greywolf
Atlanta December 6, 2016
I can't say whether the research cited in this article is accurate or proves much of anything. All I can say is that walking 4 to 7 miles, three or four times a week in large city parks, walking trails surrounding the city or hiking out in the country has held my sometimes severe depression at bay as long as I've been retied and able to do this. It just seems to be common sense that being in a green, natural environment with fresh air is good for the spirits. And as another comment stated, it brings one back to a Zen state of being - in the moment, not lost in heavy, worrying thought.
NS
NC November 25, 2016
I read that the Japanese physicians prescribe forest walking as a treatment for various conditions.
Tournachonadar
Illiana October 24, 2016
Hmm, does walking on the golf links count? Or strolling through one of the innumerable places that Americans have despoiled in their insatiable quest for real estate development and financial gain? I have to drive at least 30 minutes at high speed to escape my immediate urban surroundings of mixed residential and industrial zoning. Though I find some of the "nature" that replaced the original sand prairies tasteful, it is all plantings inflicted by humans. And one cannot enjoy a walk through an area so prone to gunfire as this northwestern Indiana town...
Letitia Jeavons
Pennsylvania October 12, 2016
Maybe it's the bird song that helps quiet the mind.
Mike Vandeman
California September 22, 2016
1. Everyone says it's good for us to be in nature, but no one bothers to ask whether the wildlife want us to visit them (and benefit or are harmed). Of course, they don't! Have some compassion for others besides humans!
2. No one recognizes that what you do there makes a difference, both to us and to nature itself - some activities are very destructive, such as the use of mountain bikes or other all-terrain vehicles. In those cases, being in nature is NOT helpful. See http://mjvande.info/mtbfaq.htm andhttp://mjvande.info/india3.htm
2. No one recognizes that what you do there makes a difference, both to us and to nature itself - some activities are very destructive, such as the use of mountain bikes or other all-terrain vehicles. In those cases, being in nature is NOT helpful. See http://mjvande.info/mtbfaq.htm andhttp://mjvande.info/india3.htm
greywolf
Atlanta December 6, 2016
The article concentrates on WALKING in nature, not riding a mountain bike, motorized trail bike or ATV. Those devices should be banned from wilderness areas. Humans, whether you like it or not, are part of nature. And humans have been a presence in nature probably as long as many wildlife species. Certainly long enough for our native wildlife to be accustomed to our presence. So, walking or running through the natural environment is hardly doing "harm" to wildlife. And I am a staunch defender of wildlife and their habitat. But I will continue to walk 3 or 4 times a week in the many natural areas not far from the city.
I sure hope I don't "disturb" the OTHER animals.
I sure hope I don't "disturb" the OTHER animals.
Paul
Greensboro, NC September 14, 2016
SELECTED QUOTES from John Muir regarding walking in Nature:
“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”
“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.”
“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”
“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.”
“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”
“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.”
“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”
“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.”
Josefina
Brooklyn, NY September 12, 2016
I have had a very rough year emotionally. Apart from prayer, my walks in the park have literally saved my life. I live near a huge park in Brooklyn and never took advantage of it until this past year. My walks in the park I believe have saved me from clinical depression.
Karin Kemp
Matthews, NC September 12, 2016
When my husband was tragically paralyzed in a car accident and again when he died suddenly ten years later, I found great solace in walking along the greenway in Charlotte, NC and visiting botanical gardens. There is a sense of peace and always the discovery of a beautiful flower or an intriguing bit of nature, a turtle sunning itself, butterflies or just a vista off in the distance. It helped put things in perspective for me.
DanC
Massachusetts September 12, 2016
And this is news how?
For thousands of years meditators have known that being in and looking at nature reduces thinking and increases direct awareness that is free of thinking. They have also known for thousands of years that it is over-interpretive, useless, unhelpful added thinking that causes all unhappiness. Anyone can do the math from there. And you don't even have to be at Stanford or in a neuropsychology lab for it.
For thousands of years meditators have known that being in and looking at nature reduces thinking and increases direct awareness that is free of thinking. They have also known for thousands of years that it is over-interpretive, useless, unhelpful added thinking that causes all unhappiness. Anyone can do the math from there. And you don't even have to be at Stanford or in a neuropsychology lab for it.
eld
nyc September 12, 2016
I'd rather visit a green jungle than a concrete one anyday. I live in Queens and take advantage of the numerous parks, pools and beaches. I'm always crazy when I visit Manhattan or some other populous rushing crowded area. I can't wait to get back to a tree lined street, or tend my little flower garden or run off to Rockaway Beach for the day. The phone stays off, the kids play. For that short time I'm free.
Denis Pombriant
Boston September 12, 2016
Makes me think of the 19th century Trancendentalists and their relationship with what was then a nature fleeing from our lives. Maybe they knew something?
Richard Janssen
Schleswig-Holstein September 12, 2016
It's certainly much healthier -- physically and mentally -- to go for a walk in the woods than to re-read a recycled NYT article that was first published in March of this year.
Mr. Robin P Little
Conway, SC September 12, 2016Almost certainly a bunch of nonsense, like most of these Well columns are. Nobody knows how the brain works, or how the mind is derived from the brain, if, indeed it even is. So the rest of this brain imaging stuff is just guesses, at best.
greywolf
Atlanta December 6, 2016
One is curious as to where you speculate the mind may be derived from or reside. The vestigial appendix? More is understood about the human brain every day, despite science deniers.
Paul
Greensboro, NC September 12, 2016
Watching a monarch butterfly quietly and majestically glide by in beautiful sunlight and under partly cloudy blue sky was in set in stark contrast to the thoughts of humans recalling the significance of today, September 11th, 2016. The butterfly wins in the end.
Misty Morning
Seattle September 12, 2016
So why do we allow the developers to cut down all the trees and not require dedicated green spaces?
Peter
Bogota September 12, 2016
The experiment does not show that walking through nature is theraputic, but the effects of noise on people. It would be interesting to see of walking along a tranquil urban setting would have a similar e effect on the brain as walk through nature.
em7282
Brooklyn, NY September 12, 2016
Unfortunately many New Yorkers who seek relief from the noises of city life can no longer do so in our parks, because the NYC Parks department and the police refuse to enforce rules against people amplifying radios wihout a permit. IN my neighborhood of Sunset Park, truly inconsiderate people regularly dominate large swathes of the park by loudly playing radios for hours as they exercise or practice dancing in large groups. The din is very bad in the morning and late evenings. This park no longer serves to give local dwellers a tiny and brief connection to the peace of nature.
matt polsky
white township, nj September 12, 2016
Yes, but a NYT article 1 1/2 weeks ago pointed to serious data analysis problems with the fMRI technology probably used in this study. Associating blood flow in certain areas of the brain with specific thoughts or feelings isn't as straight-forward as thought.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/opinion/sunday/do-you-believe-in-god-o...
At this point, as science goes through one of its mixed late, but still-better-than-most-fields self-corrections, it is unclear what the value is going forward of knowing those parts of the brain that light up under certain circumstances.
So there is no proof here, or even useful correlation, although the plausibility we're left with is still useful.
Your science or health editor should take note.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/opinion/sunday/do-you-believe-in-god-o...
At this point, as science goes through one of its mixed late, but still-better-than-most-fields self-corrections, it is unclear what the value is going forward of knowing those parts of the brain that light up under certain circumstances.
So there is no proof here, or even useful correlation, although the plausibility we're left with is still useful.
Your science or health editor should take note.
Erik Flatpick
Ohio September 12, 2016
My chiropractor explained these effects to me a couple of years ago, when encouraging me to spend more time outdoors, even in rain (covered), especially when walking for exercise. Get yourself a good chiropractor and you'll be ahead of the curve, imho.
Dana Scully
Canada September 12, 2016
I walk to and from work every week day with a 50 minute walk at lunch. I also walk every weekend, averaging 25k steps per day. With the exception of my noon time walk where I walk in the downtown area, I have the privilege of walking in a large urban park. I purposely leave for work at 630 am so I can walk in the pathways without encountering others except for the odd runner.
I turn off the music on my phone and focus on listening to the sounds around me. The squirrels arguing with each other, robins singing their songs, the land gulls readying for take off from their sleeping spot on the cricket field. Sometimes I hear the eerie howls of the coyotes, and I tell the many rabbits I see on the trail they better hide or they'll be lunch.
The walk home means I encounter more people but I focus on the sound of the forest so I'm able to ignore loud talkers.
All in all, I feel relaxed when I get to work in the morning and home in the evenings. My walk at lunch energizes me and I tend to avoid the 2 pm energy drain.
I'm lucky because I'm single and I can go to work early and work late if I want. And because of that I'm able to enjoy the urban park in my city. It's changed my life. I've lost weight, I'm less stressed, and I sleep better.
Thank you for publishing this study. I hope others can benefit from the findings.
I turn off the music on my phone and focus on listening to the sounds around me. The squirrels arguing with each other, robins singing their songs, the land gulls readying for take off from their sleeping spot on the cricket field. Sometimes I hear the eerie howls of the coyotes, and I tell the many rabbits I see on the trail they better hide or they'll be lunch.
The walk home means I encounter more people but I focus on the sound of the forest so I'm able to ignore loud talkers.
All in all, I feel relaxed when I get to work in the morning and home in the evenings. My walk at lunch energizes me and I tend to avoid the 2 pm energy drain.
I'm lucky because I'm single and I can go to work early and work late if I want. And because of that I'm able to enjoy the urban park in my city. It's changed my life. I've lost weight, I'm less stressed, and I sleep better.
Thank you for publishing this study. I hope others can benefit from the findings.
John Doe
NY, NY September 12, 2016
When I'm outside splitting and stacking my firewood, my mind doesn't ruminate about nonsensical people stuff. The air is fresh and the moment is present.
bjn1495
St. Augustine, Fl September 12, 2016
This story provoked a "duh" in me. No kidding. Nature is what many are missing in their lives.
ArtIsWork
Chicago September 12, 2016
While a walk in nature may seem like a "no brainer" as a way of improving mood, it's not the first thought that comes to mind when you're down and feeling lethargic. In fact, recognizing that you'll feel better if you do the opposite of what you feel like doing takes conscious thought and bears repeating.
DMutchler
NE Ohio September 12, 2016
Mr Bratman needs to do a better study of the literature that already exists. 'Forest bathing' is and has been part of the Japanese culture for quite some time, and it is fairly heavily researched, I believe.
JL.S.
Alexandria Virginia September 12, 2016
It's been said that if a bird had Donald Trump's brain, the bird would fly backwards!
Dale
Wiscosnin September 12, 2016
Stop and smell the roses?
The problem is, the horse is well out of the barn. As Paul Erlich and his hopes for Zero Population Growth in the 60s taught, when we pave nature and make it efficient and compact, we've lost nature, at least for a long long time.
The city dwellers are indeed damned, there is not enough open space and green areas that are either accessible, or even available without encroaching even further.
Like global warming, which we began to know about and some took heed, overpopulation with it's impact on the size of cities and the demands on the remianing country areas is too late to do much about for this generation.
Only agressive realization that one or two children is enough, no one needs five or fifteen any more and that sustained respect of nature despite the push to have the perfect vacation cabin or high rise can eventually in a few generations reclaim the detritus of the cities and allow a return to what our ancestors knew.
Read a bit of John Muir. He wasn't as addled as many made him out to be. Having stood at the Hetch Hetchy dam, I nearly cried as I saw what he knew was about to happen when San Fransisco decided they needed water.
The problem is, the horse is well out of the barn. As Paul Erlich and his hopes for Zero Population Growth in the 60s taught, when we pave nature and make it efficient and compact, we've lost nature, at least for a long long time.
The city dwellers are indeed damned, there is not enough open space and green areas that are either accessible, or even available without encroaching even further.
Like global warming, which we began to know about and some took heed, overpopulation with it's impact on the size of cities and the demands on the remianing country areas is too late to do much about for this generation.
Only agressive realization that one or two children is enough, no one needs five or fifteen any more and that sustained respect of nature despite the push to have the perfect vacation cabin or high rise can eventually in a few generations reclaim the detritus of the cities and allow a return to what our ancestors knew.
Read a bit of John Muir. He wasn't as addled as many made him out to be. Having stood at the Hetch Hetchy dam, I nearly cried as I saw what he knew was about to happen when San Fransisco decided they needed water.
jane
ny September 12, 2016
What if the studies had subjects walking treadmills while inhaling noxious fumes, vs subjects walking treadmills while inhaling fresh air. I expect you'd get the same results. How about subjects in a totally dark room lying on a gurney inhaling filtered, fresh air vs subjects in the same environment inhaling air with the scent of loam, leaves, grass, horses. How about subjects in a room viewing videos of Nature vs subjects in a room viewing videos of cars? What would the brain scans show?
Ronko
Tucson, AZ September 12, 2016
I get out to the desert at least once a week. I am surrounded by the unbelievable beauty and harshness of the Sonoran Desert. Plant life is exotic compared to that of my Midwestern roots. Air, sky, dirt, rocks, and fauna equally so. There is an intense feeling of freedom, yet connectedness to the earth on which I am walking, as though it were magnetic (I know, gravity and all). A sense that I belong there. The variety of visual experience as one slowly turns a 360 is astounding. All of this of course is fuzzy non-science stuff. Of course, it all changes as the light and time changes creating a new canvas to experience upon each visit. Returning to the same place a month later means there is rarely a sense of visual or experiential complacency.
victor
cold spring, ny September 12, 2016
Once they understand the brain chemistry of this event I presume they will invent a pill to simulate the effect and allow us to dispense with all this nature stuff. We can all stay at home and watch the news while feeling blissed-out and comforted.
Chris Featherman
Cambridge, MA September 12, 2016
This research is also good support for including more green space in our growing cities. Not everyone has ready access to nature. Green infrastructure and natural corridors offer recreation opportunities that can benefit both the physical health and well-being of urban dwellers while supporting sustainable design for all, not just those with access to a leafy campus.
Harry
Michigan September 12, 2016
And bury my bones under a big tree in the woods please.
H. Schlinger, Ph.D.
Los Angeles September 12, 2016
Gee, all of these articles and studies on how various things change one's brain. Guess what folks? Everything we do every moment of every day and night changes our brain. It's no surprise that most of us would prefer a quiet walk in a park-like setting to a noisy highway and be more relaxed and less depressed. And it's equally no surprise that each produces different changes in the brain. But do we really need all of these studies and the money spent on conducting them to tell us this, especially while there are much more serious problems to tackle? Rome is burning and Nero is fiddling.
uga muga
Miami fl September 12, 2016
The next time someone tells me to take a hike I'll be sure to thank them (sic).
