This 1 Thing Can Rewire Your Brain & Unlock the Focus Your Phone Steals From You

Nature provides significant benefits for brain health, cognitive functions, and well-being. Despite these benefits, people often underestimate the positive impact that nature walks can have.

Nature Restores Our Focus, Vital for Goals, Self-Control, Cooperation, and Meaningful Living

Attention Can Become Fatigued

Marc Berman highlights the importance of attention in achieving goals, self-control, cooperation, and meaningful living. In our fast-paced world, bombarded by social media, streaming services, and advertisements, our directed attention—our deliberate focus—is often fatigued. When we lack directed attention, we may feel irritable, aggressive, less goal-oriented, and more impulsive.

Nature Interaction Activates Involuntary Attention, Aiding Directed Attention Recovery

Interactions with nature can give our directed attention the respite it needs. Unlike directed attention, involuntary attention is captured automatically by elements in our environment. Being amidst nature, looking at trees, rivers, and forests, triggers this kind of attention, thus allowing our directed attention to replenish.

Interestingly, Berman asserts that when engaged in fascinating tasks like video gaming or socializing, there is less reliance on directed attention—implying these activities may assist in recovery. However, the use of phones as breaks may not be restorative, possibly leaving one still drained of directed attention.

Studies Find 20-minute Nature Walks Offer Cognitive Benefits Similar to ADHD Medication

Berman mentions that a 20-minute walk in nature for children with ADHD proved as effective as a dose of [restricted term], showcasing nature’s potential to enhance cognitive functions.

Nature Exposure and Simulations Improve Cognitive Functions

Nature's Restorative Effects Linked To "Soft" Stimulation Capturing Interest Without Demanding Full Attention

Berman refers to "softly fascinating stimulation" from nature, which captures interest gently and supports mind-wandering without demanding our full at ...

Research suggests significant physical and psychological health benefits associated with exposure to natural environments, from faster recovery after surgery to reduced stress and improved immune function.

Nature Views From Hospital Windows Aid Recovery

Patients With Nature Views Recover Faster and Use Less Pain Medication Post-Gallbladder Surgery Than Those With Brick Wall Views

Roger Ulrich observed in the 1980s that hospital patients recovering from gallbladder surgery in a facility in Philadelphia had different recovery experiences based on their window views. Patients with views of nature recuperated faster and needed less pain medication than those whose windows showed a brick wall, indicating the restorative effects of even modest exposure to natural scenes.

Nature Reduces Stress, Lowers Blood Pressure, Improves Nervous System Function

Nature Aids Faster Stress Recovery Than Urban Environments

Researchers, including Ulrich, have demonstrated that exposure to scenes of nature, even in pictures, can speed up recovery from stress compared to viewing urban environments. In experiments where participants were shown stressful images, those who were consequently shown images of nature exhibited quicker stress response recovery than those presented with urban images.

Access to Green Spaces Linked To Better Physical and Mental Health

Nature's Health Benefits: Physical Activity, Attention, Mood, and Cognitive Processing

Marc Berman extends the discussion by referencing children in Amish communities, who typically spend a greater amount of time outdoors, showing fewer allergies and indicating a connection between nature exposure and immune health. Similarly, "forest schools" in Finland present evidence that children spending more time outside have better-developed immune systems.

In urban contexts, studies conducted in Chicago public housing projects revealed that views of nature correlated with better attention spans in children, more self-discipline, and lower adult aggression. These families were assigned their apartments randomly, thus negating the potential bias of wealth or education influencing the choice of the living environment. Moreover, Berman’s research using cell phone trace data suggests that in neighborhoods where there's regular park visitation, crime rates tend to be lower, highlighting the communal health benefits of accessible green spaces.

Additional research in Toronto showed that increased tree c ...

Natural environments are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also seem to hold the power to stimulate spiritual reflection and influence psychological well-being and social behavior.

Fractal and Curved Patterns in Nature May Uniquely Stimulate Spiritual Reflection

The hosts discuss the effects of nature's aesthetic on our spirituality and how certain patterns in nature can prompt deeper contemplation.

Curved Images Spur Spirituality Compared To Fewer Curves

Marc Berman introduces the conversation by noting that people tend to prefer architecture with more curvature and fractalness—qualities that are abundant in nature. Berman mentions fractal patterns, like those in a snowflake, and considers how the fractal sounds of water and the way waves crash can provide stimulation that might encourage spirituality or reflection.

Berman recalls a project by the TKF Foundation, now called Nature Sacred, where parks were equipped with journals, allowing visitors to record their thoughts. He notes a correlation between the number of curved edges in these parks and entries about spirituality, suggesting that these architectural features can inspire spiritual thought.

Kate Shirts’ study adds to this by showing people pictures of both natural and built environments with varying degrees of curvature. The results revealed that images with more curves led participants to think more about spirituality, an effect that persisted even when viewing scrambled images with curved edges but no identifiable content.

Nature Time Shifts Perspective, Reduces Self-Focus, Boosts Connectedness

The discussion then delves into the transformative effects that spending time in nature can have on individuals' perspectives, sense of empathy, and connectedness.

Nature Encourages Selflessness and Prosocial Behavior

Berman proposes that being in nature might make people less likely to cheat, as he believes nature helps restore direct attention, enabling better impulse control. In an experiment where participants walked through a nature conservatory or an indoor mall, those who spent time in nature were found to think less about themselves and more about others, exhibiting selflessness and a prosocial outlook.

He hypothesizes that beautiful natural settings can induce a healthy sense of insignificance, making people feel a part of something larger and diminishing personal problems in the face of the vastness of nature. Berman implies that this feeling of being a small part of a vast whole fosters a sense of connection not only with the environment but also with other people.

Lewis Howes reflects upon time he spent in nature on the morning of his wedding, which helped him to clear his mind and find relaxation. He compares the positive effects of nature to activities like going to the gym or getting quality sleep.

The hosts concur that interactions with nature can humanize our perspectives and are related to decreased aggression ...