Surfers are often stereotyped as laid-back, easy-going people who don’t have a worry in the world. Of course, the reality is surfers around the world are diverse and just as complex as any other human. However, anyone who has felt that magic sensation of riding their first wave can attest that there is something special about the activity that lifts your spirits.  While the stoke of surfing has existed for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years, that euphoria we feel while surfing is now being proven by science. There is mounting evidence that surfing does, in fact, make you happier. Most recently, in December of 2022 a study was released in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health that showed a positive relationship between surfing and mental well-being.  So, what is it particularly about surfing that improves our levels of happiness? Surfing creates a unique concoction of factors that … Continue reading The science behind why surfing makes us happy