SecondCup
Florence, NJ September 12, 2016
I don't know. What is this thing called nature? I may have seen digitized pictures of it.
Mark
Californai September 12, 2016
The problem here is certainly not with nature. It is the access to it. It is difficult to access a real exchange with nature when tthe world about you is mostly man-made and bleak. Concrete is the 'nature of today" Try visiting a National park during summer season. Most are overwhelmed by those try to connect with the 'Nature" this author speaks of. Constantly seeking the peace of mind they may come with immersing yourself in a natural setting actually destroys it.
Me
Upstate September 12, 2016
What is this endless obsession with "the brain"? Given the ecological nature of the topic, I would have expected a more "ecological" approach by the writer. For instance, walking in nature engages the whole body in a way that sitting at a computer doesn't. The sense of touch is surely not imprisoned in the brain. That kind of thing...
Jon
NM September 12, 2016
If you spend time walking in nature you will miss out on the chance to make more money which, as we all know, is the only real reason for most people's existence.
If you listen to people like Donald Trump (who has never spent even a second in nature), you will learn that the only worthy goal in life or death is to make as much money as possible because evidently times have changed and you can take it all with you.
In contemporary society Money is the one true god and Capitalism the one true religion. Jesus may have said it was easier to ride a camel to heaven through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. But Jesus was wrong. A rich man like Donald Trump can fly through the eye of a needle into heaven in his personal jet.
If you listen to people like Donald Trump (who has never spent even a second in nature), you will learn that the only worthy goal in life or death is to make as much money as possible because evidently times have changed and you can take it all with you.
In contemporary society Money is the one true god and Capitalism the one true religion. Jesus may have said it was easier to ride a camel to heaven through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. But Jesus was wrong. A rich man like Donald Trump can fly through the eye of a needle into heaven in his personal jet.
RC
Heartland September 12, 2016
The Live Ink version also makes tangible the natural rhythms of this writer's prose: https://twitter.com/liveinkreading/status/623836893529010176
Kathleen
Honolulu September 12, 2016
This I know. As we say, "Lucky to live Hawaii."
jack
london September 12, 2016
Great Article
Thanks NYT
WE ALL need to
Stop and Smell the Roses
Thanks NYT
WE ALL need to
Stop and Smell the Roses
jack
london September 12, 2016
Just as Nature soothes we forget the bombardment of our senses by modern media distorts our neuronal
activity in many unhealthy ways. Enforcing negative
Pathways
Don't laugh I'm using one Now
activity in many unhealthy ways. Enforcing negative
Pathways
Don't laugh I'm using one Now
jack
london September 11, 2016
Research with Birds shows how urban birds are much more aggressive and live a shorter life than their Country Cousins
Paul
FLorida September 12, 2016
I know the Birds. They live on E. 14 Street. Dad was partner at a law firm. Very aggressive guy.
Monica Yriart
Asheville September 11, 2016
Sometimes science states the obvious. Not to belittle the wonders of their capability to monitor. Nonetheless.
Jesse
San Juan September 12, 2016
Easy for you to say if you live in Asheville, NC. Maybe too for me as I live in San Juan, PR and grew up in and around Asheville. Maybe not so obvious to people who don't get out so often and live in big cities.
Craig Millett
Kokee, Hawaii September 11, 2016
We find ourselves in the existential mess we have made to a great extent from our resistance to recognize and correct major mistakes that we as humanity have made.
I would include in this category cities, addiction to fossil fuels, destruction of the commons, religion, war based economy, consumerism, and notably addiction to speed.
We don't need studies to prove these observable problems. We need the courage to face the obvious and the clarity of mind to not be distracted from that truth.
I would include in this category cities, addiction to fossil fuels, destruction of the commons, religion, war based economy, consumerism, and notably addiction to speed.
We don't need studies to prove these observable problems. We need the courage to face the obvious and the clarity of mind to not be distracted from that truth.
Paul
FLorida September 12, 2016
Not sure how modern society is "war based" if annual defense spending is 1/30 to 1/40 of our GDP, and in other countries it's much less.
Flyover resident
Akron, OH September 11, 2016
I can hardly believe this is the topic of a NYTimes article let alone a study by someone at Stanford.I think the real news is the admission that those dwellingin cities don'thave all the answers...that us country folk gots sumfin portant ta add! Thank you NYTimes and Stanford University for validating me & my experience and the experience of those throughout bistory who have gone for a walk.
Rebecca Ramirez
Los Angeles June 12, 2016
Walking, over the years, had slowly become my primary source of therapy. Not enough people take them. Long walks, particularly in Nature, with no music, minimal (ideally none) interactions with cell phone, and no friends (just go alone!) will result in a quiet mind. It will not always be silent-- but occasionally, every ten minutes or so, you may catch yourself thinking "Whoa, I wasn't thinking!" ...... It is incredibly valuable! Anxiety, depressive thoughts, creative rut? Go on a walk. I live in LA! I drive to take my walks! It's worth it. I constantly encourage my friends, lovers, parents, strangers, to take walks! There is nothing like it. The motion soothes us, the movement negates the need for all of that motion in our brains. There is no need to vary your walks. Go on the same walk. Find a place to walk and walk often, walk alone. Your body will become slender. Your mind will feel warm. You will look forward to it.
Erik Flatpick
Ohio September 12, 2016
Thanks for the great post.
Roshan
Sri lanka June 3, 2016
Why Fitness Is Important
Your heart is the most important muscle in your body as it ensures the operation of all the other organs and elements in your body through blood flow. Normally, an adult's heart beats between 60 to 80 times per minute.
You can measure your heart rate now by placing your forefinger and middle finger on the inside of your wrist and pressing down lightly. You should feel slight pulses. Count these within in a minute and you should have a result for your resting heart rate.http://myworldnext.blogspot.com/2016/05/why-fitness-is-important.html
Your heart is the most important muscle in your body as it ensures the operation of all the other organs and elements in your body through blood flow. Normally, an adult's heart beats between 60 to 80 times per minute.
You can measure your heart rate now by placing your forefinger and middle finger on the inside of your wrist and pressing down lightly. You should feel slight pulses. Count these within in a minute and you should have a result for your resting heart rate.http://myworldnext.blogspot.com/2016/05/why-fitness-is-important.html
MLBurton
CA April 3, 2016
There has been a lot of research on what is called "Forest Bathing" which is well known in Japan. Many aerosol substances are emitted by certain tree species that are very beneficial to health!http://dianasjourney.com/2014/08/14/from-diana-all-about-forest-bathing/
jack
london September 11, 2016
This is absolutely True
Evergreens produce such an aerosol
has a calming effect
Have experienced the effect many times
Evergreens produce such an aerosol
has a calming effect
Have experienced the effect many times
Chris
Colorado April 3, 2016
The study seems flawed. They should have compared a quiet urban setting, say quiet streets downtown versus a quiet natural setting. The study is potentially skewed by the effect of urban noise versus quiet, not natural versus unnatural.
Liz
Boston March 25, 2016
I so agree that getting outside in fresh air with the sounds of song birds and whispering winds blowing through the trees or even fun, friendly dog park (not excessive automobile noise) steps me up a level. When we have our Spring to Fall walking groups mid-day everyone agrees that we feel so rejuvenated.
Daniel12
Wash. D.C. March 24, 2016
Why do I love walking in nature?
I'm not sure--still less sure if I can explain in a way that would benefit anyone else. Maybe I can give some insight by listing things I love and love to do, which is to say maybe there is a correlation between nature and certain other activities humans engage in. I enjoy really individual activities, such as listening to great classical pianists and reading great novels, or if interested in team activities, activities which require skill and creativity, like soccer or fighter plane group maneuvers.
Nature seems to have that free flow and complexity and whimsicality which is found in the highest and most interesting human activities, those which require discipline as well as improvisation. City life seems rigid especially in employment tasks, not to mention often noisy in unhelpful manner and polluted and crowded. A frustrating type of functioning. Of course nature can be difficult to bear--insects, weather changes, etc.--but this seems preferable to the foolishness of humans.
I prefer either nature or humans at their best, most creative and morally understanding. I guess I can explain it best by saying modern life, the city, seems to encroach on everything but only nature and human genius, humans at best, seem to escape it and a person just wants to associate more and more with nature or the best in life. Either hike in the woods and get away from it all or work on an actual and worthwhile human problem with decent, likeminded people.
I'm not sure--still less sure if I can explain in a way that would benefit anyone else. Maybe I can give some insight by listing things I love and love to do, which is to say maybe there is a correlation between nature and certain other activities humans engage in. I enjoy really individual activities, such as listening to great classical pianists and reading great novels, or if interested in team activities, activities which require skill and creativity, like soccer or fighter plane group maneuvers.
Nature seems to have that free flow and complexity and whimsicality which is found in the highest and most interesting human activities, those which require discipline as well as improvisation. City life seems rigid especially in employment tasks, not to mention often noisy in unhelpful manner and polluted and crowded. A frustrating type of functioning. Of course nature can be difficult to bear--insects, weather changes, etc.--but this seems preferable to the foolishness of humans.
I prefer either nature or humans at their best, most creative and morally understanding. I guess I can explain it best by saying modern life, the city, seems to encroach on everything but only nature and human genius, humans at best, seem to escape it and a person just wants to associate more and more with nature or the best in life. Either hike in the woods and get away from it all or work on an actual and worthwhile human problem with decent, likeminded people.
jensz
Los Angeles October 4, 2016
This comment well-expresses my very same orientation. Thank you for putting this so eloquently. I read this some time ago and searched for the article, and sifted through the comments, just to find this one again.
Jordan
west michigan March 13, 2016
I brood. Maybe more than most. That's probably why I require as much time outdoors as I do. Ha!:)
To what extent does nature change people’s minds? This is an interesting article.
"But of course many questions remain...?"
Uh...yeah. All of it. We are it. It is us. It's meant to be experienced (lived and recognize and celebrated) in broad, colorful, flavorful, diverse spectrum. We do a funny thing as humans when we become fully domesticated and lose touch with the Wild Environment (I.e.Providence) from which we came. Our oldest stories say there is a realtime kinship between us and the other 6 days of creation. When we break familiar and regular fellowship (observation, enjoyment) with this Natural Family, it's as if we've cloistered ourselves off in a closet of voluntary isolated solitude, drugged and disillusioned with the grandeur of perceived autonomy. How many of us have known the quiet desperation of our narrow man-made worlds, the small weakness of our works, our words, our dreams, desires?
Man fully alive is a Gardner, a Steward, a Student, an Expression of the Garden. Formed of the dust, as it is written. By walking in and with It daily we become familiar with its Spirit, it's Nature, it's life-death-transformation Character, and Propensity. This is our naturally hard-wired Ground.
To what extent does nature change people’s minds? This is an interesting article.
"But of course many questions remain...?"
Uh...yeah. All of it. We are it. It is us. It's meant to be experienced (lived and recognize and celebrated) in broad, colorful, flavorful, diverse spectrum. We do a funny thing as humans when we become fully domesticated and lose touch with the Wild Environment (I.e.Providence) from which we came. Our oldest stories say there is a realtime kinship between us and the other 6 days of creation. When we break familiar and regular fellowship (observation, enjoyment) with this Natural Family, it's as if we've cloistered ourselves off in a closet of voluntary isolated solitude, drugged and disillusioned with the grandeur of perceived autonomy. How many of us have known the quiet desperation of our narrow man-made worlds, the small weakness of our works, our words, our dreams, desires?
Man fully alive is a Gardner, a Steward, a Student, an Expression of the Garden. Formed of the dust, as it is written. By walking in and with It daily we become familiar with its Spirit, it's Nature, it's life-death-transformation Character, and Propensity. This is our naturally hard-wired Ground.
mtnrunner2
Colorado, USA March 11, 2016
I knew there was a reason I needed to get outdoors each day. It's my therapy.
Jade
Oregon March 9, 2016
I'm not surprised. I grew up in rural Oregon and returned there after college. During my summer internship in New York City shortly before I graduated I found that a stroll through Central Park at least once a week was vital to my mental health.
Cheryel
Paris, Texas March 7, 2016
I once read in a science journal that there is a micro organism in soil that once the soil is disturbed, ie, gardening or hiking, when inhaled, boosts serotonin in the brain, elevating mood.
Maggie
Jones January 27, 2016
I have gardened all my life from big gardens to pot gardens. My relief from strife was to visit a nursery to see what's new. Always to come away with something to add to my garden. It is the spiritual place, the muscle workplace of my life.
Jane
NYC December 30, 2015
I think the quiet has a lot to do with the calming effect and the walking stimulates the brain toward positivity. The oxygen that is more available and less sullied in a greenspace contributes as well. My brain hates the noise of NYC. I try to get away A LOT.
David Chowes
New York City December 27, 2015
EACH PERSON IS AN ECOLOGICAL SYSTEM . . .
...to be concise: every action, behavior, change... affects everything else ... and, then these subsequent developments all have an impact on the rest of the functioning of the individual ... and on and on...
...to be concise: every action, behavior, change... affects everything else ... and, then these subsequent developments all have an impact on the rest of the functioning of the individual ... and on and on...
Marek
Uttarkashi, India November 19, 2015
It's a great article about getting in touch with Nature and improve the brain functioning. But it's also very important to get in touch with your inner Nature and that you can do anywhere, easily and effortlessly. Then you'll appreciate and connect with the outer Nature in a much more deep and complete way.
I'm using TM to experience my inner nature and definitely create more holistic and integrated brain functioning. It is the most authentic and pure technique of transcending – settling to the simplest, most powerful state of awareness – this is the most silent, peaceful level of consciousness – your innermost Self which is your inner nature.
See here for more info: http://meditationyoga.in/
Good luck!
I'm using TM to experience my inner nature and definitely create more holistic and integrated brain functioning. It is the most authentic and pure technique of transcending – settling to the simplest, most powerful state of awareness – this is the most silent, peaceful level of consciousness – your innermost Self which is your inner nature.
See here for more info: http://meditationyoga.in/
Good luck!
