J. Nichols '89 Discusses the 'Blue Mind' with Pittsburgh NPR Affiliate

November 16, 2014

Most of our time in modern society is spent in what Wallace J. Nichols calls a "red mind" state: "You know, you wake up to the sound of your smartphone and perhaps go to sleep to the same sound. Your messages are coming in from various directions -- there's screens in front of us, and we're busy and seemingly never quite able to catch up," Nichols told Pittsburgh NPR affiliate WESA.

A marine biologist and author of the best-selling book, Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do, Dr. Nichols is a 1989 graduate of DePauw University.

"Blue mind is sort of the antidote to that," he told Essential Pittsburgh. It is "stepping away, turning off, logging out and taking a walk outside in search of some kind of body of water.  In the city that could be a fountain, it could be a small waterfall ... along the coast you might find a lake or an ocean that you can spend time in, on, or even under.  And that experience puts us into a different state of mind where we're unplugged, we connect to ourselves, we connect more to those we're with."

Hear the complete piece at the station's website.

J. Nichols, who is known by his middle initial, has authored and co-authored more than 50 scientific papers and reports and his work has been featured in National Geographic, Scientific American, Outside, TIME and Newsweek, and he was seen in Leonardo DiCaprio's documentary, The 11th Hour. Nichols was recently featured on CBS This Morning.

A biology major as an undergraduate, Dr. Nichols delivered the principal address to the University's Class of 2010, "You Are Lovers and Fighters." Video of the speech is embedded below.

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