You may have heard that doctors are now prescribing spending time in nature to their patients especially with the aim of improving mental health. This may seem a bit simplistic, but in fact there are a lot of studies that show just how valuable it is for humans to make time and re-connect with nature. With the kind contribution of qualified psychologist Nicolina Spatuzzi, we’ve put together a summary of all the ways in which spending time with nature is beneficial.
Six benefits of spending time in nature
1. Experiences in nature lead to measurable benefits for our emotional wellbeing. Researchers have compared walking in nature for fifty minutes with walking in an urban setting and have demonstrated decreased anxiety, rumination (repetitive thinking that focuses on negative aspects of oneself) and negative mood in those participants engaging in the nature walk (Bratman, Daily, Levy & Gross, 2015). Furthermore, a ninety-minute walk in nature has been shown to reduce rumination as well as neural activity in a specific area of the prefrontal cortex in our brains (subgenual prefrontal cortex) highlighting a specific way that nature can improve our mental wellbeing (Bratman, Hamilton, Hahn, Daily & Gross (2015).
2. Being in nature can result in a reduction in stress. Short term visits of around 20 minutes to areas of nature, situated within urban settings, have positive effects on stress relief with both psychological and physiological effects demonstrated. (Tyrvainena, Ojalaa, Korpela, Lanki, Tsunetsugu & Kagawa, 2014)
3. Experiences in nature lead to clear benefits in working memory. This is a very important skill that allows us to work with information in our minds without losing track of the process we are engaging in. (Bratman, Daily, Levy & Gross, 2015).
4. Nature assists with creativity. Engaging with nature makes us more curious, helping us come up with new ideas and experience more flexibility in our thinking. Recent studies suggest that immersion in nature can increase performance on creative problem solving tasks by as much as 50%. (Atchley, Strayer & Atchley, 2012).
5. Experiences in nature makes us kinder. Exposure to beautiful natural stimuli is associated with more prosocial behaviours (Zang, Piff, Eyer, Koleva & Keltner, 2014). Experiencing a sense of awe (facilitated through one minute of exposure to tall trees) is associated with greater generosity and increased ethical-decision making (Piff, Dietze, Feinberg, Stancato & Keltner, (2015).
6. Experiences in nature enhance our subjective sense of vitality (Ryan, Weinstein, Bernstein, Warren Brown, Mistretta & Gagne, 2009).
So why is a connection to nature so helpful to humans?
So by now you agree that immersing ourselves in nature increases our health and well-being, but you might be wondering why?
There are a few different theories about the effects of nature on our well-being. The biophilia hypothesis (Wilson, 1984) proposes that people have an innate need to affiliate with nature. As humans have spent the majority of our evolutionary history in the natural environment, migrating to urban living in relatively recent times, the attraction and desire to connect to nature is thought to remain in our modern psychology (Kellert and Wilson, 1993).
This theory accounts for nature’s capacity for improving our well-being but doesn’t delve into the cognitive impact of nature on our brain. To understand this better, we turn to attention restoration theory. Attention Restoration Theory (ART; Kaplan 1995) predicts that exposure to nature helps reduce attentional fatigue, therefore leading to improved cognitive functioning and positive affect. Attention restoration theory looks at the two main types of attention that humans employ: directed and undirected attention. Directed attention requires us to focus on a specific task and block any distractions that may interfere with it. For example, when we are engaged in working on a problem our brains are totally dedicated to the task at hand, requiring our direct undivided attention. After we complete the task we often feel mentally fatigued or drained.
Conversely, when we are outdoors, we may enjoy observing patterns or a sunset, clouds, flowers, leaves or a beautiful meadow, which call on our undirected attention. Using our senses to touch, see or smell in natural settings doesn’t require a task-specific, problem-solving approach. Instead we can enjoy our experience in nature and be rejuvenated by taking in the sights and sounds at a relaxed pace. Undirected attention is easy to summon and maintain and leads to reduced stress and anxiety.
At Qappy, we are fascinated by the transformative effect of nature on how we feel and we this is why our Nature Box includes many practical and fun tools to get you to re-connect with nature. It may seem hard to fit this into our busy lives, but when the benefits are so compelling, how could we not?
Many thanks to Nicolina Spatuzzi for her research and kind contribution to this article.
Qappy is a science-backed subscription for a happier life. To find out more about our mission or order your first box go to https://www.qappy.io/.
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