Steve Miller
Panama City Beach, FL October 12, 2015
Walking is restorative. I totally agree with exercising to reduce stress, here are some other tips for stress reduction:http://www.thetriggerboxblog.com/6-choices-that-will-change-your-life/
Dave R
Brigus August 21, 2015
Possibly the relief of leaving the world of hard edges and corners of wood, steel or concrete for the soft edges of the natural world, mountains excepted, is the reason for its soothing effect.
Even our earliest structures where often round or had curved roofs, land boundaries in pre-Roman Britain where curves, houses round and hill fort walls followed natural contours. It seems the hallmark of civilization is the right angle and straight horizontal lines. The Roman conquest of Britain resulted in the land becoming "square".
The natural landscape and vegetation is one of soft edges and few straight lines.
Even our earliest structures where often round or had curved roofs, land boundaries in pre-Roman Britain where curves, houses round and hill fort walls followed natural contours. It seems the hallmark of civilization is the right angle and straight horizontal lines. The Roman conquest of Britain resulted in the land becoming "square".
The natural landscape and vegetation is one of soft edges and few straight lines.
Bobby
jakarta August 21, 2015
Cold shower works better than nature for immediate results. This coming from one who has spent months at a time out in nature.
William
Amsterdam August 20, 2015
I guess that all the senses are soothed in a subconscious way. We are often not conscious of smells and sounds. But quietness and natural sounds seem to signal that there's no danger. So stress-levels can come down quickly.
Plus: if you go for the same walk in nature regularly you tend to look for things (trees, birds, nice stream) that give you a positive feeling. Your brain strenghtens the memory path.
Plus: if you go for the same walk in nature regularly you tend to look for things (trees, birds, nice stream) that give you a positive feeling. Your brain strenghtens the memory path.
Cédric ULRICH
France August 20, 2015
Completely true. But city dwellers sometimes aren't eager to go out at all (I am sometimes one of them.) Movies, TV shows, Internet are a good excuse not to go out. Personally, I found a way to take a bowl of fresh air : I take my camera with me ! Not only do I improve my photography skills but I also enjoy this refreshing colour that is green.
foodsniffr
NYC August 13, 2015
This is so true, and worth remembering when we are overly harnessed to our computers. We all know from experience how divine it feels to walk among lush green growth. Let's hope city governments are reading this too, and providing green spaces.
-FoodSniffr
www.foodsniffr.com
-FoodSniffr
www.foodsniffr.com
Dee
Oakland August 12, 2015
As a certified Recreation Therapist, yes, that is a real profession that has been around for decades, the benefits of this type of leisure activity have been a core tenet of our work. Thank you for spreading the word! Warmly, Dr. Deah Schwartz,CTRS
cdjal
New York, NY August 6, 2015
It seems like an important aspect of this study was ignored, that is, NOISE! It is well known that noise affects us, so it's not surprising that the people who walked in a quiet place felt better than those who walked along a busy road. Maybe nature had nothing to do with it. They should try repeating the experiment with the participants wearing headphones and listening to the same sounds. Bad science.
Bruce Stern
Sonoma August 5, 2015
I live in a semi-rural part of the world, yet need to drive to and from a park, or natural setting, to walk. I believe that walking in nature is beneficial, and more so than strolling through someplace with hustle and bustle, large and small. Many people, especially in cities, need to drive (or take a cab, bus, bicycle or subway) to get to a natural setting. I wonder what is the effect of driving or riding to and from nature on the benefits of the walk itself.
Tom
Mitchell August 5, 2015
Nice article and very true. I know from experience.
Tracey Thomas
Connecticut August 5, 2015
So does walking in a pair of pluggz footwear... They are grounding /earthing shoes that naturally reconnect you to the earth’s free energy beneath your feet. This happens when you walk directly on the ground – whether it is grass, soil, sand, gravel, stone, unsealed tiles, brick… and for all you city dwellers, happily concrete sidewalks, too. So, you can easily get grounded every day without having to go barefoot, regardless of where you live geographically or what season is upon you.
http://pluggz.com
http://pluggz.com
Maggie Espinosa
San Diego, CA August 5, 2015
I have a walking in nature story you may want to share with your readers. Recently, I laced up my Nike Pegasus' and embarked on an 800-mile walk to visit California's 21 missions. I wasn’t soul searching. I’m not an endurance athlete. I’m an ordinary 54-year old woman.
I divided my peregrination into 12 months, taking four days each month to cover approximately 75 miles, with Amtrak as my chauffeur to and fro. Google maps and “A Hiker’s Guide to California’s 21 Spanish Missions” were my compass. Before launch, I sent an email inviting friends and family to join me on any segment of the excursion. A surprising number said yes. What ensued was the journey of a lifetime.
I was the 11th person to ever complete the walk. I’ve recently published a book about my hike. It’s full of stories from the road, written in the throes of exhausting 20+ mile days. There are also hundreds of accompanying photos.
http://www.amazon.com/Mission-800-mile-Discover-Californias-Camino/dp/09...
The topic is timely due to Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to America, where he’ll canonize Junipero Serra, the friar who started the mission project.
Maggie Espinosa
magstravels@aol.com
I divided my peregrination into 12 months, taking four days each month to cover approximately 75 miles, with Amtrak as my chauffeur to and fro. Google maps and “A Hiker’s Guide to California’s 21 Spanish Missions” were my compass. Before launch, I sent an email inviting friends and family to join me on any segment of the excursion. A surprising number said yes. What ensued was the journey of a lifetime.
I was the 11th person to ever complete the walk. I’ve recently published a book about my hike. It’s full of stories from the road, written in the throes of exhausting 20+ mile days. There are also hundreds of accompanying photos.
http://www.amazon.com/Mission-800-mile-Discover-Californias-Camino/dp/09...
The topic is timely due to Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to America, where he’ll canonize Junipero Serra, the friar who started the mission project.
Maggie Espinosa
magstravels@aol.com
Sam Beau Patrick
Australia August 3, 2015
Hey, interesting study and I hope it leads to the exact mechanism. I am a hormone specialist and what you have described to me is easily explained by a shift in hormones as the body is put through exercise.
Cortisol and insulin drop, stress hormones such as adrenaline and testosterone drop and various parts of the brain are bathed in endorphins, serotonin and maybe oxytocin. I call these green light activities and use the concept frequently in helping people manage moods and stress. Well done :-)
Cortisol and insulin drop, stress hormones such as adrenaline and testosterone drop and various parts of the brain are bathed in endorphins, serotonin and maybe oxytocin. I call these green light activities and use the concept frequently in helping people manage moods and stress. Well done :-)
Brankica
Serbia August 2, 2015
If we do not have time to walk every day (what, of course, is not good), we can try with dancing at least.
We can dance our stress away :D
http://www.april-norris.com/healing-mind-and-body/dance-your-stress-away/
We can dance our stress away :D
http://www.april-norris.com/healing-mind-and-body/dance-your-stress-away/
mitzi
Delaware August 2, 2015
Walking in the woods does more than soothe your mental processes. Check out forest bathing.
Counter Measures
Old Borough Park, NY August 2, 2015
And bears do what in the woods?! No kidding! You cant' make this stuff up! By the way "Chicago" and "Sparky and Our Gang " knew this quite well back in the day, when they had two huge pop hits, that sang to just the benefits of the "Park " where many of us baby boomers enjoyed strolling in nature, which many parks are enveloped in!!!
MadisonMCHS2015
Dacula, GA Age 16 July 31, 2015
Because many Americans relate to the nonstop hustle and bustle that our current culture promotes, Gretchen Reynolds’s article, “How Walking in Nature Changes the Brain,” intriguingly presents the concept of how taking a stroll through nature can positively alter the brain. Countless people today are so caught up in stress that the busyness of a day may provide, and interestingly enough, walking through a serene landscape of greenery can leave people feeling “more attentive and happier” according to a Stanford graduate’s study (Reynolds 6). The scientific explanation to this eye-opening concept is that a calm walk through nature decreases the blood flow to and quiets the part of the brain known as the subgenual prefrontal cortex, the location where negative thoughts are kindled. The term for the negative thinking that occurs in this area of the brain is “known among cognitive scientists as morbid rumination,” and research has proven that the people who spend more time strolling through peaceful, outdoor environments are mentally healthier than those who walk through busier environments such as urban areas (Reynolds 9). Due to the fast-paced, hectic lifestyle that many people of this generation have accepted, it is vital to a human’s mental health to spend some time walking around outdoors. Not only can tranquil, outdoor strolls improve the quality of people’s thoughts, but the extensive benefits of these nature walks will in turn, improve the quality of people’s lives!
Naturecalls
Houston, TX March 22, 2016
I've come to know the positive effects of walking or visiting a park instinctively. It's like when my brain is overloaded with, concrete, traffic noise and customer interaction etc, my brain sends an 'alarm' that I am needing some "green time" as I call it. God knew what He was doing when he made the sky blue & grass green and all the beautiful, intricate flower. They need us in order to stay healthy & grow & be groomed...we need them for the mental 'alignment', relief and how they purify their environment. Also, seeing "beauty" I'm certain creates endorphins in our brain. In this case, lovely flowers, trees, grassy hills.....Ahhhh.
Nutrimom
North Carolina July 31, 2015
Walking and listening to my Ipod does wonders for my stress levels! Not only is is a way to tune out for awhile but I get the most amazing inspirational ideas and I feel connected to nature :)
JP
Denver, CO July 31, 2015
"When you're old, all you want to do is stare at the scenery. It's so strange. I've never felt so peaceful before."
Sophie, a character in Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle.
Sophie, a character in Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle.
Yunkele
Florida July 31, 2015
It's been well known for years that walking, especially in a peaceful place, makes sadder people less sad, "depressed" people less depressed. So we need a study to show this again?
Dr Larry
Santa Cruz CA July 30, 2015
It is possible that the eyes scan back and forth while walking in an interesting environment. This is the same effect that EMDR therapy provides and is what Francine Shapiro observed and led her to develop that form of therapy. It happens to be the best therapy out there for treating many psychological problems. Thus walking in a park is giving the same profound effect that EMDR therapy provides.
Ed Volpintesta
Bethel, CT July 29, 2015
Gretchen Reynolds in her essay “How Walking in Nature Changes the Brain” ( Well, July 22) describes how city dwellers, have less access to natural spaces and are more prone to depression and anxiety and brooding (fixating on what is wrong in our lives).
She also mentioned that scientific studies showed that persons’ negative thinking improved after walking in quiet, green surrounding.
As an antidote she extols the benefits of walking in “green natural spaces” in warding off those negative emotions warding off depression and anxiety.
Ralph Waldo Emerson who was an essayist, not a scientist, knew very well the benefits of enjoying nature. In his essay “Nature” written in 1836 he said: “In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life,--no disgrace, no calamity… which nature cannot repair”.
Edward Volpintesta
She also mentioned that scientific studies showed that persons’ negative thinking improved after walking in quiet, green surrounding.
As an antidote she extols the benefits of walking in “green natural spaces” in warding off those negative emotions warding off depression and anxiety.
Ralph Waldo Emerson who was an essayist, not a scientist, knew very well the benefits of enjoying nature. In his essay “Nature” written in 1836 he said: “In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life,--no disgrace, no calamity… which nature cannot repair”.
Edward Volpintesta
nycfoodie
Manhattan July 29, 2015
This doesn't surprise me! I am never at peace so much as when I am out hiking, or even just walking. But hiking in a forest or a wildlife refuge, even walking through a pine glade, lifts my mood immeasurably.
DrSJG
Albany July 29, 2015
A number of unproven and unsupported premises sprinkled repeatedly through an essay does not a truth make. It is somewhat interesting to find that walking in the woods affects ones brain, and thus one's emotional state, more positively than walking next to a busy highway. Not a surprise really. But there is little evidence to support the notion that city dweller's mental health is worse overall than rural dwellers (despite repeatedly saying that studies say this). My work in the mental health field takes me into the analysis of prevalence rates and it is completely a misnomer that mental illness, drug addiction or developmental disabilities for that matter are any less prevalent in rural areas. As a matter of fact, there is much data to suggest that some select rural areas dwarf some select urban areas on these dimensions. A walk in the woods is probably a reliable remedy wherever you live. But living in the city probably didn't make you sick.
Andrew Porter
Brooklyn Heights July 28, 2015
When I was undergoing chemotherapy, I could sit in my apartment and feel ill and weak, or I could sit in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, surrounded by green, living things while experiencing the effects of chemo. I chose the latter.
Nikki B
USA July 28, 2015
Although this article may simply solidify “common knowledge” in regards to nature’s calming benefits, it also encompasses several noteworthy ideas. According to the article, “City dwellers also have a higher risk for anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses than people living outside urban centers” and “Most of us today live in cities and spend far less time outside”. Therefore, it is only natural to conclude that people of the modern world generally have more negative mindsets than people of the past. It may seem as if disorders such as anxiety and depression are suddenly gaining more attention in society, but this is largely due to the increasing frequency in which people are affected. As the green space in our environment is cut back, mental illnesses are likely to do the opposite and grow in their frequencies. The physical detriments of industrialism and city life have been exposed to society for a long period of time and viewed as common knowledge. The positive mental effects that nature brings about is also common knowledge, yet the lack of its presence in city life is somehow not associated negatively in the same way that pollution, for example, is. Mental well-being is just as important as physical well-being. Thus, although Mr. Bratman’s studies may appear as redundant information, they actually bring light to a subject that has not been considered in full.
nikki_bucci
NHSKnights2015
nikki_bucci
NHSKnights2015
Barbara T
Oyster Bay, NY July 28, 2015
Walks, whether long or short, oxygenates your body and brain for clearer thinking - hence, the theory "I need to clear my head" or "I need to walk it off". Nature certainly inspires and constant brooding will not help any situation. Great article!
Brian Kelley
Independence July 28, 2015
Any physical activity can change the brain for the better! A walk out in nature can help even more.
Sherry
Wilmette, Il. July 28, 2015
THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
-- Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
-- Wendell Berry
curtis dickinson
Worcester July 28, 2015
Being one with nature...
Anonymous
Westchester July 28, 2015
Although the result seems obvious (a "no-brainer" others have said), the scientific evidence is barely credible unless this were set up as a double blind experiment. We might also check for the Hawthorne effect: walk in nature, feel better; walk in traffic, feel better still...
Paul Griffin
NYC July 27, 2015
Lot's of interesting narrative the the experiment is very weak. Not clear if the stress of walking next to a crowded street was the factor preventing relaxation or if was the nature that caused the relaxation. Walking in a shopping mall might have had the same effect. Maybe it's the university affiliation that gives this an extra boost in believability.
