We have known for a long time that getting closer to nature has benefits for our health. Beyond avoiding pollution in our cities, getting closer to the natural environments around us can improve our psychological well-being, perhaps even encouraging us to lead a more active life. Little by little, we are also observing that something similar happens if we change the mountain for the sea.
More sea, more life. A study has observed a correlation between residing in coastal areas and greater longevity. The analysis provide evidence of the link between bodies of water and the health and well-being of people. Of course, the relationship between “blue spaces” and health is a little more complex than it might seem.
50 kilometers. The study observed that the benefits of living near the ocean improved the quality of life of people residing within a strip of about 50 kilometers of the coast. Inland, however, they observed a very different trend: people who lived near bodies of water of a certain size (about 10 km² in surface area) tended to have shorter life expectancies.
“Globally, coastal residents are expected to live a year or more longer than the median age of 79, and those who lived in more urban areas near inland rivers and lakes were more likely to die around age 78. Coastal residents likely lived longer due to a variety of interconnected factors,” highlighted in a press release Jianyong “Jamie” Wu, member of the team responsible for the study.
66,000 census areas. The study was carried out in the United States, where the team analyzed 66,263 census areas, studying life expectancy and its relationship not only with the proximity of bodies of water, but also with socioeconomic and demographic factors to control the results. Details of the study can be found in an article published in the magazine Environmental Research.
Searching for the cause. The team points out different factors that could mediate this relationship, such as milder temperatures, better air quality, more opportunities for recreational activities, better transportation, less vulnerability to droughts, or income.
These factors could explain why residing near the coast is associated with a longer life expectancy, in contrast to people who live near inland waters. “Pollution, poverty, lack of opportunities to be physically active and a greater risk of flooding are the main triggers for these differences,” Yanni Cao indicatedco-author of the study.
Correlation or cause? Fits remember that the existence of a correlation does not always imply the existence of a direct (or even indirect) causal relationship. For example, if income is the determining factor, this causal relationship could take different forms.
A possible route would start from the fact that the coastal areas they would be more expensiveso they would attract people with more income, income being a factor that we know affects our life expectancy. Another possible way would be that coastal areas generate higher incomes by offering more job opportunities, and these incomes would again be the determining factor in longevity. In both cases the mediating factor is the same, but the causal relationship is not.
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Image | Emiliano Arano
This article was originally published in August 2025
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