Blue Health

Blue Health is rooted in the widely held understanding that spending time in or near water is good for us. It’s a rapidly growing global field of research, with new studies emerging every year exploring the benefits of aquatic environments on wellbeing.

Poor physical and mental health have significant impacts on individuals, families, and communities, and the cost of treatment is substantial. Over the last three decades, scientific research has consistently shown that access to natural and wild spaces improves wellbeing often referred to as Green Health. Since 2010, this work has expanded to include the effects of spending time alongside, in, on, or under water, now known as Blue Health.

Research shows that the greatest benefits occur where these two environments meet, coastlines, riverbanks, lakeshores, and estuaries. These “edge spaces” offer a unique combination of sensory, emotional, and physical experiences that support resilience, calm, and connection.

Salty Swims promote Blue Health we bring people together to share this experience. Within this people find friendships, resilience, courage, strength and community. 

A number of major studies support this, including:

• BlueHealth Project (EU-wide research programme)
  A multi‑year, multidisciplinary study exploring how aquatic environments affect health and wellbeing.
  https://bluehealth2020.eu/
• Large-scale data analyses on blue spaces and wellbeing
  Research led by Mathew White assessing population-level evidence across Europe.
  https://bluehealth2020.eu/research-areas/ (bluehealth2020.eu in Bing)
• BMJ Open: BlueHealth Study Protocol
  A peer‑reviewed publication mapping and quantifying the benefits of Europe’s blue spaces.
  https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/7/6/e016188 (bmjopen.bmj.com in Bing)
• University of Exeter: BlueHealth Programme
  Detailed academic work on how proximity to water influences public health.
  https://hdl.handle.net/10871/28624

If you’d like to learn more or join one of our groups, please feel free to contact us. We’re always happy to answer questions and we’re passionate about supporting people’s wellbeing by helping them get into the blue stuff.