Dale M
Fayetteville, AR July 27, 2015
Take a walk in the woods and feel better ... stop the presses.
Jen Udler
Potomac, MD July 27, 2015
Three years ago, I started a private practice on this idea. As a clinical social worker, I see all of my clients outdoors while walking in parks and/or paths. Clients report feeling better after our walks due to the combination of movement, green space, and therapy. www.PositiveStridesTherapy.com
ck
chicago July 29, 2015
Oh, wow, I just love this. And the positive associations you are creating with feeling better and being in nature will no doubt serve your clients so well
outside of the therapy.
outside of the therapy.
Ed
Washington, Dc July 27, 2015
Interesting article.....heard a story about a low stress-hormoned northern Vermont farmer living near the NY State border. Upon learning from a state surveyor that his farm was in fact in NY State, not Vermont, he responded: 'Why that's super; now I don't have to live through any more of those frigid Vermont winters'...
Mike Denison
LA July 27, 2015
Natural processes are the best way to cure depression. I battled depression for years, and I am so grateful that I managed to fight that daemon off.
For anyone suffering from depression,
I recommend something that has helped me a lot. It is James Gordon’s system at http://lookingupstuff.com/mentalhealth/2015/02/06/how-to-destroy-depress...
He is a former depression sufferer, and teaches a totally natural 7 step process which relieves depression from your life.
For anyone suffering from depression,
I recommend something that has helped me a lot. It is James Gordon’s system at http://lookingupstuff.com/mentalhealth/2015/02/06/how-to-destroy-depress...
He is a former depression sufferer, and teaches a totally natural 7 step process which relieves depression from your life.
Lonn Obee
Wheaton, IL. July 27, 2015
I have been taking half hour (or more) walks in nature (or in beautifully landscaped neighborhoods) and I am convinced that walking in nature is not the answer. It just happens to be an environment that is conducive to a better mental state. Walking in nature pulls us out of our heads (if we let it) and into the present moment in ways that other environments usually do not. If you walk slowly enough and open up your senses to the present moment, you'll notice things you never would have before (a cardinal flying from the shadows of trees into the light of the sun over a serene pond). Instead of living with the usual floating disembodied head (anxiety), you reconnect your head to your body and feel a sense of wholeness. Walking is good. Noticing your breath is good. Noticing the depth, vividness, and symmetry of nature is good. Combine all three and you have something great.
Paulo
San Antonio July 29, 2015
What you're describing is mindfulness. Many people don't give it credence because they look upon it as hippie, new age nonsense. Of course those same people don't realize that's why they feel rejuvenated by nature. It's being mindful of the moment.
The same has been studied and can be accomplished in the arts, whether painting, drawing, or creating music. Whatever the activity, when the processes are broken down and done with awareness, one becomes absorbed in whatever they may be doing. That distraction from our daily stresses is what brings us calm. While enjoyable and peaceful, we don't need nature to achieve mindfulness, it's achieved by many through meditation, which can be done anytime and anywhere. At its most basic, it's as simple as taking a slow, deep breath, which we all know helps to relax us and bring us back into the moment.
The same has been studied and can be accomplished in the arts, whether painting, drawing, or creating music. Whatever the activity, when the processes are broken down and done with awareness, one becomes absorbed in whatever they may be doing. That distraction from our daily stresses is what brings us calm. While enjoyable and peaceful, we don't need nature to achieve mindfulness, it's achieved by many through meditation, which can be done anytime and anywhere. At its most basic, it's as simple as taking a slow, deep breath, which we all know helps to relax us and bring us back into the moment.
jimneotech
Michigan July 27, 2015
Regardless of the mechanism involved, this just seems to be another of those rediscovered aspects of common sense. Nothing strange about the interminable nature of external stimuli in the urban environment causing anxiety as we are overwhelmed with inputs. Of course it would be possible to bring one's own mental stressors into any pastoral environment but the likelihood is far diminished.
Stephen
Windsor, Ontario, Canada July 27, 2015
Anybody thinking of Beethoven's Pastorale symphony?
Wesley
New Yorker living in Cleveland July 27, 2015
Except, maybe, the 4th movement... ? ;-)
M
New England July 27, 2015
I'm lucky to live in a peaceful suburb that has a 300 acre park, largely untouched and not landscaped. The result are many walking/hiking trails through pristine woods, through open meadows of wildflowers, beside a rushing river, over a small waterfall. I go there frequently, sometimes at midday to escape the world and recharge. I brought my kids there when they were young and to this day, we all will walk together and enjoy this sanctuary.
Peter O.
Portland, Oregon July 27, 2015
Equating cities with heavy car traffic and a lack of green space is simplistic. The most stressful thing for humans in "urban" settings is indeed car traffic. But cars are inherently anti-urban; they're sub-urban (insult intended).
But there are plenty of cities with human-scaled, peaceful, quiet green spaces (and even areas with no greenery). What makes any place more stressful is car traffic and the roads and parking lots to support it. Just walk down a narrow medieval alleyway in Barcelona or similar European cities and marvel at how peaceful, cozy, and contemplative it feels, even with no nature in sight.
What creates stress is the presence of cars, both in dense cities like New York and in the soul-sucking suburbs and parking lots that cover most of this nation. I'd like to see a study on human stress and emotions comparing a resident of, say, walkable Paris with unwalkable Parsippany.
But there are plenty of cities with human-scaled, peaceful, quiet green spaces (and even areas with no greenery). What makes any place more stressful is car traffic and the roads and parking lots to support it. Just walk down a narrow medieval alleyway in Barcelona or similar European cities and marvel at how peaceful, cozy, and contemplative it feels, even with no nature in sight.
What creates stress is the presence of cars, both in dense cities like New York and in the soul-sucking suburbs and parking lots that cover most of this nation. I'd like to see a study on human stress and emotions comparing a resident of, say, walkable Paris with unwalkable Parsippany.
Paulo
San Antonio July 29, 2015
Well crafted insult. I agree, cars create stress due to noise pollution, air pollution, commotion, and their demands on the built environment.
People are most comfortable in intimate environments, those built to human scale. Crossing a six lane roadway or walking alongside traffic moving at 35-mph is not human scale; a medieval Parisian alleyway is. It's for this same reason that we're seeing a push for sidewalks and bike paths separated from traffic; it's not that walking/cycling next to roadways is considerably more dangerous, but it certainly -feels- that way.
Have you ever noticed when people are walking down an empty sidewalk that they center themselves within the sidewalk, they assimilated themselves to the scale of the sidewalk. It's our natural tendency to create order, that's why people walk in the middle of a deserted street or the middle of parking lot aisles, and in the middle of a canyon. In traffic-filled city streets, we are unable to assimilate to scale. There's a reason why we call calmness being centered, or grounded. We seek scale on a perspective of human understanding/capability.
People are most comfortable in intimate environments, those built to human scale. Crossing a six lane roadway or walking alongside traffic moving at 35-mph is not human scale; a medieval Parisian alleyway is. It's for this same reason that we're seeing a push for sidewalks and bike paths separated from traffic; it's not that walking/cycling next to roadways is considerably more dangerous, but it certainly -feels- that way.
Have you ever noticed when people are walking down an empty sidewalk that they center themselves within the sidewalk, they assimilated themselves to the scale of the sidewalk. It's our natural tendency to create order, that's why people walk in the middle of a deserted street or the middle of parking lot aisles, and in the middle of a canyon. In traffic-filled city streets, we are unable to assimilate to scale. There's a reason why we call calmness being centered, or grounded. We seek scale on a perspective of human understanding/capability.
Psychologistic
Fountain Valley, CA July 27, 2015
Yet another scientist confusing correlation for cause and effect. If a person don't enjoy nature, no amount of walking in nature will help them. They'd be in nature but their mind is elsewhere.
Carol
Toronto July 27, 2015
Perhaps. But, walking with someone who does love nature could be helpful in bringing about that sense of peace by creating a focus on the beauty of the surroundings. I tend to agree that changes in the brain can come about from experiencing the solitude and beauty of nature. Hopefully, further study will convince cynics like you, and we will all benefit from their findings.
OldRafe
Westchester, NY July 27, 2015
Most likely the cause of that calm mood is just the absence of crowds of other people, in cars or afoot. It's not the scenery, it's just the relative privacy.
denise
oakland July 29, 2015
I have two alternative routes to get my kids to school in the morning. One takes me down a busy street with lots of traffic, the other through a lovely neighborhood with lots of trees and minimal traffic. It was clear to me after a brief sample of both that the quieter route made me a lot nicer and calmer than the busy one.
Ann Klefstad
Duluth MN July 27, 2015
After many years of experiencing these benefits in a city, Duluth, that is rich in trails and wild areas in the city-- in fact, these sorts of walks are my primary means of keeping a lifelong tendency to depression at bay-- I think that it may have something to do with an aspect of the green world I am calling "hypercomplexity": human-made environments are both far more visually simple and also more chaotic that natural ones. That is, they tend to be rectilinear, and each chunk of property abuts another with no particular necessary relation. Thus the visual field is both depressingly monotone and chaotic, that is, full of unrelated parts. Natural environments are by contrast extremely complex but not chaotic-- every element of the highly diverse visual field is organically related in a number of ways to the rest of the field. I think that this has great importance for how our brains make sense of the world; how we make meaning.
salley sawyer
Henderson, NV July 29, 2015
You wrote - "how our brains make sense of the world; how we make meaning."
Thank you for this cogent observation, Ann. I think you must be an artist. I think you might enjoy the book "Centering" by the late M.C. Richards.
Thank you for this cogent observation, Ann. I think you must be an artist. I think you might enjoy the book "Centering" by the late M.C. Richards.
Paulo
San Antonio July 29, 2015
As I said another comment, I attribute this to mindfulness. In natural environments there's a forced perspective due to a less disturbed, unchaotic landscape that distracts us in ways different from the city. In nature we're distracted—absorbed in, as you said, a complex, organically ordered, environment.
Whereas in urban landscapes we are distracted by inorganically complex chaos. An environment that displaces natural order and human-tangible scale. Cityscapes overwhelm us with banality, they discourage attachment to the environment.
If you'll permit a personal antidote. I used to drive 20 miles to trail run at a nature park because of how rejuvenated I felt afterwards, and how boring, uninspiring, and uninteresting it was running block after block in city. One day a girlfriend asked me to run the city with her. I reluctantly went along, but soon found it to be enjoyable. Since she was a slower runner my pace slowed, I then found myself paying attention to building features, sign ornamentation, sidewalk materials/disrepair, etc. Things I had known of before, but I now became mindful of because my journey ceased to be about running from point A to B, and instead became about taking notice of the environment. What I realized is that like meditation, it's not the environment, but how we relate to it. Though being in nature allows a more easily changed, and perhaps more enjoyable, perspective due to its organic qualities.
Whereas in urban landscapes we are distracted by inorganically complex chaos. An environment that displaces natural order and human-tangible scale. Cityscapes overwhelm us with banality, they discourage attachment to the environment.
If you'll permit a personal antidote. I used to drive 20 miles to trail run at a nature park because of how rejuvenated I felt afterwards, and how boring, uninspiring, and uninteresting it was running block after block in city. One day a girlfriend asked me to run the city with her. I reluctantly went along, but soon found it to be enjoyable. Since she was a slower runner my pace slowed, I then found myself paying attention to building features, sign ornamentation, sidewalk materials/disrepair, etc. Things I had known of before, but I now became mindful of because my journey ceased to be about running from point A to B, and instead became about taking notice of the environment. What I realized is that like meditation, it's not the environment, but how we relate to it. Though being in nature allows a more easily changed, and perhaps more enjoyable, perspective due to its organic qualities.
Howard Gilman
The Bronx, New York July 26, 2015
The restfulness of the color green could be important to this study. Quieter sounds are more restful than louder sounds that cause flight instinctively with other animals.
Deeply Imbedded
Blue View Lane, Eastport Michigan July 26, 2015
After tragedy and loss I have always retreated to nature. Now, alone, it is all that sustains me. A view of water, a walk through the resin odors of my pine forest and through the maples and on to the berry bushes the open meadows and fields of wild flowers to my neighbor's orchid where this time of year I pick sweat cherries.. Each day I walk this. There are always deer and small rodents, often turkeys, a racoon in the tires and songbirds, an occasional high hawk or eagle. Along this path I follow the seasons from summer to golden fall to white bleak blizzard, to wondrous budding spring, on feet and skis in winter. I don't know if it changes the brain, but it sustains the spirit.
Lynn Smith
Newport Beach July 26, 2015
There is a reason I live at the beach--the abundance of negative ions in the ocean air. Negative ions are the invisible molecules abundant in natural environments that are said to relieve depression and stress, and improve awareness, among other positive effects. The negative ions produce biochemical reactions in the bloodstream that increase serotonin, the mood chemical. Polluted air in large cities contains less that 100 negative ions, compared with 2,000-4,000 in fresh country air and more than 100,000 at a large waterfall. But who's counting? It just feels wonderful.
I Am The Walurs
Liverpool July 26, 2015
Lot's of comments that it is obvious a walk in nature is good for you mental health.
But I think the point here is to turn off Netflix and the NFL, and go for a walk in nature, brings you kids if you have them, and stop for an ice cream on the way home.
But I think the point here is to turn off Netflix and the NFL, and go for a walk in nature, brings you kids if you have them, and stop for an ice cream on the way home.
Steven Czetli
Rehoboth, DE July 26, 2015
Could the difference in the thoughts triggered by each environment be the active ingredient? Nature reminds us that we don't have to engineer everything to experience genius; traffic noise reminds us of the common belief that the best things in life are the ones we make for ourselves. Smartphones and the Internet are amazing, but compared to a tree? Nature drives home that if we quit managing everything or if what we take responsibility for falls apart, a safety net still hangs beneath us.
Bruce Murray
Prospect, Kentucky July 26, 2015
As a city dweller I've had a reputation for being happy and well involved. But living directly across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, I was able to walk the Cincinnati waterfront parks on almost a daily basis. I'm sure these early morning walks helped to soothe my mind.
We may think that this research can lead to a different behavior for people but I see it was a call to cities to provide more calm green spaces for residents. I'm sure the entire population will benefit.
We may think that this research can lead to a different behavior for people but I see it was a call to cities to provide more calm green spaces for residents. I'm sure the entire population will benefit.
