Episode Details

How can being around water have such a powerful effect on how we think, feel and relate to others?

In this episode of The Choice Space, Dr Lee David speaks with blue health coach, ocean advocate and author Lizzi Larbalestier about our relationship with water and what the growing science of blue health can tell us about its effects on our minds, bodies and behaviour.

Research suggests that being near the sea, rivers and lakes can influence our mood and thinking, encourage physical activity and play, stimulate creativity and even change the way we interact with other people.

But blue health isn’t only about getting to the coast. Water is part of our everyday environment – in rain and clouds, showers, fountains, canals and the water we drink. Paying more attention to it can engage our senses, create a pause from some of the demands around us and open up different ways of thinking.

Water can also offer a vivid reminder of movement and change. Waves rise and fall, rivers flow and even the stillest lake is continually shifting. When we are searching for certainty in a world that is constantly changing, perhaps the more useful goal is clarity – helping us see what matters and choose how we want to move forwards.

Our experiences around water can also shape our relationship with the natural world. As places become more familiar and meaningful to us, we may become more curious about them, more aware of the life they support and more motivated to protect them.

An engaging exploration of the science of blue health and the surprising ways water can influence our everyday lives.

Key moments

00:49 Why does water affect our wellbeing?
05:45 The science of blue health
09:32 Why connection to nature matters
10:49 Blue health beyond the coast
15:38 Why do ideas come in the shower?
19:24 The Choice Pause – creating space through water
21:19 What water teaches us about change
25:54 Water and the nervous system
29:54 The emotional range of water
31:07 Why we protect what we love
36:22 The surprising power of everyday water
38:10 Bringing more fluidity into our lives

About the guest

 Lizzi Larbalestier is an award-winning ICF Blue Health Coach, marine-based change facilitator and author of The Healing Power of Water: The Essential Guide to Blue Health. She coaches individuals and trains professional coaches at the coast in the UK and overseas. Her work brings together blue health, environmental psychology and ocean advocacy, using water and coastal environments to explore how we think, make decisions and respond to uncertainty and change. Her approach also makes space for curiosity, philosophical discussion and playfulness, while encouraging a deeper connection with the natural world.

You can connect with Lizzi via her website, Instagram or sign up to her newsletter.

About the host

Dr Lee David is a GP, CBT therapist and author specialising in mental health and wellbeing. Lee has written many books on CBT, mindfulness and teen wellbeing, and speaks regularly at conferences and in the media. Away from work she enjoys running, hiking, singing in a choir and spending time outdoors with her family. You can find Lee through her website and on Instagram, TikTok (@dr.lee.david), Facebook and LinkedIn.