Children who have spent more time playing or walking near the sea, a lake, or a river are more likely to enjoy better mental health in adulthood.
- “Aquatic environments can be dangerous for children, and parents are right to be cautious,” according to the authors.
- Helping children feel comfortable in these environments and developing skills, such as swimming, at an early age can have previously unrecognized benefits.
Many studies show that living near green areas, such as a park or a forest, during adulthood reduces stress and is therefore good for morale. “However, we know much less about the benefits of ‘blue spaces’, specifically the role of exposure in childhood, on mental health in adulthood,” said scientists from the University of Exeter in England in a statement.
This is why they decided to conduct a study published in the journal Elsevier Journal of Environmental Psychology. As part of the work, the researchers tried to find out whether exposure to aquatic spaces, i.e. a canal, a lake, the sea, a river or a river, during childhood had a positive impact on well-being later in life.
Well-being: data from 15,743 people were used
For research purposes, they used data from 15,743 people from 18 countries. Participants were interviewed and asked to recall experiences near blue spaces between the ages of 0 and 16, including proximity, how often they walked, and how comfortable their parents were with taking them to play. in these environments. Volunteers were also asked to indicate their most recent contact with green and blue spaces over the past four weeks and provide information about their mental health over the past two weeks.
Exposure to blue spaces in childhood linked to better well-being in adulthood
People who remembered more childhood experiences near blue spaces tended to place a higher intrinsic value on natural settings and visit them more often, according to the study. adulthood. “Becoming familiar with blue spaces can boost enjoyment and propensity to spend time in nature in adulthood, with positive consequences for people’s well-being”, can we read in the results.