David
Brooklyn July 26, 2015
"Clearly the problem of man and nature is not one of providing a
decorative background for the human play, or even ameliorating
the grim city: it is the necessity of sustaining nature as source
of life, milieu, teacher, sanctum, challenge and, most of all, of
rediscovering nature's corollary of the unknown in the self, the
source of meaning." - Ian McHarg, Design with Nature
decorative background for the human play, or even ameliorating
the grim city: it is the necessity of sustaining nature as source
of life, milieu, teacher, sanctum, challenge and, most of all, of
rediscovering nature's corollary of the unknown in the self, the
source of meaning." - Ian McHarg, Design with Nature
Valerie Striar
Brooklyn July 26, 2015
I lead walking meditation at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. It is a beautiful place to go to reconnect to nature and remember that we are part of not separate from her. It's the "inter-are connection." We walk slowly, with attention on our breath. Walking not to arrive but to just to walk. A chance to clear the mind from its incessant over working and arrive back in the heart and body. Thich Nhat Hanh, in quotes below, and other great teachers write inspired words about the gifts of walking meditation, which is part of every monks daily ritual. Giving back to the earth with steps of peace. "Peace in every step. The shining red sun is my heart. Each flower smiles with me. How green, how fresh all that grows. How cool the wind blows. Peace is every step. It turns the endless path to joy." It is possible to live in a city and find the wild places. Prospect Park and the Gardens hold the sounds, sights and smells to rejuvenate the senses. If we city dwellers restore ourselves on a regular basis we can use our progressive thinking to care for our planet and ourselves no matter where we are.
TEJ
New York, NY July 28, 2015
Thank you, Valerie. Yours was a lovely post.
Jackie
Brussels July 26, 2015
In 2009 I went to Baghdad to spend a year in the Green Zone working at the American Embassy. Within the first week, I developed a serious anxiety condition, and I eventually left early, completing only three and a half months. Yet the frequent rocket attacks didn't seem to faze me, so it wasn't triggered by that. At the time, I was convinced it was cabin fever exacerbated by the complete absence of the greenery and contact with nature that I love and was craving. This article would seem to give credence to my gut sense of what was happening to me. I've heard that since my short tenure there, the U.S. Embassy compound has planted more grass and trees and flowers on the compound. I wonder if it's making a difference in reducing stress levels?
Charlotte82
Paris, France July 27, 2015
I spent a year there too, but more recently. The endless expanse of dun-colored bunkers and gravel and blast walls really starts to wear you down. We had a small organic garden cobbled together in the back of the compound and it was a lifesaver. I don't think I could have made it through the year without that green place to retreat to, and to have had living things to attend to.
Hamid Varzi
Spain July 26, 2015
One does not require a scientific study to prove the obvious, namely, that visiting or living in nature reduces stress!
an Observer
San Diego July 26, 2015
Is it really necessary to study this. when common sense would dictate that natural world changes a person's perception- isn't that obvious?
Ram S
Bay Area, CA July 26, 2015
The human mind is deeply affected by ego, anger, greediness, likes and delikes; chasing wants. Going into the nature climbing the mountains or seeing the unending ocean or admiring the star-filled expansive sky makes one feel dumb-founded and awed, temporarily suspending the ego, anger, greed etc. and dwell in our true Self. At that time the inherent happiness comes out like a fountain and we feel it. The same effect can happen with people attributing happiness to being around friends or laughing. All these are temporary but nevertheless have a physical effect if these incidents happen repeatedly. Permanent happiness lies in understanding the true Self.
Liz Casey
Roslindale mass July 26, 2015
as someone who is very disabled due to multiple sclerosis,I practice deep breathing while I visualize jogging 3 or 4 times a week. I usually imagine traversing through the Arnold Arboretum near my house, noticing specific things like the birds or the crabapple trees, and of course the weather. Sometimes I go to the beach. But every time I feel better, and I know I am getting an endorphin high. Isn't the brain beautiful?
Genevieve Gerard
Gold Coast of Florida July 26, 2015
So glad to read about a study on the effects of walking in nature. However, I wish they would have had a much larger sampling of test subjects.
Years ago I felt so strongly about this that I published a guided meditation on iTunes and Amazon to allow you to become more aware of not only yourself but also strengthen your connection to the world around you.
People commented that they learned how to balance and focus their awareness. Most profound however was how they noticed a change in how they experienced their surroundings and how it energize them to face the day. It is great to see that this study starts to tell the real story why this may be happening.
I believe you can convert walking into a transcendent experience that leaves you focused, refreshed, and balanced.
Years ago I felt so strongly about this that I published a guided meditation on iTunes and Amazon to allow you to become more aware of not only yourself but also strengthen your connection to the world around you.
People commented that they learned how to balance and focus their awareness. Most profound however was how they noticed a change in how they experienced their surroundings and how it energize them to face the day. It is great to see that this study starts to tell the real story why this may be happening.
I believe you can convert walking into a transcendent experience that leaves you focused, refreshed, and balanced.
Lonn Obee
Wheaton, IL. July 27, 2015
"I believe you can convert walking into a transcendent experience that leaves you focused, refreshed, and balanced." I can't agree more!!
Fornik Tsai
Taipei July 26, 2015
Humans are product of nature, but just happens to live in the city......
Deepak Kumar Das
Bhubaneswar, India July 26, 2015
The way construction is booming around every city, it is leaving no space for parks and natural habitat. Yes i agree body get refreshed when it comes near a natural thing like air, tree, sound of birds. Computer age made our body functioning slow and down and made us lukewarm.
christmann
new england July 26, 2015
When my marriage was in critical condition, I started taking daily early-morning walks around the inside loop in Prospect Park - which I continued to do once my husband moved out - he had been having an affair, and I was simply gutted. I am convinced that those walks salvaged what few shreds remained of my sanity and dignity during that miserable time. I could have saved the cost of the study with a single, first-person account.
Kay Sieverding
Belmont Ma July 26, 2015
Isn't there also a theory that being in the sun for 20 minutes a day helps you sleep and does other good things for your brain?
JLC
Seattle July 24, 2015
This is why, after 6 years of brooding in NYC, I moved back to the Pacific Northwest, where it is easier to find the elements that rebalance the mind and crowd out the persistent self-loathing. New York may be a jungle, but it is a concrete one that made me feel like a caged rat.
A good study might be to see if the effect is larger in natives of NYC or those who are accustomed to a more pastoral setting to begin with.
A good study might be to see if the effect is larger in natives of NYC or those who are accustomed to a more pastoral setting to begin with.
CharlesLynn
USA July 26, 2015
I too moved from the East to the Pacific Northwest. Yes, the natural elements are more easily accessible up here in the ever more popular upper left corner. Unfortunately there's also an abundance of the bottled up passive aggressive culture here, which causes me more stress than the city streets of New York where at least one can read a person at face value. Nature has trouble undoing the stress of dealing with the tightened up folks out here where no one will say what they think.
TEJ
New York, NY July 28, 2015
My parents were both native New Yorkers. I got my love for the city from them, even tho' I grew up in pastoral northern New Jersey. I consider myself very lucky to have had both the excitement of New York City and the beauty of the woods of Sussex County. There is much to love in both.
Nels Y
CT July 24, 2015
I doubt that "green" or "leafy" are prerequisites to quieting the subgenual prefrontal cortex. As any avid outdoorsperson knows, whether hiking in an arid desert or above the treeline, whether sailing toward a blue horizon or soaring high above it on nylon wings, the mind--and in particular--the mind's emotional machinery, is quieted by tranquil solitude. Emotions, as Emerson would know, are largely (though, admittedly, not entirely) a performance for other people. Solitude dampens most any feelings whatsoever, leaving space for brooding to occur.
City Guy
Major Cities in US, EU July 24, 2015
So we spent a million dollars on a study to tell us that a nice relaxing walk in the park is better for us than a near-death walk by the freeway? Nice!
independent subtotality
World,planet earth July 26, 2015
Take a chill pill. Most jobs now involve rearranging, rearranging electrons,pouring old wine in new bottles. Few people work to provide food,shelter,clothing.
Vast portions of healthcare, defense, education etc. are merely transfer payments. Huge parts of finance,accounting legal, Technology merely keep track of the complexity we have trapped ourselves into.
Traditional people had songs,prayers to remind us of the constants, well, we have the Well.
Vast portions of healthcare, defense, education etc. are merely transfer payments. Huge parts of finance,accounting legal, Technology merely keep track of the complexity we have trapped ourselves into.
Traditional people had songs,prayers to remind us of the constants, well, we have the Well.
Thomas
Hoboken, NJ July 26, 2015
Did it really cost that much? That seems like a lot but I'm going to re-read this.
NVFisherman
Las Vegas,Nevada July 24, 2015
An excellent article. Time for me to take a walk but i think I will hold off taking that walk around our casinos here in Las Vegas.
Ellen
July 24, 2015
It is interesting that "nature" in this study is a benign and bucolic portion of the campus at Stanford, no doubt tended by gardeners and having a man-made walkway. It's a Disney-like version of the real, wild, and sometimes dangerous thing. Thus, I suspect the study's conclusions can only be applied to such tamed places.
Where I live, nature can easily be deadly, as you never know where a rattlesnake may lurk, and already this season there have been more than a few deaths of hikers from the heat, dehydration or falls. Researchers need to alter their flawed assumption that nature is, by definition, calming and restorative.
Where I live, nature can easily be deadly, as you never know where a rattlesnake may lurk, and already this season there have been more than a few deaths of hikers from the heat, dehydration or falls. Researchers need to alter their flawed assumption that nature is, by definition, calming and restorative.
The Cranky Native
Seattle July 24, 2015
One, we all feel better having our own personal space or or those of us who we see as an extension of ourselves - loved ones, friends. The broodiness goes away even when we visit graveyards. This could also correspond with the way grounding works. The inorganic surrounding of the concrete jungle have a force field that restricts absorption of our personal energies - we haven't a place to disperse our mentally toxic fumes, much like the way we express breath. Exhalation takes longer than inhalation since it is believed to facilitate better exchange of gases. Parts of the nervous system help to regulate respiration in humans. The exhaled air isn’t just carbon dioxide; it contains a mixture of other gases. Human breath contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These compounds consist of methanol, isoprene, acetone, ethanol and other alcohols. The exhaled mixture also contains ketones, water and other hydrocarbons.[2][3] . What is in the nature of concrete, the traffic that flows from it, around it and living inside it of it offers very little relief from what we expel as humans - in fact it just compounds the the amount of all of these compounds plus more from auto traffic, garbage, dead fruits and decaying veggies off the fields and industrial fumes. Of course a human is going to feel better being where the trees and grass is sucking these compounds out of the air. To prove my point, do this with blind people.
Miss Ley
New York July 24, 2015
When a young woman yesterday, I came across a passage in a book and wrote it down. It is only recently that I found it again, but I do not know the author who expressed my feelings so well.
'It was the people who somehow, walked as an upright menace to her. Her life at this time was unformed, palpitating, essentially shrinking from all touch. She gave something to other people, but she was never herself, since she had no self. She was not afraid before trees, and birds and the sky. But she shrank violently from people, ashamed that she was not as they were fixed, emphatic, but a wavering, undefined sensibility only, without form nor being'.
It was awhile ago, but I remember that there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky.
'It was the people who somehow, walked as an upright menace to her. Her life at this time was unformed, palpitating, essentially shrinking from all touch. She gave something to other people, but she was never herself, since she had no self. She was not afraid before trees, and birds and the sky. But she shrank violently from people, ashamed that she was not as they were fixed, emphatic, but a wavering, undefined sensibility only, without form nor being'.
It was awhile ago, but I remember that there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky.
Issis
Florida July 24, 2015
Must it be a park? My relatively small (6000 sq. ft.) intensely landscaped garden and waterway provide not only a quiet place but one which requires maintenance, therefore exercise. It also inspires curiosity and learning. It's day and night inhabitants and visitors provide entertainment and provoke study. The garden's needs require research and observation. The tending of it's trees and plants provide a variety of cardiovascular, stretching and strengthening exercises. It's tranquility provides a place to read and rest, and is especially welcome at days end. Gardens are possible for urban inhabitants - on roof tops, in vacant plots and even on balconies, which can be landscaped to provide an oases amidst the cachophony of urban life. Roof top gardens and/or atriums should be required of all new and retrofitted urban structures. They not only provide a soothing retreat for occupants, but reduce noise and air pollution, can be cultivated to provide a local source of fresh vegetables, and configured to significantly reduce utility costs.
Mae Ma De YIS2019
Yangon, Myanmar July 24, 2015
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/22/how-nature-changes-the-brain/?s...
I find the article " how walking in nature changes the brain" compelling because Gregory Bratman, a graduate student at the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources at Stanford University, who has been studying the psychological effects of urban living wanted to see how nature effects your health. Mr. Bratman and his colleagues came up an idea of gathering 38 healthy adults to ask them to take a questionnaire. But even after several experiments and the brain scans, he pointed out that there's a tremendous amount of study that still needs to be done.
A scienctist once said that "When you go outside and walk, you really focus on what's around you, and that's you become part of a larger world. You start to see things above all by their beauty."
I find the article " how walking in nature changes the brain" compelling because Gregory Bratman, a graduate student at the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources at Stanford University, who has been studying the psychological effects of urban living wanted to see how nature effects your health. Mr. Bratman and his colleagues came up an idea of gathering 38 healthy adults to ask them to take a questionnaire. But even after several experiments and the brain scans, he pointed out that there's a tremendous amount of study that still needs to be done.
A scienctist once said that "When you go outside and walk, you really focus on what's around you, and that's you become part of a larger world. You start to see things above all by their beauty."
Jerry Gropp Architect AIA
Mercer Island, WA July 24, 2015
It's hard to argue with this article. It's a no-brainer as many others will argue. Too bad too many places are not as nice walkwise as is my Mercer Island. JG-
Julia
NYC July 26, 2015
Mercer Island was a lot nicer and wilder when I was growing up there in the 50's.
B.
Brooklyn July 24, 2015
Living where I do in Flatbush, and seeing what I see, and hearing what I am forced to hear, I do a lot of ruminating and brooding.
My ruminating includes wishing I had a zapper for every car going 45 mph on my residential street, for every car sound system that routinely sets off car alarms, for every man who thinks it's okay to urinate in front of where I live, for the gangs who sell drugs and guns on the corner . . . . You get the picture.
