Nature Helps Us Get Better

Nature Helps Us Get Better

Adam

Nature makes us more creative

According to David Strayer, Ph.D., a professor of Cognition and Neural Science at the University of Utah, "Modern multitasking overtaxes brain areas that are involved in suppressing distractions, thinking creatively, and developing a sense of identity." Strayer discovered that a mere four days backpacking in nature improved people’s creativity by 50%.

Nature sounds good

What we listen to has a huge impact on our health and wellbeing. Studies undertaken by leading sound expert Julian Treasure, chairman of The Sound Agency reveal the benefits of natural sound, as well as silence. An example Treasure cites is that humans find bird song reassuring. We intrinsically feel that all is good in the world if the birds are singing.

Teens benefit from outdoor education

For years organizations such as the Brathay Trust in Cumbria have worked with teenagers in the outdoors as a means of encouraging them to fulfill their potential. Good outdoor education has been recognized by Ofsted as contributing to improving pupils’ lives on a personal, social and emotional level.

Forests calm us down

Time amongst the trees has a proven positive impact on reducing stress levels and lowering blood pressure. Research undertaken in Japan, a country of long working days and high suicide rates, reveals that immersing yourself in the natural world significantly reduces stress levels and wards off depression. In response, Japan’s Forestry Agency has created a network of Forest Therapy trails on which rangers monitor visitors’ blood pressure.

Nature helps us get better

According to research undertaken by Professor Roger Ulrich at the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, the countryside has a positive impact on convalescence. Ulrich’s research indicates that even a view of trees from a hospital window improves rates of recovery.

The copyright belongs to forestholidays.

---