The University of Michigan research looked at Wellington, New Zealand, comparing the mental wellbeing of people who lived with an ocean view to those that didn't. Equalising other circumstances, that sea view came up trumps in creating greater wellbeing. And it was due to what the researchers called access to "blue space".

While the study didn't look into seaside holidays, Dr Melissa Weinberg of Deakin University's School of Psychology and Australian Centre on Quality of Life, and who specialises in "subjective wellbeing", the scientific name for happiness, says vacation beach time works.

Dr Weinberg explains that we are hardwired to have an optimal level of happiness but environmental factors can make us more or less so. "We have internal processes to help regulate that," says Weinberg. "Most emotions are temporary. They are a response to something happening. But then we engage in a process, such as optimism, to restore our happiness back to the optimal level."

Though stress is a useful tool to focus us, obviously, it can make us less happy if it's a constant.

"Under stressful situations, the brain is acting in a certain type of way which, though appropriate to ensure no further stress is encountered, limits creativity and broad vision which long term is not helpful," says Dr Weinberg. "It's stuck in a box where it has a narrow focus and it might need to be there to deal with the stressful situation effectively, but it's not really where it likes to be."

Dr Weinberg says a nice ocean view gives the brain a strong visual cue to sort itself out.

"Now, think about taking the brain into a wide open space where it likes to be, such as a beach, where your visual field literally extends until the horizon. That facilitates the process of the brain returning to its default [optimally happy] mode, where it usually functions best, enabling it to daydream, imagine, and be creative," she says. "And that's the excuse I use for my annual visit to Hawaii."