Leaving Brooklyn is always heaven. Walking through woods, seeing mountains, shorelines -- one feels such peace.
And then one worries that living in such a place would bring its own set of troubles; racist, homophobic, Christian-fundamentalist country folk who'd look with suspicion on a transplanted Brooklynite.
What's a person to do? Obviously: brood.
My ruminating includes wishing I had a zapper for every car going 45 mph on my residential street, for every car sound system that routinely sets off car alarms, for every man who thinks it's okay to urinate in front of where I live, for the gangs who sell drugs and guns on the corner . . . . You get the picture.
Leaving Brooklyn is always heaven. Walking through woods, seeing mountains, shorelines -- one feels such peace.
And then one worries that living in such a place would bring its own set of troubles; racist, homophobic, Christian-fundamentalist country folk who'd look with suspicion on a transplanted Brooklynite.
What's a person to do? Obviously: brood.
J. Johns
Oklahoma July 26, 2015
There are many small mountain towns with open-minded communities. I know of them in Appalachia and in the Rockies. I'm sure you could find them on the West Coast too.
Have you taken the MTA up to the Appalachia Trail? Forgot the name of the stop, but we used to do it to escape the madness of NYC. In the other direction Montauk is nice also.
Have you taken the MTA up to the Appalachia Trail? Forgot the name of the stop, but we used to do it to escape the madness of NYC. In the other direction Montauk is nice also.
PK
Chicago July 24, 2015
OK great news. Why is it though that the medical community attaches so little importance to human experiences? For example when people say they feel better with regular practice of yoga or meditation, you shouldn't need a massive study involving brain scans of Buddhist monks or Indian yogis to trust what people are already telling you.
Louis Charles Morelli
New York, NY July 24, 2015
But... but, the park is not Nature, it is artificially man made.
What really happens when a big city nurtured guy go walking in the real place of our origins, like the jungle? The brain is totally re-hard-wired. It happened with Darwin ( 4 years in Galápagos and South América) and with myself (7 years in the Amazon jungle). It is like if you take a baby living in his rich and modern room and put it again reduced as fetus inside the embryonary sac! It is like you experiencing two diferente universes ( the cosmic universe surrounding the baby and the litle universe of the embryonary sac surrounding the fetus). But... which is the real universe (in relation to the brain and not in relation to the urban human mindset)? Darwin and me concluded that it is something in between. LIke the real world is something in between the believed world view built by the scientific reductive method and the world view built by the flying imagination of religions.
Oh my lovely Almight Lord Pink Unicorn! If every newyorker could go living by a year alone in the jungle, we would have a new New Age revolution at every year... and the final effect would be avoiding Humanity that is going to the Brave New World under the rules of the Big Brother and loosing totally the counciousness that we still are nurturing in this brain as placenta inside this head as egg.
And the neuroscinetists would be very busy trying to be actualized with the hard-wired state of ours brains.
What really happens when a big city nurtured guy go walking in the real place of our origins, like the jungle? The brain is totally re-hard-wired. It happened with Darwin ( 4 years in Galápagos and South América) and with myself (7 years in the Amazon jungle). It is like if you take a baby living in his rich and modern room and put it again reduced as fetus inside the embryonary sac! It is like you experiencing two diferente universes ( the cosmic universe surrounding the baby and the litle universe of the embryonary sac surrounding the fetus). But... which is the real universe (in relation to the brain and not in relation to the urban human mindset)? Darwin and me concluded that it is something in between. LIke the real world is something in between the believed world view built by the scientific reductive method and the world view built by the flying imagination of religions.
Oh my lovely Almight Lord Pink Unicorn! If every newyorker could go living by a year alone in the jungle, we would have a new New Age revolution at every year... and the final effect would be avoiding Humanity that is going to the Brave New World under the rules of the Big Brother and loosing totally the counciousness that we still are nurturing in this brain as placenta inside this head as egg.
And the neuroscinetists would be very busy trying to be actualized with the hard-wired state of ours brains.
Thomas
Hoboken, NJ July 26, 2015
Apparently living away from civilization doesn't erase cynicism.
JB Smith
Waxhaw, NC July 24, 2015
I'll refrain from delineating the myriad harms that those on the right have done to our shared environment- the horrible costs to the Earth's ecosystems are manifest. Instead I'll defer to one of our great American writers.
Ursula K. LeGuin used the phrase "the Killer Story" to describe our patriarchal culture and it's antipathy toward the natural world:
'It sometimes seems that that story is approaching its end. Lest there be no more telling of stories at all, some of us out here in the wild oats, amid the alien corn, think we’d better start telling another one, which maybe people can go on with when the old one’s finished. Maybe. The trouble is, we’ve all let ourselves become part of the killer story and so we may get finished along with it. Hence it is with a certain feeling of urgency that I seek the nature, subject, words of the other story, the untold one, the *life* story.'
- from her essay "The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction"
Ursula K. LeGuin used the phrase "the Killer Story" to describe our patriarchal culture and it's antipathy toward the natural world:
'It sometimes seems that that story is approaching its end. Lest there be no more telling of stories at all, some of us out here in the wild oats, amid the alien corn, think we’d better start telling another one, which maybe people can go on with when the old one’s finished. Maybe. The trouble is, we’ve all let ourselves become part of the killer story and so we may get finished along with it. Hence it is with a certain feeling of urgency that I seek the nature, subject, words of the other story, the untold one, the *life* story.'
- from her essay "The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction"
Lisa Fields
Arizona July 24, 2015
Dr. Esther Sternberg MD has completed important work focusing on the Science of healing places. Dr. Sternberg, like Gregory Bratman, believe nature creates a positive impact upon our health and shares her evidence based research. Krista Tippett’s (@kristatippett) host of On Being (@Beingtweets) recorded a remarkable interview with Dr. Sternberg's work~http://www.onbeing.org/program/the-science-of-healing-places/4856
This was a poplar discussion with a group of international healthcare leaders during a tweet chat~Shameless share:http://www.onbeing.org/program/the-science-of-healing-places/4856
Thank you for covering this important topic.
This was a poplar discussion with a group of international healthcare leaders during a tweet chat~Shameless share:http://www.onbeing.org/program/the-science-of-healing-places/4856
Thank you for covering this important topic.
Paul Weideman
Santa Fe July 24, 2015
I think it's not simply the "leafy, quiet" and "loamy smells" that change our mental activity walking in nature, it's a return to instinct. Especially when alone, you're basically in the wilderness and pretty quickly the incessant internal dialogue turns off and the senses wake up — there is an instinctive imperative to be attuned to unfamiliar, unpredictable danger, be it rattlesnake, bear, cougar, or lightning. Out there, survival awareness is more important than worrying about jobs and relationships.
RBSF
San Fancisco, CA July 24, 2015
It's probably not "nature" as much as noise from the freeway for the one group that accounts for the difference. Interesting experiment, but too many variables between the two groups..
Nonprofitperson
usa July 24, 2015
Why is this even an article to read, I mean duh... yeah, I totally enjoy being in the woods, or on a hike or at the beach or meadow or mountains by a brook any day then walking down a busy city street.
GPY
Kansas July 24, 2015
It could be very important. Once we figure out just what it is about walking in nature helps us, we can look for ways to replicate it using technology, for example by using virtual reality headsets. This could be a boon to people who can't get out in nature but who experience a great deal of chronic stress, like people in hospitals. It may turn out not to be all that technologically simple to do, of course, esp. if we find that we also need to replicate stimuli from other senses, like smells, but it's a start.
Miss Ley
New York July 24, 2015
Until recently, the only time I remember the joy of walking, was in my youth at 17 in the rural country of Ireland. I discovered a lonely estate when climbing over a fence, and after a mile surrounded by trees and green foliage, the house was waiting to welcome me.
Destroyed on Christmas day in the early 30s when a maid's hair at dawn caught on fire, it was boarded up, but it had a warm presence, and looking over an edge, the view of a mysterious lake with a swan, drew some moments of quiet reflection and meditation.
It is true that I was not alone on this expedition, and while I was pontificating out loud about religion, philosophy and poetry, my companion gave me his full attention. He then got fed up, and knocked me over. Brian Boru was his name, and he was a wonderful Irish Greyhound.
Destroyed on Christmas day in the early 30s when a maid's hair at dawn caught on fire, it was boarded up, but it had a warm presence, and looking over an edge, the view of a mysterious lake with a swan, drew some moments of quiet reflection and meditation.
It is true that I was not alone on this expedition, and while I was pontificating out loud about religion, philosophy and poetry, my companion gave me his full attention. He then got fed up, and knocked me over. Brian Boru was his name, and he was a wonderful Irish Greyhound.
Sello Mathakhoe
South Africa July 24, 2015
Great content on mental health. I learned something new here Thanks!
Best Regards.
Best Regards.
Sophia35
USA July 24, 2015
Some of the most peaceful moments I have ever had in my life were when I was walking in nature. I can go from very stressed: tense muscles, heart racing, shallow breathing, racing thoughts, negative mental outlook, angry/sad/irritable mood to one of relaxation, calmness, peace and serenity in mind and body within maybe 20 minutes into a nature walk. Also I live way out in the country so you would think I would be immune to chronic stress that most urban dwellers face according to this article, but that is simply not true. People who live out in the country face hardships too plus most of us have longer commutes to work then city dwellers do and that is very stressful. I have found that many of my friends/family who live in the country basically spend most of their time inside and in their cars. I literally have to remind myself to get outside and breathe in nature. You would think it would be easier for someone surrounded by nature to go walk in nature but it seems technology is keeping us inside.
nytreader888
Los Angeles July 24, 2015
The sad thing is that so many children these days are not exposed to Nature, and when they are brought out to a natural area, are fearful of every unknown thing, worried that terrible wild animals will attack them. This is the result of watching too many nature shows instead of experiencing nature.
Valerie Wells
New Mexico July 24, 2015
Walking in nature, breathing fresh air, feeling the sun on your cheek are basic to humans and our overall sense of well being. The color green and blue have a calming effect on the psyche. Seeing growing things and feeling a part of nature tend to bring the busy, noisy, frenetic lifestyle of most people some level of perspective, of being part of something larger, of being connected at a very basic level.
Mike Marks
Orleans July 24, 2015
Parks are fine. Far better is the beach. A half mile walk on an ocean beach will lift any depression, every time. Guaranteed.
Ravi Chandra
San Francisco, CA July 23, 2015
Industrialization and technologization have pushed us away from the basic forms of being a human being. Yes, it does seem obvious that a stroll in nature is better than strolling on a busy highway. But in our modern society, we seem to require proof of everything, even the obvious. Inevitably, there will be studies of the minimal walks needed to provide benefit, and when the benefits plateau. Then we can continue curtailing our green spaces in earnest, to their minimal required plot to provide human benefit. We'll say we cared enough to do this. OMG. I need to take a walk.
MAW
New York City July 23, 2015
Whether the scientific community verifies it or not, I know that for myself, the insanity of incessant noise and stimulation in the city or even in my community keeps me in a state of constant low-to-high-level stress, depending on what it is; whereas walking in a forest, or a national park, or on a quiet beach, or even on the streets very early in the morning - anything that provides peace and quiet is always calming, relaxing, soothing and even refreshing. Always.
Twenty minutes of swimming in the ocean helps me revitalize and remineralize, and real, days-long rest, without computer, phone, internet, ipad, e-reader activity does amazing things for me. My mood improves, as does my sleep quality, my stress levels decrease and my attitude is so much happier.
We are human beings who are pushed constantly to be hyper-achieving human doings. Walking in nature is the perfect antidote for that.
Twenty minutes of swimming in the ocean helps me revitalize and remineralize, and real, days-long rest, without computer, phone, internet, ipad, e-reader activity does amazing things for me. My mood improves, as does my sleep quality, my stress levels decrease and my attitude is so much happier.
We are human beings who are pushed constantly to be hyper-achieving human doings. Walking in nature is the perfect antidote for that.
liberalvoice
New York, NY July 23, 2015
Aha! A scientist discovers human beings are attuned to their environment.
This article typifies two things: the emptiness of most of what passes for scientific research, and the emptiness of most reporting on science.
Sometimes a new form of measurement actually represents a substantial advance on existing knowledge, but usually it only amounts to putting old wine in a new bottle.
The researcher and the reporter should both break this new bottle into pieces, quietly pick up the shards, and throw them away. Then they should look for something that is actually new -- and news.
Oh, yes, whoever is funding the researcher should do the same.
This article typifies two things: the emptiness of most of what passes for scientific research, and the emptiness of most reporting on science.
Sometimes a new form of measurement actually represents a substantial advance on existing knowledge, but usually it only amounts to putting old wine in a new bottle.
The researcher and the reporter should both break this new bottle into pieces, quietly pick up the shards, and throw them away. Then they should look for something that is actually new -- and news.
Oh, yes, whoever is funding the researcher should do the same.
k pichon
florida July 23, 2015
Such "walking" does change the brain. Having done it for years as a photo devotee, I can easily assure you that walking lets your brain, or assures you, a new way of seeing things in nature, things which you have never noticed before. I guarantee it. Try it!
GordonDR
North of 69th July 23, 2015
When is the Times going to stop publishing articles in which neuroscientists offer their great revelation: that when we do things and feel things, something happens in our brains. No kidding. Doesn't Ms Reynolds see how meaningless this sort of statement is: "If the researchers could track activity in that part of the brain before and after people visited nature, Mr. Bratman realized, they would have a better idea about whether and to what extent nature changes people’s minds." Not just meaningless but wrong. The changes that exposure to nature (which is not what parks are, by the way) causes can be studied quite well without any fMRIs or electrodes. Finding the neurological mechanisms (which are inevitably oversimplified in such research, because in fact many senses and many parts of our bodies are involved) does not explain the phenomenon. It doesn't even describe the phenomenon.
June Perkins-Eilenstine
Portland, OR July 23, 2015
I Live across the street from a big park with lots of steep little hills to huff and puff up and down. I try to have a 30 minute moderately fast-paced walk every day. I do it for the exercise but I love the trees and sky, and little vistas across the green lawn. I've had many encounters with people and creatures, mostly pleasant ones. I saw a family of baby cotton-tails lolling in the grass one hot day, and I had an encounter with a tiny snake that coiled up and opened his mouth up wide, like he was going to eat me if I didn't get going. Sometimes I consider getting a treadmill, this is much more fun. No way would I give up my walks.
