Want to Live Longer? Move Closer to the Ocean 

If you want to increase your chances of living longer, there are all kinds of common-sense changes you can make to your life. As we all know, more exercise, vegetables, and socializing, and less booze, stress and cigarettes can hopefully buy you a few extra years. 

But according to a new study there’s another change that might help you squeeze out another good year or two that you probably haven’t considered — living closer to the ocean. 

It’s not exactly a secret that spending time near the ocean is pleasant and life-affirming for many people. Millions of us flock to the beach every summer for this very reason. But can the positive qualities of being near the sea actually add years to your life? 

That’s what a team out of te Ohio State University recently aimed to determine with a huge number-crunching exercise. They gathered data on life expectancy and other demographic factors for more than 66,000 U.S. census tracts and also analyzed each area’s proximity to various bodies of water. Were there any links between the two, the team wanted to know. 

Their results were recently published in Environmental Research, and the short answer is yes. The details were a bit more complicated. 

You might expect living near a lake or river should have much the same effects on health and longevity as living near the ocean. People enjoy these kinds of places in much the same way, after all. But that’s not what the numbers showed. Seaside living has special benefits. Having a river pass through your town, not so much. 

“Overall, the coastal residents were expected to live a year or more longer than the 79-year average, and those who lived in more urban areas near inland rivers and lakes were likely to die by about 78 or so,” commented  lead researcher Jianyong Wu.

Why living near the ocean is so beneficial 

Why does living within 30 miles of the sea appear uniquely beneficial? The researchers conducted a variety of statistical tests to try to untangle the reasons. 

The most obvious answer is that many coastal areas are wildly expensive places to live. If you call Malibu or the Hamptons home ,you are probably rich, and being rich helps you live longer. 

That’s definitely part of the explanation, according to the researchers, but it’s not all of it. Coastal areas also have fewer extremely hot and cold days, which stress the body, as well as better air quality. They also often have more facilities and opportunities for recreation. All of these factors likely contribute to keeping those who live near the ocean alive a little bit longer. 

The ‘Blue Mind’ theory  

Though it’s harder for number crunching to prove it, there may also be subtler psychological reasons being by the sea seems to help people live a bit longer too. As Wharton psychologist Adam Grant explained, “recent experiments show that after just two minutes of viewing water outdoors, blood pressure and heart rate drop. It’s more calming to look at a lake, pool, or stream than trees or grass. And wider bodies of water bring more tranquility.” 

Grant is referencing something called the “Blue Mind” theory here. The idea, developed by marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols and others, is that the ocean was a particularly inviting environment for our distant ancestors. It provided plenty of easily gathered seafood to nourish us and the open landscape made it easier to move around and spot predators. 

As a result, over millennia humans developed a deep affinity for coastal environments. Which is why being by any water seems to make us happy, but being by the ocean has the greatest calming — and therefore health-giving effect — of all. 

Oceanside towns you can actually afford to live in 

The authors of the Ohio State study don’t weigh in on whether humans have some deep psychic tie to the sea forged in our distant past. But they are clear in their conclusion that, whatever the mix of causes, living near the ocean is uniquely good for us in ways that living near a lake or river isn’t. 

So good in fact that being near the ocean just might add a year or so to your life. 

Taking advantage of this insight could, of course, be pretty pricey. Most coastal real estate is eye-wateringly expensive. But as Apartment Therapy points out, it doesn’t have to be. The real estate and design blog helpfully dug up 18 affordable beach towns where you might actually be able to make ends meet.