What the ocean does for your head

You may love to go to the beach, but it isn’t so much what you do there as what it does to you.

The beach boosts mood. That may sound a little obvious because many people like going to the beach, but it’s more than the mood you bring to the beach. It’s actually the beach and ocean and how they appeal to your sense of sight, sound, and smell.

The sound of the ocean actually changes brain waves and puts people into a mild meditative state, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The sight of the bright blue ocean transmits feelings of calm, peace and creativity.

And the smell of the ocean breeze enhances that tranquil state, perhaps because of the negative ions in the air, according to the Journal of Alternative Complementary medicine.

Even the sensation of feet digging into warm sand relaxes people.

And of course, there is the placebo effect: We’ve been told the beach is relaxing and peaceful and we expect it to be.