WHY BLUE MIND BRINGS CALM AND DISRUPTIVE THINKING TO THE GAMBLING INDUSTRY?

 

 

WHY BLUE MIND BRINGS CALM AND DISRUPTIVE THINKING TO THE GAMBLING INDUSTRY?

 

Marketing study on blue colour by Sabrina Soldá.

 

In the ever evolving and fast-growing gambling industry, not only C-level but all employees are overexposed to visual and mind stress, facing challenging projects in short time, suffering the overstimulation caused by desktop screens and multiple screens. So, how to mitigate the frantic days while working in the gambling industry? BtoBet chose to have its headquarter in Malta not only for the favourable gambling legislation but also for the therapeutic power of the water which proximity is proved to transmit calm and connectivity between people, to increase innovation and insight. Living and working in Malta, surrounded by the Mediterranean sea, is undoubtedly a big plus.

 

Since ancient times, humans have assigned healing and transformational properties to water.

 

In early Rome, baths were an important part of cultural life, a place where citizens went to find relaxation and to connect with others in a calming setting. In Ayurveda, the ancient Indian medicinal wisdom, and traditional Chinese medicine, the water element is crucial to balancing the body and creating physical harmony. Rivers have long been seen as sacred places, and in a number of different spiritual contexts, water has symbolized rebirth, spiritual cleansing and salvation.

 

 

 

 

 

Today, we still turn to water for a sense of calm and clarity. We spend our vacations on the beach or at the lake; get exercise and enjoyment from water sports like surfing, scuba diving, sailing, and swimming; refresh ourselves with long showers and soothing baths, and often build our lives and homes around being near the water.

 

In fact, our affinity for water is even reflected in the near-universal attraction to the colour blue.

 

We’re naturally drawn to aquatic hues — the colour blue is overwhelming chosen as the favourite colour of people around the world, and marketing research has found that people tend to associate it with qualities like calm, openness, depth and wisdom. 

 

Wallace J. Nichols, a marine biologist, believes that we all have a “blue mind” — as he puts it, “a mildly meditative state characterized by calm, peacefulness, unity, and a sense of general happiness and satisfaction with life in the moment” — that’s triggered when we’re in or near water.

 

We start learning that our brains are hardwired to react positively to water and that being near it can calm and connect us, increase innovation and insight, and even heal what’s broken, Nichols writes :

« 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 DoWe have a ‘blue mind’ — and it’s perfectly tailored to make us happy in all sorts of ways that go way beyond relaxing in the surf, listening to the murmur of a stream, or floating quietly in a pool.”

 

Water can heal the mind and body and help you tap into your most calm and creative state of being. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are 3 important benefits of finding my “blue mind.”

 

1 Water gives my brain a rest. 

 

In my everyday life, I am constantly bombarded with sensory stimuli, whether from my devices, home, office and expos. Especially in our hectic sportsbook and gambling industry. How many of you are feeling the same? Constantly monitoring players actions, betting odds, accepting risks, fixing player’s requests, watching new gaming content, being in conferences surrounded by slots sound and visual overstimulation, not to mention the virtual reality games.

 

My brain definitely needs downtime.

 

Being around water gives my brain and my senses a rest from overstimulation.

 

“The sound around me, from an auditory perspective, is simplified. It’s not quiet, but the sound of water is far simpler than the sound of voices or the sound of music or the sound of a city. And the visual input is simplified. When I stand at the edge of the water and look out on the horizon, it’s visually simplified relative to the room I am sitting in right now, or a city I was used to walk through in my past, where I was taking in millions of pieces of information every second.”

 

When I am near, on, in or under water, I get a cognitive break because there’s simply less information coming in. My brain doesn’t shut down — it keeps working, but in a different way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“When you have that simplified, quieter ‘blue’ space, your brain is better at a different set of processes.”

 

2 Water can induce a meditative state. 

 

Many of us love to sit near the ocean or a river and gaze out at the water — often, we can sit for long periods simply observing the gentle movements of the water. Why? Though we may not be conscious of it, the water could be inducing a mildly meditative state of calm focus and gentle awareness.

 

When I am by the water, my brain is held in a state of mild attentiveness “soft fascination.” In this state, the brain is interested and engaged in the water, taking in sensory input but not distracted by an overload of it, as I might be with the “hard fascination” I experience while watching an action movie or playing a game.

 

Being in a mindful state — in which the brain is relaxed but focused — benefits the mind and body on a number of different levels. A growing body of research has found myriad benefits associated with mindfulness, including lower stress levels, relief from mild anxiety, pain and depression, improved mental clarity and focus, and better sleep quality.

 

3 Water can inspire us to be more compassionate and connected. 

 

While in the restful, contemplative state, associated with observing or interacting with water, it’s also common to experience feelings of awe. The emotion of awe invokes feelings of a connection to something beyond oneself, a sense of the vastness of nature and an attempt to make sense of the experience.

 

“That switches me from a ‘me’ orientation to a ‘we’ orientation,” citing research findings that feelings of awe can increase our capacity for connection and empathy.

 

“When I experience that feeling of awe, I get that ‘one with the universe’ feeling”. “I feel connected to yourself, the world around me, and whoever I happen to be with. That puts me in a ‘we’ state of mind.”

 

It’s no coincidence, then, that many of life’s most romantic moments take place by the water — engagements, weddings and honeymoons overwhelmingly occur in waterside locations.

 

4 A blue mind is a creative mind. 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are not as lucky as I am, that I chose and managed to live and work by the sea, do not despair! Also hopping in the shower can be a great way to trigger ideas when our brains are in a creative rut.

 

In our always-busy, screen-saturated lives, we don’t give our minds much of a chance to rest and wander freely. But when we do, the mind switches into a different mode of engagement, known as the default mode network — the brain network associated with daydreaming, imagination, consolidation of memories, self-referential thought, insight and introspection. The default mode network is extremely important for creativity — which is often why we find that when we turn off our brains for a moment and get in the shower.

 

Activating that default network, that we suddenly come up with the insights and ideas that eluded us while we were sitting at our computers desperately searching for the solution. 

 

“The shower is a proxy for the sea. I step in the shower, and I remove a lot of the visual stimulation of my day. Auditorily, it’s the same thing — it’s a steady stream of ‘blue noise.’ I am not hearing voices or processing ideas. I step into the shower and it’s like a mini-vacation.”

 

Rather than switching off, when you’re showering, your brain switches into a different mode — and while the brain is in a more restful state, suddenly you’re able to make those new or unusual connections.

 

Unquestionably, since I have been living in Malta, my BLUE MIND DEVELOPED, quickly and constantly.

 

Walking by the sea to go to Btobet headquarter every morning, and contemplating the blue colour of the magnificent Mediterranean Sea, brings me the “Eureka” moment — the insight or solution “feels like it drops out of the sea and into my head.» 

 

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