EML
Brooklyn, NY July 23, 2015
Ironically, the NYC Parks Department doesn't seem to respect people's needs for a quiet walk in the park to settle our nerves...at least not in Sunset Park in Brooklyn. Residents have begged park officials and local police to enforce rules against loud radio playing, since large groups loudly play radios as they dance and do exercise at all times of the day and night. These authorities simply refuse to act and many of us suffer as a result from the incessant noise.
Miss Ley
New York July 24, 2015
Growing up in the poorest of hamlets thirty miles from the City of Oxfordshire, an author in describing her memoirs, was to write that it was news when later in life, she was to hear of having 'nerves'.
At first I resisted an invitation to take a long walk in nature and the rural countryside of England from the comfort of my city pond, but reading Flora's Thompson's distillation of country life at the turn of the 20th century in 'Lark Rise to Candlesford', it was food for the soul, and carried me through August in the Concrete Jungle.
At first I resisted an invitation to take a long walk in nature and the rural countryside of England from the comfort of my city pond, but reading Flora's Thompson's distillation of country life at the turn of the 20th century in 'Lark Rise to Candlesford', it was food for the soul, and carried me through August in the Concrete Jungle.
B.
Brooklyn July 24, 2015
"Ironically, the NYC Parks Department doesn't seem to respect people's needs for a quiet walk in the park to settle our nerves."
Ditto for Prospect Park, which on summer weekends is taken over by families of 30 people setting up tables, barbecuing where no barbecuing is allowed (well, the Parks Department gave that up over a decade ago), and blasting loud radios so that you can hear them far beyond the park periphery, where such parties congregate.
Even twenty such gatherings, and there are far more just on the southwest side alone, produce a cacophony of shrieks and stinks. (God, that starter fluid!)
Far inside the park, though, nature returns. Alas, the inside of the park is deserted enough that one casts about for a stout stick, just in case.
Ditto for Prospect Park, which on summer weekends is taken over by families of 30 people setting up tables, barbecuing where no barbecuing is allowed (well, the Parks Department gave that up over a decade ago), and blasting loud radios so that you can hear them far beyond the park periphery, where such parties congregate.
Even twenty such gatherings, and there are far more just on the southwest side alone, produce a cacophony of shrieks and stinks. (God, that starter fluid!)
Far inside the park, though, nature returns. Alas, the inside of the park is deserted enough that one casts about for a stout stick, just in case.
Mary Sojourner
Flagstaff, Az. July 23, 2015
Duh. We are a multi-sensory organism. We have not had time for our brains to evolve into dealing with a dual-sensory (internet) world. I also imagine that I encounter more human beings in one visit to the supermarket than my grandparents did in a week of normal living. We may not like to face it, but we think of as "I" is actually a complex neurological network in our brain - an organ no less than our heart or liver. That network is programmed to respond not to the clutter of our contemporary world, but to a slower paced, more natural setting. Even the tenements of London during the Industrial Revolution where less chaotic than an average day in an American town or city.
Kate
CA July 24, 2015
You had me till you mentioned the tenements of London. If they were anything like the Lower East Side of NYC during the industrial revolution our multi-sensory organisms would have been flooded not by speed and technology but with human body and waste smells, soot from factories, too may people crammed into a one room apartments. Horse poop in the streets from those not able to afford a car, unsanitary conditions, without the regulations that most American cities now have in place. You'd want to get out and move to the countryside if you could.
GENE DANIELS
MIMS FLORIDA July 23, 2015
Yes, country living...watchin' the darkies harvest cotton while sipping juleps on the veranda......waiting for winter when the lions come thru..relaxing.
Spend time working on a farm in western Kansas or Bishop or Lone Pine, CA
Spend time working on a farm in western Kansas or Bishop or Lone Pine, CA
Dirk Gently
CA July 23, 2015
The article should have been titled how a walk in heavy traffic causes stress--no kidding!
Adam Russell
KY July 23, 2015
All my problems are bigger indoors....
j.r. gill
bellingham, Wa. July 24, 2015
Writer Raymond Carver said he used to set his short fiction in indoor environments because people acted in more dysfunctional ways indoors. His one story that takes place outside is called Kindling and was fond posthumously by wife/poet Tess Gallagher. You can find the story on-line.
pamela mercier
Saint Paul July 23, 2015
I know for myself that just sitting and gazing into the green lushness of the trees in my backyard calms my mood. The light and shadows there and- sometimes- the gentle movement of leaves seems to soothe me. I believe part of the effect is due to the green colors - and there are many different shades- and another part of the impact may come from connecting these green colors to trees.
I have access to this leafy haven in my backyard, but it is small. When I go to the local Arboretum I am stunned by the large tapestry of green that greets me on my walk there. It feels like entering peacefulness itself.
Yes, I believe looking at nature as well as walking in it changes us; and, of course, that means it is changing our brains, too, doesn't it?
I have access to this leafy haven in my backyard, but it is small. When I go to the local Arboretum I am stunned by the large tapestry of green that greets me on my walk there. It feels like entering peacefulness itself.
Yes, I believe looking at nature as well as walking in it changes us; and, of course, that means it is changing our brains, too, doesn't it?
Manuel Molles
La Veta, CO July 23, 2015
As a child I was privileged to live near wild places where I could freely roam. As a result, I learned early the comfort that contact with nature offers. As pointed out by many readers, this has been common knowledge for millennia. However, after a long career in science, I appreciate how the research reported here complements this common knowledge. The goal of the research is not to "prove" what is already known but to search out the physiological mechanisms for the positive effects of contact with nature and, as pointed out in the article, to explore details that are not at all obvious, for example, what sorts of places provide the most benefit and how much time spent in nature is ideal. This information will not diminish the of poetry by Wordsworth and others but freshen their insights with deeper understanding. The "hard" data will also provide another avenue of defense against those that would trash all of nature for personal gain.
c l coleman
portland oregon July 23, 2015
The news reports overstate the significance of the experiment as the sample size is tiny (starting at 38 total and then reduced to 31, making the 2 groups small by scientific standards). Moreover, neurologists don't know the impact of blood flow in the brain, considering it a surrogate for other phenomena. And the researchers reported the interaction effects of time and environment (nature and urban walks) with a p-value at .07--less than the scientific standard for significance. Sure walking in good for you, but there's no evidence in the study that it "changes the brain."
KB
Plano,Texas July 23, 2015
I always believed this - I grew up in a small town and most of my childhood I experienced the closeness to nature.
In South Indian music, there is concept of dual effect of a tone - the conscious meaning of the sound and unconscious experience of the sound that remains in our system. The total effect of these two aspects creates our wellbeing - happiness or unhappiness. May be the current scientific measurements will show how true it is and why it is so.
One point we will always accept - beauty of complexity can only be experienced when we spend time in nature - looking to a flower, bees flying to it, sucking honey and gradually stoping her humming, a butter fly flies around the flower, an insect hangs on the bottom of leave, a lizard intensely looking at the insect, a little drop of water shines like a gem in the morning sun,...
In South Indian music, there is concept of dual effect of a tone - the conscious meaning of the sound and unconscious experience of the sound that remains in our system. The total effect of these two aspects creates our wellbeing - happiness or unhappiness. May be the current scientific measurements will show how true it is and why it is so.
One point we will always accept - beauty of complexity can only be experienced when we spend time in nature - looking to a flower, bees flying to it, sucking honey and gradually stoping her humming, a butter fly flies around the flower, an insect hangs on the bottom of leave, a lizard intensely looking at the insect, a little drop of water shines like a gem in the morning sun,...
Jay Jay
USA July 23, 2015
American Indian Tribes have know for thousands of years the importance of teaching their children how to appreciate and communicate with nature!
Many Tribes in California of the Ohlone Nation(Costanoan Rumsen Tribe et al) still today require their young men to spend time praying and fasting in the outdoors as a rite of passage into adulthood.
Many Tribes in California of the Ohlone Nation(Costanoan Rumsen Tribe et al) still today require their young men to spend time praying and fasting in the outdoors as a rite of passage into adulthood.
Mary Sojourner
Flagstaff, Az. July 23, 2015
In many tribes, young women also go through outdoor initiation ceremonies. It is also important to note that for too many tribes, colonization and dominant culture take-over have reduced those ceremonies.
HouseBrave
Minnesota July 23, 2015
I heard a farmer say the other day that she encounters few people in the course of her life. She gets plenty of nature, of course. She seemed very level-headed - but also narrow-minded - because she doesn't often encounter unique perspectives. Give me a city with green spaces that make you feel like you're getting away from it all - All things in moderation.
Neander
California July 23, 2015
The human body (with psyche attached) evolved over the past million odd years to thrive outdoors, in nature. Every bit of our cellular machinery is attuned to interacting intimately with that environment.
So, why are we at all surprised that isolating ourselves from that environment, confined to living almost entirely indoors in a perpetual urban artifice, might affect us negatively?
Beats me.
So, why are we at all surprised that isolating ourselves from that environment, confined to living almost entirely indoors in a perpetual urban artifice, might affect us negatively?
Beats me.
GENE DANIELS
MIMS FLORIDA July 23, 2015
Don't quit when you're ahead. Use the prescription creatively.
pamela mercier
Saint Paul July 24, 2015
I agree, Neander, but there must be something in human evolution that attracts us to city life, too, or millions and millions of people would not live in cities.
I don't think it is all coercion or desperation that moves people to cities.
And, additionally, cities vary immensely in how much connection to nature they offer their residents, don't you think?
I don't think it is all coercion or desperation that moves people to cities.
And, additionally, cities vary immensely in how much connection to nature they offer their residents, don't you think?
Suzabella
Santa Ynez, CA July 23, 2015
I have always walked my dogs throughout the foothills or green spaces near my home. I always thought it gave both me and my dogs necessary exercise and me a great appreciation of nature. Or is a wonderful way to end the day. Due to excessive heat we finally planted a large part of our backyard with native plants. Sometimes I through a ball for the dogs to chase out there. Having the plants there and watching them grow makes that experience better. My mantra is nature, nature and nature. It soothes the soul.
Tamar
California July 23, 2015
I live in nature 24/7. Wouldn't have it any other way...
Jolene
Los Angeles July 23, 2015
I went from living in an environment absent of lush greenery to one filled with it and I find it's somehow more peaceful (both are suburban areas and all other things being equal such as commute time to work, size of my residence etc.). Maybe it's the color green, or more birds singing, or the scents, but it has had a calming effect. It could even be variables such as the sunlight around me is filtered and not so intense. Whatever it is, I have come to believe being surrounded by nature definitely has it's benefits.
Anthony Reynolds
New York July 23, 2015
Solvitur ambulando.
Fred R.
New York July 23, 2015
What constitutes nature?
Petey Tonei
Massachusetts July 23, 2015
We are part of nature too. Nature rejoices through us. We are not apart from Nature.
Mary Sojourner
Flagstaff, Az. July 23, 2015
Oh please. There is a great difference between walking alone in an undisturbed forest - if you can find one - or desert, and walking on a city street.
Jana Hesser
Providence, RI July 23, 2015
I do not think the absence of plants is the problem but the immobility of sitting on a chair all day is definitely detrimental to physical and mental health.
I have seen offices with plenty of green, crowded with plants, but I am sure it does not make much difference if the eyes are glued to a screen all day. By contrast real long routes to the coffeepot that encourage breaks to walk every now and then adds some kinesthesia to the day, which is more important than the presence of trees.
Also chance encounters on the way to the coffee pot can help with mental health not to mention creativity and therefore increased productivity.
I have seen offices with plenty of green, crowded with plants, but I am sure it does not make much difference if the eyes are glued to a screen all day. By contrast real long routes to the coffeepot that encourage breaks to walk every now and then adds some kinesthesia to the day, which is more important than the presence of trees.
Also chance encounters on the way to the coffee pot can help with mental health not to mention creativity and therefore increased productivity.
johnny p
rosendale ny July 23, 2015
An office is not a forest, a coffee pot not a brook. Don't kid yourself, a stroll around the office is a sad substitute for being in nature. There are probably thousands of stimuli that are impossible to measure when we visit nature, our real home.
Jana Hesser
Providence, RI July 23, 2015
Depends on how good the architecture is. Sunlight did not know how beautiful it was until it fell through the window on a wall.
Laurie Gaarvin
Berea oh July 23, 2015
I will take this article to heart. I never thought about this. I am always seek brain stimuli. I am in a nursing home and my stimuli are books as well as photography.
Suzabella
Santa Ynez, CA July 23, 2015
My mother spent the last years of her life in a special care facility close to me. At one point we looked at a place that had Bigger room but she chose the smaller place because she could walk through outside paths and sit on a Patio lush with plants ans birds.
Carol Polsgrove
Asheville, NC July 23, 2015
Every nursing home should have an easily accessible garden area like my mother's had -- with flowers and tomatoes and birds singing from bushes and trees.
Kerry
Australia July 23, 2015
Maybe this is not scientifically measurable. Walking through nature seems to cause a subtle purification of ones mental state. Swimming in fresh pristine freezing cold water has a similar effect but is almost instant. Freezing cold water seems to somehow cleanse the soul. It is impossible to emerge without feeling fantastic for days after. Maybe walking amongst living plants has a similar unquantifiable effect however much more subtle.
I remember when our babies were cranky and refused to eat - we would simply take them outside and feed them under one of the trees in the back yard - whatever it was, distracted them enough to make feeding time possible. (Try it sometime…)
I cannot help but suspect that something in the natural environment (and freezing cold water) "washes" off much of the baggage people carry around with them.
Adventure certainly allows the conscious mind to work more in the here and now and to "forget" in a similar way that Buddhist Monks try to distract the mind by meditating. Maybe a walk in the park makes us spend more time living in the here and now or allows the mind/body to shrug off some of the "armouring" that builds up over time when a person has had a hard time in life…I know cold water "shocks" it off. A quick dip in really cold water is probably the closest thing to a near death experience you can safely have. So is distraction the key here or is it something more spiritual and connected to the environment that nurtured us initially?
I remember when our babies were cranky and refused to eat - we would simply take them outside and feed them under one of the trees in the back yard - whatever it was, distracted them enough to make feeding time possible. (Try it sometime…)
I cannot help but suspect that something in the natural environment (and freezing cold water) "washes" off much of the baggage people carry around with them.
