The values that creates, what is associated with basic positive human characteristics, are all influenced by nature.
Empathy, forgiveness, honesty, compassion, generosity etc., are all being helped along by interaction with nature.
Creativity and our ability to connect on a deeper level with other people, are all positive related side-effects, and becoming more and more important for both businesses and individuals, in an ever changing, complex and challenged world.
Unfortunately, technology and our related lifestyle have caused us to spend more and more time indoors, often in front of one or more screens, far away from our originally intended surroundings in nature.
This does not improve neither our mental nor physical health, why stress, anxiety, overweight, depression and other related negative impacts on our well-being, have become an unfriendly “companion” throughout life for many.
Numerous studies show that nature can help both our brains and bodies to become much healthier, thereby performing better, and reaching our great potentials as humans.
But what is it exactly that nature does to us, and in which ways does it positively impact? This is what we will try and give some insights to in this article, hoping that it can inspire to further re-connection with nature.
How nature affects
Any physical activity, such as hiking, cycling or running, can reduce stress, thereby creating the circumstances for improved quality of life.
But, there’s something about being in nature that may further increase those impacts.
In a study in Japan, study participants were chosen to either walk in a forest or in an urban city, while having their heart rate and blood pressure measured.
Questionnaires about perceived mood, stress levels, and other psychological measures, were added to the biometric data, to create the study results, that showed, that the group of people walking in the forest had significantly lower heart rates, which indicates less stress and more relaxation.
Questionnaire results from the same group, showed better moods and less anxiety, compared to the group of people who had walked in urban city surroundings, concluding, that being in nature had positive beneficial effect on stress reduction, above, what exercise alone could have accomplished.
Similar research conducted in Finland showed that people living in urban areas, who found time to walk only 20 minutes through a park or woodland, had significantly less stress, compared to people using the same time walking in a city center.
As the specific reasons still stand somewhat unclear, many scientists are convinced that humans evolved to simply be more relaxed in natural surroundings.
A famous laboratory experiment conducted by the Texas A&M University, further states this belief.
Participants who was first shown and impacted by stressful movies, and then immediately after exposed to different content of natural scenes, showed to recover much faster from the induced stress, compared to a group of people who was shown content of urban settings to reduce the induced stress.
These are just some examples of what we believe to be good and science based research, and how they provide the evidence that being in nature, or actually only just looking at nature, relieves stress, soothes us, and creates the foundation for a much higher quality of life in general.
What about nature and happiness?
Most people will be able to confirm, that a hike in nature creates a sense of happiness, for reasons mentioned in the above.
Happiness, however, is not the only mood benefit that for instance hiking in nature can offer.
A Stanford University study revealed, that people having walked in nature, had better performance on different short-term memory tests, compared to a control group, that had walked in urban settings.
Results also showed that the “nature walkers”, experienced less anxiety, less rumination (focused attention on negative aspects of oneself), and less negative affect, and instead experienced far more positive emotions, in comparison to the urban walkers.
These findings were further investigated in a related study, focusing on the specific impact on the brain, using neurology technologies. This study showed, that people who walked in nature versus urban surroundings had an increased activity in the Subgenual Prefrontal Cortex, an area of the brain where low activity is related to for instance depression and anxiety.
Human creativity, and the related foundation for much problem-solving, also sits in the prefrontal cortex of the human brain.
In a 2012 study, hikers on a four-day backpacking trip were able to solve 47% more puzzles requiring creativity, compared to a control group of people waiting to take the same hike.
With the not surprisingly numerous findings, on the negative impact the constant use of smartphones have on our ability to connect with the creative and meditative mindset, or “the brain default network” which is directly tied to creative thinking, it is clear that humans increased detachment from nature, greatly compromises our ability to find the creative solutions, to the increased challenges we are faced with.
In order to change this development, the time used on today´s technology, designed to constantly steal our attention, should in stead be used in nature, without the presence of particularly smartphones.
This will help the prefrontal cortex to recover and perform, resulting in a boost of creativity, related problem-solving, and increased life quality in general.
What about nature and happiness?
Human relationships, that are based on generosity, trust, and willingness to help, often have the potential to be stronger and more fruitful, compared to relationships with the absence of these factors.
Nature can also play a great part, in the pursue of such relationships, as has been shown in a series of experiments at the University of California, Berkeley.
In these experiments, research participants were exposed to different selected beautiful nature scenes, and then observed how participants behaved when playing two economics games that measures basic human behaviors such as generosity and trust. Participants having been exposed to the more beautiful nature scenes, acted more generously and more trusting in the games, than those who saw less beautiful scenes.
In another part of the study, researchers asked people to fill out a survey while sitting next to beautiful plants. After having done that, the participants had the choice to voluntarily make paper cranes for chosen relief effort program. Results showed that the number of volunteers was higher among the people that had been in the plant environment, concluding again, that nature increases positive emotions in humans.
A similar study conducted at the University of California, people that had been looking up a grove of tall trees in only one minute, demonstrated a more helpful behavior, as well as approaching different moral dilemmas more ethically, compared to a control group who spent the same time looking at a high building.
To us at Minds & Mountains, we obviously believe that these types of research findings, should call for a much greater preservation and respect of nature, from both individuals and societies.
Nature is a wonderful and free resource, that can provide us humans with a much more vital and happy life, if only we manage to find the time to reflect and act upon these findings.
We hope to help inform and inspire people to disconnect from our screens, and instead re-connect with nature, thereby start feeling better, be more creative, and deepen the understanding of ourselves and the wonderful nature we are part of.