Tonight's picture was taken on November 19, 2008. Mattie was recovering from his second limb salvaging surgery. The goal was to get Mattie to exercise his lungs, which is always needed post-surgery. Mattie did not want to do the usual breathing exercises. So we made it fun! A friend gave Mattie this crazy straw that literally wrapped around my ears and lead to the eyeglasses. In typical Mattie fashion, he wasn't going to do something without me trying it first. So I put on the crazy straw glasses and demonstrated the process. As you can see Mattie was checking it out!
Quote of the day: In recent years, stressed-out urbanites have been seeking refuge in green spaces, for which the proven positive impacts on physical and mental health are often cited in arguments for more inner-city parks and accessible woodlands. The benefits of “blue space” – the sea and coastline, but also rivers, lakes, canals, waterfalls, even fountains – are less well publicized, yet the science has been consistent for at least a decade: being by water is good for body and mind. ~ Elle Hunt
In the midst of being focused on the candy drive, my mom sent me an article entitled, Blue spaces: why time spent near water is the secret of happiness. I attached a link to the article below.
How do you feel when you are around a body of water? I know personally there is nothing like seeing water. I am not just talking about the ocean. Truly any body of water and I would include in that man-made fountains. Which maybe why, if I get to chose where we walk Sunny, I always suggest walking by the Potomac River. Certainly we have the chaos of Washington, DC around us, but there is something mesmerizing even about the river.
What caught my attention in the article below were the following points:
- Proximity to water – especially the sea – is associated with many positive measures of physical and mental well being, from higher levels of vitamin D to better social relations.
- We find people who visit the coast, for example, at least twice weekly tend to experience better general and mental health,” says Dr Lewis Elliott, also of the University of Exeter and BlueHealth. “Some of our research suggests around two hours a week is probably beneficial, across many sectors of society.” Even sea views have been associated with better mental health.
- Three established pathways by which the presence of water is positively related to health, well being and happiness. First, there are the beneficial environmental factors typical of aquatic environments, such as less polluted air and more sunlight. Second, people who live by water tend to be more physically active – not just with water sports, but walking and cycling. Third – and this is where blue space seems to have an edge over other natural environments – water has a psychologically restorative effect. Spending time in and around aquatic environments has consistently been shown to lead to significantly higher benefits, in inducing positive mood and reducing negative mood and stress, than green space does.
- That rumination – focusing on negative thoughts about one’s distress – is an established factor in depression. “What we find is that spending time walking on the beach, there’s a transition towards thinking outwards towards the environment, thinking about those patterns – putting your life in perspective."
Will we get to the point in which our physicians will write out "blue” or “green” prescriptions for us? I don't know, but it definitely seems like a great plan that could have long lasting health benefits!
Blue spaces: why time spent near water is the secret of happiness:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/nov/03/blue-space-living-near-water-good-secret-of-happiness
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