Why does water make you feel calm?

Many of us know that being around water makes us calmer and more creative. Science knows it, too: A recent study even showed that people who live near the ocean report feeling less stress and better health than those who don’t.

But what is it about water that makes us feel this way?

To be honest, it’s still a mystery, says Mathew White, an environmental psychologist at the University of Exeter.

“There seems to be something very special about water,” he told The Huffington Post. “But we don’t know yet exactly [what it is].”