Teen Breathe Magazine – Issue 48

In this issue:Pond gazing • Beautiful blueprints • Under the sea • Balancing act • Like a bridge • Love is all you need • Wish you were there? • Follow your heart • Object of affection

You’re probably aware that water is an essential ingredient for life on Earth. The ocean covers more than 70% of the surface of the planet and contains about 97% of Earth’s water, which nourishes plants and trees, absorbs carbon from the atmosphere and provides a habitat for a vast range of species.

Did you know, though, that water also makes up more than half of your body weight? All your cells, organs and tissues rely on it to function and it helps with everything from enabling digestion to carrying oxygen around the body. This is why, of course, it’s important to drink plenty of it.

But water can be useful in less obvious ways, too. Studies have shown that spending time in what are known as blue spaces – the aquatic equivalent of green spaces, like parks and woodlands, where surface water of some kind is visible – offers all sorts of benefits.

Seeing the movements of ripples on the surface of a stream, watching the creatures that live in or near a lake, or listening to the soft lapping sounds of the sea can reduce the physical symptoms of stress, improve your mood and create a sense of calm.

So if you’re ever feeling frazzled or in need of something to lift your spirits, consider a coastal walk, a picnic by a pond or a day at the beach to wash your worries away – it might even offer a new definition of what it means to feel blue.