Sleep: Deep in the Sea By RoundGlass Music

Where we’re going there are no roads, phones, exhaust, 3 pm check-in meetings… Travel down to the beach, out past the breakers, and down… down… down… to the deep. Back to where our ancestors lived one billion years ago. Closer to the heart of the planet. Alien landscapes of sight and sound. A place where gentle leviathans dwell and forests of kelp sway with the tides.

Water has held great importance to humans since ancient times. A symbol of life-giving, of healing, of rebirth. For the ancient Egyptians, their treasured Nile was seen as a birth canal of their civilization. For the Hindus, the Ganges River is sacred. The Taoists saw that the nature of water is to bend to the shape of the container its put in, and to follow the path of least resistance, given this is symbolized higher wisdom. Contrary to stereotypes of the period, in medieval Europe bathing culture was an important part of community life. In traditional Chinese medicine, the element of water is critical to balancing your body and creating physical harmony. The ancient Greeks saw how it changed form from liquid to solid to vapor and saw it as a powerful symbol for metamorphosis. Of course, for Christian’s baptism is a ritual cleansing in water. You could go on and on.

It isn’t just the ancients that note the power of water, recent studies have shown that even just looking at a large body of water has a calming effect on us. The near-ubiquitous attraction to the color blue is another reflection of our attraction to water. Blue is overwhelmingly chosen as the favorite color of most people in the world. The color is associated with calmness, openness, and wisdom. But many of us have lost touch with the power of water.

Countless studies show that the brain needs rest throughout the day, something near impossible to find in the modern hustle and bustle of our lives. Part of why water helps us achieve this is in its simplicity. Staring out over an expanse of the ocean gives us far fewer visual inputs than, say a busy city or the internet, while remaining captivating. In the same way, the sounds of the ocean provide far simpler aural inputs than say a conversation or even music. It’s not a matter of turning the brain off, it’s still processing these inputs but in a different, restorative way because it’s not overwhelmed by them.


Some researchers refer to this as ‘soft fascination.’ It is a state of mild attentiveness in the mind, awareness, and mindfulness. The brain is engaged with the water and our senses, visual or aural, are taking in the inputs but they aren’t overwhelmed by them in the way an action film or symphony might overwhelm them. A growing body of research places great value on this state of mindfulness. It’s shown to lower stress levels, provide relief from depression and anxiety, improve focus, and lead to better sleep quality. Some studies even show that interaction with water helps us feel a consecutiveness to other people and the world around us.

In most of our day-to-day lives, donning diving equipment and taking a boat out isn’t exactly possible. Even a quick trip to the beach or a lake can be a huge production. Luckily, the benefits of water extend far beyond the beach. These sounds of the ocean depths can provide the same calming, mindful state that a visit to the ocean can provide. Let the sounds wash over you, get your eyes away from the overstimulation of the screen. Allow your brain to find that “soft fascination” with the deep, yet not overwhelming tones of the sea. Even just ten minutes a day spent in the sounds of the depths can improve your mental health in ways we’re only just beginning to understand.