[MAIPC] 5 Ways Spending Time in Nature Benefits Your Brain

[Marc Imlay]

5 Ways Spending Time in Nature Benefits Your Brain

https://www.care2.com/greenliving/5-ways-spending-time-in-nature-benefits-yo
ur-brain.html

 



*         By: Zoe Blarowski <https://www.care2.com/greenliving/author/zoeb> 

*         April 11, 2018

*         About Zoe <https://www.care2.com/greenliving/author/zoeb> 

Your brain doesn't need an expensive supplement or trendy superfood to stay
healthy. Research shows all you need to do is spend some time in nature.
This can include many different natural environments, such as city parks,
farms, beaches, wilderness areas or your home garden. The most important
part is to find somewhere with as many living things and as little evidence
of human presence as possible.

Although, this can be easier said than done. Over 50 percent of people now
live in urban areas, which is estimated to rise to 70 percent by 2050. And
urbanization is taking a toll on our brain function and
<https://news.stanford.edu/2015/06/30/hiking-mental-health-063015/> mental
health. City dwellers have a higher risk of depression, anxiety, mood
disorders and schizophrenia compared to those who live in rural areas.

You owe it to yourself and your mental health to make a habit of spending
time in nature. Take your dog for a walk in your local city park. Plan
excursions to wilderness areas near your home. Or sit in your backyard and
watch the birds for a while. You'll be doing your brain a big favor.

HOW NATURE BENEFITS YOUR BRAIN

 
<https://dingo.care2.com/pictures/greenliving/uploads/2018/04/Forest-trail.j
pg> 

Love This? Never Miss Another Story.

Top of Form

 

Bottom of Form

1. Boosts Creativity and Problem-Solving Skills

Not only are more of us living in urban areas, we're also rapidly increasing
our use of technology. Working on computers, checking cell phones and
otherwise interacting with electronic devices is shown to place heavy
demands on your brain's ability to focus and process information.

Researchers at the
<http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0051474>
University of London investigated the effects of nature to rebalance this
technological drain on our cognitive abilities. They took a group of adults
backpacking in the wilderness for 4 days where they were not allowed to use
any technology whatsoever. They were asked to complete tasks that required
creative thinking and complex problem solving before the trip, and again at
the end. Their performance on the tasks improved by an impressive 50 percent
after spending 4 tech-free days in nature.

2. Promotes Compassion and Generosity

Looking at a beautiful forest, beach or other natural scene gives many of us
a sense of awe or wonder. And this sense of awe is shown to increase our
feelings of caring and connectedness towards others.

In a  <https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/psp-pspi0000018.pdf>
series of studies, one research group found that when you experience awe, it
increases your ethical decision-making abilities, generosity and positive
social behaviors, such as being helpful and cooperative. Researchers suggest
this is because awe often gives you a sense that you are a small part of
something bigger, which seems to encourage a shift to caring about how you
relate to others and your community rather than simply yourself.

3. Sharpens Mental Focus

A  <http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02225.x>
University of Michigan study asked participants to complete a memory test,
go for a walk, then repeat the test again after they returned. One half of
the group walked through a local arboretum and the other half walked down a
busy city street. Those who had walked among the trees improved their
performance on the memory test by almost 20 percent. Whereas, the city
walkers had no noticeable improvement.

Researchers believe this is because being in a city requires your brain to
process far more information compared to being in a natural setting. If
you're constantly being bombarded by city life, your brain essentially gets
tired. Viewing nature gives your brain a chance to take a break, which
allows it to come back to cognitively demanding tasks with renewed energy.

Interestingly, the study also found you don't even need to enjoy your time
in nature to benefit. The benefits were similar when participants walked
outside on a warm summer day or a freezing day during winter. The only
difference was that participants enjoyed the summer walks more than those in
the depths of winter.

4. Stops Negative, Obsessive Thinking

Dwelling too much on things you feel are wrong with yourself or your life is
not healthy. Habitually ruminating on negative thoughts like this is known
to put you at risk for depression and other mental illnesses. It's also been
found to be much more common among
<https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/22/how-nature-changes-the-brain/>
those who live in cities. Although, simply taking a walk in your local city
park is shown to combat this tendency.

In a  <http://www.pnas.org/content/112/28/8567> recent study, participants
reported their amount of rumination before and after a walk in a natural or
an urban area. Those who walked for 90 minutes in nature reported a decrease
in their negative thinking. They also had reduced activity in the subgenual
prefrontal cortex of the brain, an area related to mental illness. Those who
walked through an urban area reported no reduction in rumination, and their
brain scans also showed no improvement.

5. Helps ADHD

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common
neurobehavioral disorder of childhood. Symptoms often include an unusually
high level of inattention, impulsivity and/or hyperactivity. A
<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1448497/> national study found
that common after-school and weekend activities done in natural, outdoor
environments may be effective in reducing these symptoms, such as simply
reading in your backyard instead of inside. Researchers felt this could
provide a widely available, free and non-pharmaceutical way to help those
with ADHD.

Related on Care2

*
<https://www.care2.com/greenliving/why-a-walk-in-the-woods-is-vital-for-your
-health-the-science-behind-forest-bathing.html> Why a Walk in the Woods Is
Vital for Your Health: The Science Behind Forest Bathing



---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.maipc.org/pipermail/maipc-maipc.org/attachments/20180412/8b6af545/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 109589 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.maipc.org/pipermail/maipc-maipc.org/attachments/20180412/8b6af545/attachment-0002.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 182678 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.maipc.org/pipermail/maipc-maipc.org/attachments/20180412/8b6af545/attachment-0003.jpg>