Developing a close relationship with the natural world apparently offers something more: improving and sustaining our cognitive capacity.
1. Studies have shown that interacting with nature relieves stress and restores our ability to concentrate (in Japan has found that people who simply sat in the forest for 15 minutes, then slowly walked around, taking in the site for another 15 minutes experienced a significant reduction in salivary cortisol. Since research has shown that cortisol adversely affects our brains, damaging the prefrontal cortex and, this reduction in cortisol could help keep our brains healthier.
2. Just being out in nature helps us feel better and think better. The students who walked in the woods experienced not only more positive emotions, but also demonstrated significantly greater attentional capacity and ability to reflect on life’s problems than those in the urban setting .
3. Finally, being out in nature may keep our brains healthier in later life. A longitudinal study of over 2000 Australian men and women over sixty found that daily gardening was linked to a 36 percent reduction in the risk of developing dementia.
If you’d like to begin experience these effects for yourself, try stepping outside. Look at the trees around you and the sky above. Pause for a few moments in your busy day to enjoy the healing and sustaining beauty of the natural world.