boosting people’s mood and psychological wellbeing,” writes the study’s authors, Michail Georgiou and Sebastien Chastin of the Glasgow Caledonian University.

Dr Jonathan Reeves, from WWT, reiterated this point: “The benefits of getting out in nature for our mental wellbeing have become well known during the pandemic, but those experiencing mental health problems, and those most at risk, still face greater barriers to accessing nature.

“They are more likely to live in urban areas with fewer natural spaces and less likely to have the means to travel to those spaces.

“The blue prescribing scheme at London Wetland Centre aims to enable greater access to ‘watery’ wetland nature to those who most need it.”

Jolie Goodman, from the MHF, said: “Many people in Britain get no support for their mental health from the NHS.

“Projects like blue prescribing, which will start at the London Wetland Centre later this summer, are a way for people to protect their own mental health and prevent them needing crisis support.”