Lack of space can hurt your brain.

Lack of space can hurt your brain. At least that is what scientists now think. They have been studying the effect of living in crowded cities, traveling on crowded roads, even walking down crowded streets or standing in crowded trains, and the results are worrying.

From India to London, New York to Tokyo, in cities everywhere, people spend their time surrounded by fellow human beings. Not by plants, not by nature, but by people. And it seems our brains are being harmed by this.

There are good reasons for this, according to a study by Marc Berman, a psychologist at the University of Michigan. His team measured what happens to the brain during a short walk through the city. It has been known for years that nature is relaxing, that artistic people like to go off to the country to paint and write, and that hospital patients recover better in the country than in the city. But now we are starting to understand why.

The biggest effect is distraction. In a city, our brains are constantly activated, but not in a productive way. We are like machines, looking for danger. Our attention is caught by every light that flashes, every police car siren, every traffic signal, every person who looks like someone we know or who looks threatening. The part of the brain that deals with this gets tired. And, unfortunately, it is that same part of the brain, called the prefrontal cortex ,that we use to assess good and bad choices, and to resist temptation. So there we are in the city, surrounded by temptation – stores, mainly, and fast food restaurants, and the part of the brain that controls our response is already tired and occupied. So what do we do? Get out our credit cards …

Do we need more parks in cities? Well, yes we do. But it is not enough to put in flat green spaces. We need plants, flowers, and trees. These actually have a more positive effect on our brains. Of course, we are distracted by them, but they don’t give us negative or stressed feelings. On the contrary, they stimulate good, creative feelings and thoughts.

And what is amazing is that even pictures of crowds or nature have been shown to have similar effects to the real things. So if nothing else, if we live in crowded areas, we should try to find time to watch films about nature, not just action films …

According to Berman, the brain is a limited machine, and the city takes it to its limits. Our brains are too important to leave to chance. By 2030, it is expected that about five billion people will be living in cities. If we think it is crowded now, we had better think again. Perhaps we should turn to the scientists to help redesign our cities.

ผลลัพธ์ (ไทย) 1:

Lack of space can hurt your brain. At least that is what scientists now think. They have been studying the effect of living in crowded cities, traveling on crowded roads, even walking down crowded streets or standing in crowded trains, and the results are worrying.From India to London, New York to Tokyo, in cities everywhere, people spend their time surrounded by fellow human beings. Not by plants, not by nature, but by people. And it seems our brains are being harmed by this.There are good reasons for this, according to a study by Marc Berman, a psychologist at the University of Michigan. His team measured what happens to the brain during a short walk through the city. It has been known for years that nature is relaxing, that artistic people like to go off to the country to paint and write, and that hospital patients recover better in the country than in the city. But now we are starting to understand why. The biggest effect is distraction. In a city, our brains are constantly activated, but not in a productive way. We are like machines, looking for danger. Our attention is caught by every light that flashes, every police car siren, every traffic signal, every person who looks like someone we know or who looks threatening. The part of the brain that deals with this gets tired. And, unfortunately, it is that same part of the brain, called the prefrontal cortex ,that we use to assess good and bad choices, and to resist temptation. So there we are in the city, surrounded by temptation – stores, mainly, and fast food restaurants, and the part of the brain that controls our response is already tired and occupied. So what do we do? Get out our credit cards …Do we need more parks in cities? Well, yes we do. But it is not enough to put in flat green spaces. We need plants, flowers, and trees. These actually have a more positive effect on our brains. Of course, we are distracted by them, but they don’t give us negative or stressed feelings. On the contrary, they stimulate good, creative feelings and thoughts. And what is amazing is that even pictures of crowds or nature have been shown to have similar effects to the real things. So if nothing else, if we live in crowded areas, we should try to find time to watch films about nature, not just action films …ตามมี สมองเป็นเครื่องจำกัด และเมืองจะมันถึงขีดจำกัด สมองของเรามีความสำคัญเกินไปที่จะปล่อยให้โอกาส 2030 คาดว่า จะมีชีวิตอยู่ประมาณห้าพันล้านคนในเมือง ถ้า เราคิดว่า ก็แออัดตอนนี้ เรามีดีกว่าคิดอีกครั้ง บางทีเราควรเปิดให้นักวิทยาศาสตร์ช่วยออกแบบเมืองของเรา