Better Brain with Nature

12 Sep Better Brain with Nature

If you’ve been using your brain at some task and start to feel sluggish, a walk in nature may be just the thing to refresh and re-energize you. Spending time in nature also does other good things for your brain.

Calmer brain

Feeling frustrated? Over-stimulated? Trying to meditate and can’t settle? Go for a walk in nature, or look around for some trees to gaze at. Amazingly, even looking at a picture of nature helps to calm people.

Better mental health

Spending time in nature reduces rumination – you know, those negative thoughts that keep going round and round in your head.

Distracting yourself with nature-based play and recreation is a fun way to interrupt rumination and repetitive thoughts.

Increased energy

Spending energy to exercise results in a feeling of greater energy. It seems counterintuitive, but that’s how it works.

Children’s outside play has decreased over the years, so go outside and play. As a child, my brothers and cousins and I spent a lot of time outdoors building forts, playing hide and seek, and making things with sticks and stones. We grownups also need to play and recreate in nature.

Clearer thinking

When you’re feeling muddled and confused about something, go for a walk outside and see if that brings some clarity. Maybe you are struggling to write a challenging e-mail, or perhaps you have a difficult conversation coming up. Spending time in nature has been shown to clarify thinking.

Urban planning

Planners are beginning to recognize that green spaces make our towns and cities more livable. Instead of pockets of green space in a sea of buildings, we need to work toward a network of connected green space with pockets of buildings.