Adventure certainly allows the conscious mind to work more in the here and now and to "forget" in a similar way that Buddhist Monks try to distract the mind by meditating. Maybe a walk in the park makes us spend more time living in the here and now or allows the mind/body to shrug off some of the "armouring" that builds up over time when a person has had a hard time in life…I know cold water "shocks" it off. A quick dip in really cold water is probably the closest thing to a near death experience you can safely have. So is distraction the key here or is it something more spiritual and connected to the environment that nurtured us initially?
KC
VA, USA July 23, 2015
A lot of ignorance being shown in these comments. "You had to do a study to reach this conclusion??" Of course we all know that a walk in nature makes us feel better; the point of the study was to see exactly *WHY*.
We all know that alcohol in excess is bad, but if we didn't know WHY it's bad or what exactly occurs in the body when one is an alcoholic, finding a way to cure it or at least treat the damage done would be like shooting in the dark.
We know that being in love makes us feel amazing, but in observing WHY - what *mechanism* is being activated - we can learn so much more (for ex: the pathways that light up when one is in love are the same as when eating large amounts of chocolate; or that the effect of sugar and cocaine are similar in their effects on the reward centers).
Yeah, we all KNOW that if you get a bruise, it hurts. But knowing WHY it hurts, and all the other things there are to know about it, can be invaluable: brain contusions are essentially bruises of the brain; by knowing more about the WHY of a regular bruise, we can approach contusions with a more elightened eye.
We all know that alcohol in excess is bad, but if we didn't know WHY it's bad or what exactly occurs in the body when one is an alcoholic, finding a way to cure it or at least treat the damage done would be like shooting in the dark.
We know that being in love makes us feel amazing, but in observing WHY - what *mechanism* is being activated - we can learn so much more (for ex: the pathways that light up when one is in love are the same as when eating large amounts of chocolate; or that the effect of sugar and cocaine are similar in their effects on the reward centers).
Yeah, we all KNOW that if you get a bruise, it hurts. But knowing WHY it hurts, and all the other things there are to know about it, can be invaluable: brain contusions are essentially bruises of the brain; by knowing more about the WHY of a regular bruise, we can approach contusions with a more elightened eye.
Ariana
Vancouver, BC July 23, 2015
and how does knowing this make a difference - in anything besides research papers? Policies and practices to increase green spaces are based much more on values and preferences than possible mechanisms (with brain imaging being only one of the possible mechanisms).
Fairbanksan
Fairbanks, AK July 23, 2015
This study probably rings true for a lot of people, but it's important to recognize that a "quiet, tree-lined path" on Stanford's campus is not the same as nature. How would the volunteers in the second group have fared if they walked among hoards of mosquitoes on the arctic tundra? Or in a sweltering desert? The question of how humans benefit from being outside is a real and interesting one, but we do it a disservice when we limit our definition of nature to one manipulated green space.
Joe
Chicago July 23, 2015
You raise an interesting point; however, I doubt that most people, especially the researchers, are limiting their definition of nature to the tree-lined walkway at Stanford. The study needed parameters and controls. Moreover, the setup of the entire NYTimes article suggests that the research is more about the effects of green space (or the lack thereof) on city dwellers. Places like the arctic tundra and the desert are not super accessible for most city dwellers. The authors are more than clear in stating that the study raises more questions than answers regarding what it is about this one example of "nature" that temporarily changes mood and blood flow in the brain. Hopefully someone will extend their research into different outdoor spaces in the future.
Liz
Montreal July 23, 2015
Walking by a noisy highway vs a quiet green area doesn't seem to prove the benefits of 'nature' as much as the aggravation of noise. It would have been MORE interesting if a third group had walked through a quiet art gallery, a peaceful space but not nature. I wholly support that being 'in the country' or a quiet green space is calming IN GOOD WEATHER but this study doesn't cut it for me and sure doesn't prove the thesis of your article headline.
Barbara
Rhode Island July 23, 2015
Right. It's all a matter of perspective. For me, being in cities is generally unpleasant despite all of the fun and interesting things you can find there. So I'd say that cities do us harm, not that nature does us good. My title of the article is "How walking in cities changes the brain."
MrsDoc
Southern GA July 23, 2015
He says more study is needed. What I infer is more grant money is needed to study something we already know.
Lui Cartin
Rome July 23, 2015
Sure...
Since you already knew that your subgenual prefontal cortex was being appeased by your nature walks, maybe you'd care to share with the researchers some other enlightened info they're missing and save them some time!
Instead, maybe consider that new grant help discover ways in which we could avoid spending millions on mental health care and drugs, and more waysw in we could help ourselves "naturally" (no pun intended...).
Since you already knew that your subgenual prefontal cortex was being appeased by your nature walks, maybe you'd care to share with the researchers some other enlightened info they're missing and save them some time!
Instead, maybe consider that new grant help discover ways in which we could avoid spending millions on mental health care and drugs, and more waysw in we could help ourselves "naturally" (no pun intended...).
PhxJack
Phoenix, AZ July 23, 2015
This is true, very true. It's those city people that never get out, those are the ones that goes nuts most of the time.
Gary
Brooklyn, NY July 23, 2015
I have no interest in driving fast, roller coasters, recreational drugs. I believe some of this is because I run or work out at least 4 or 5 days a week, I'm doing something that gets my body and senses working, I don't need stimulants. Which is what getting outside does for you.
Richard Scott
California July 23, 2015
"Never trust a thought that comes to you while sitting down." Paraphrased here, such was the shared wisdom from Dostoyevsky, Dickens and Karl Marx, among others (I've heard this quote from more than one source...no doubt it's a shared experience, not particularly exotic in origin or experience).
For me, 40 years of running was a tonic, that enabled me to blow off excess anxiety, arrive at solutions without forcing them, and end with a remarkably wonderful bodily feeling after a six mile run and a shower.
Even now, in my later years, I put in the miles...walking and hiking in the high desert from 3-8 miles a day.
I kept at the exercise, my daily tonic, because quite simply...it worked.
For me, 40 years of running was a tonic, that enabled me to blow off excess anxiety, arrive at solutions without forcing them, and end with a remarkably wonderful bodily feeling after a six mile run and a shower.
Even now, in my later years, I put in the miles...walking and hiking in the high desert from 3-8 miles a day.
I kept at the exercise, my daily tonic, because quite simply...it worked.
Dave
NYC July 23, 2015
Some careless science here. Blood flowing through the brain? Isn't the writer or the researcher aware of the blood/brain barrier? It makes the entire article seem sloppy and badly thought through.
Wesatch
Everywhere July 23, 2015
We need a study about this? Really?
I grew up in a small town in FL in the 50's and 60's tucked between the Atlantic Ocean and the Glades where nature was part of one's life. As kids, we enjoyed all of it from bugs to fishing to alligators to the once annual migration of the monarch butterfly and countless fireflies on a summer evening until the B-17's laden with DDT wiped them out along with the concrete of developers and chemicals of golf courses.
After college, never returned to live in FL. But when visiting today, south FL in just another example of growth at any price.
Having worked in a career in both Dallas and Houston for some 30 years, wracking up thousands of commuting miles to multiple offices and air miles to multiple cities and countries it was all merely a way to make a living, but not a way to live.
So today I sit contently at 4400 ft in the Smoky Mtns. of NC looking over the Blue Ridge Parkway and relishing once again in seeing fireflies, weather fronts, turkeys, hawks, ground hogs, chipmunks, deer, elk and a plethora of wild flowers and tree species. Funny how they all get along...........
Life is too short not to be part of it. And a golf course isn't nature.
I grew up in a small town in FL in the 50's and 60's tucked between the Atlantic Ocean and the Glades where nature was part of one's life. As kids, we enjoyed all of it from bugs to fishing to alligators to the once annual migration of the monarch butterfly and countless fireflies on a summer evening until the B-17's laden with DDT wiped them out along with the concrete of developers and chemicals of golf courses.
After college, never returned to live in FL. But when visiting today, south FL in just another example of growth at any price.
Having worked in a career in both Dallas and Houston for some 30 years, wracking up thousands of commuting miles to multiple offices and air miles to multiple cities and countries it was all merely a way to make a living, but not a way to live.
So today I sit contently at 4400 ft in the Smoky Mtns. of NC looking over the Blue Ridge Parkway and relishing once again in seeing fireflies, weather fronts, turkeys, hawks, ground hogs, chipmunks, deer, elk and a plethora of wild flowers and tree species. Funny how they all get along...........
Life is too short not to be part of it. And a golf course isn't nature.
Jennifer Stewart
Cape Town July 23, 2015
I think we all miss the point around depression and ‘thinking negatively’.
You can go for as many walks in nature as you want but in reality if you’re not getting target strokes on a regular basis from important people in your life, it will be a short term solution or it won’t work at all. If getting target strokes isn’t possible for you, you have to get help and to keep on looking until the help works.
If you have the target strokes, and you’re living in a city or you never do exercise then of course walking in nature makes a huge difference.
I live in a small conservation village on the ocean. It's not hard for me to go for walks in nature. But if I'm depressed it doesn't change anything. That's because the only thing that really lifts depression for me is to reach out to somebody who cares enough about me to give me target strokes.
When that happens, the challenges that I experience in my life turn instantly from seeming insurmountable to seeming exciting, and I got from feeling helpless and worthless to realizing I'm loved, ergo I must have value. Getting to a place where I understand this has been a thirty year journey. There are no quick fixes for depression. And I believe the mental dead-ends also naturally stop when you receive target strokes.
Too many people believe the mind controls everything. It doesn’t. The heart does.
You can go for as many walks in nature as you want but in reality if you’re not getting target strokes on a regular basis from important people in your life, it will be a short term solution or it won’t work at all. If getting target strokes isn’t possible for you, you have to get help and to keep on looking until the help works.
If you have the target strokes, and you’re living in a city or you never do exercise then of course walking in nature makes a huge difference.
I live in a small conservation village on the ocean. It's not hard for me to go for walks in nature. But if I'm depressed it doesn't change anything. That's because the only thing that really lifts depression for me is to reach out to somebody who cares enough about me to give me target strokes.
When that happens, the challenges that I experience in my life turn instantly from seeming insurmountable to seeming exciting, and I got from feeling helpless and worthless to realizing I'm loved, ergo I must have value. Getting to a place where I understand this has been a thirty year journey. There are no quick fixes for depression. And I believe the mental dead-ends also naturally stop when you receive target strokes.
Too many people believe the mind controls everything. It doesn’t. The heart does.
Herr Fischer
Brooklyn July 23, 2015
A walk in nature is actually beneficial to mankind ? Who would have thought ? Why are we wasting money on scientific projects that make absolute sense, duh?
Randy
MA July 23, 2015
For some of us who live in countrified settings and walk daily through wooded splendor, this article and its accompanying commentary, are hysterical.
E. T. Malone, Jr.
Warrenton, N. C. July 23, 2015
The author writes "That portion of their brains WERE quieter." It seems that an increasing number of people are making this same error in grammar, not recognizing what is the subject of the sentence. Clearly, it's the "portion" that IS quieter. I don't mean to be a pedant or grammar Nazi, but there seems to be a veritable epidemic of this particular mistake, even among quite educated people.
Jana Hesser
Providence, RI July 23, 2015
In sociolinguistics such epidemics are recognized as shifting norm or "new correct". After a while the "old correct" is called archaic and is no longer accepted.
Lola
Montclair, NJ July 23, 2015
Walden Pond.
HELENA
LONDON July 23, 2015
We are part of nature and she is part of us!
Aren't we around 60 % of water???
Aren't we around 60 % of water???
Susan
NY July 23, 2015
I live in the Adirondacks. I'm surrounded by beauty. But I tend a garden on a village street and the meth heads, alcoholics and irritable young moms with 3 kids under 5 pass by. Are they happier because they live in an area that's surrounded by lakes, mountains and tall white pines? I don't think so. Rural poverty is a tough thing, and scenery isn't the answer. This analysis only works for some of the people some of the time.
Shelly Leitheiser
GA July 23, 2015
People who live in urban places and large cities need to plan green space to spend time in. It will not happen on its own. Businesses like large parking lots but you can fight for trees and parks instead. Some cities like Atlanta have incredibly large expanses of green space but they did not happen by accident. Fight for more nature where ever you live.
Ed Loewenton
Morrisville, Vermont July 23, 2015
To the authors: why the subgenual PFC? How is that associated with negative cognitive states?
Steve
Paia July 22, 2015
It is no secret that what stimuli the brain is exposed to shapes the neural pathways and makes limbic connections for better or for worse. And this is a never-ending process. What IS a secret is how powerful a process this is. It trumps genetics every time.
It is through this process that we learn, and habits are formed. This is why we are the most successful of species- because our brains are the most plastic and adaptive. Of course, it helps to have an opposable thumb! Genetics plays only a peripheral role.
We are finding out that we are what we do and expose ourselves to- not, as is a popular misconception, that we are what we eat. Our brains rise to the challenge. Over time, brain neural networks involving all areas of the brain (100 billion neurons) physically change.
We can extend this to deal with common public health problems- obesity, for instance. All attempts at long-term weight control through diet manipulation, pharmacological intervention, and exercise fail because at its core obesity results from learned, maladaptive behavior. Not genetics or metabolic differences.
Interestingly, people can learn to change their hunger set-points by forcing themselves to fast for a part of the day- the brain at first rebels, but then adapts to the new norm. Weight loss can result as indicated by small pilot studies. Larger ones are needed.
I would recommend Dewey's "The No Breakfast Plan" and Hagan's "Breakfast: The Least Important Meal of the Day."
It is through this process that we learn, and habits are formed. This is why we are the most successful of species- because our brains are the most plastic and adaptive. Of course, it helps to have an opposable thumb! Genetics plays only a peripheral role.
We are finding out that we are what we do and expose ourselves to- not, as is a popular misconception, that we are what we eat. Our brains rise to the challenge. Over time, brain neural networks involving all areas of the brain (100 billion neurons) physically change.
We can extend this to deal with common public health problems- obesity, for instance. All attempts at long-term weight control through diet manipulation, pharmacological intervention, and exercise fail because at its core obesity results from learned, maladaptive behavior. Not genetics or metabolic differences.
Interestingly, people can learn to change their hunger set-points by forcing themselves to fast for a part of the day- the brain at first rebels, but then adapts to the new norm. Weight loss can result as indicated by small pilot studies. Larger ones are needed.
I would recommend Dewey's "The No Breakfast Plan" and Hagan's "Breakfast: The Least Important Meal of the Day."