Have you ever been so stressed out at school and felt that nothing you studied could enter your brain? I know I have. Which is why I enjoy taking breaks in nature, either by strolling in the park or heading down for a short jog. There is just something so refreshing about being immersed in nature. Even a short 10 minutes spent among greenery is enough to keep me going for the rest of my day! I’m sure that you’ve probably experienced the same thing before!
This phenomenon demonstrates the benefits of nature to restore and improve our mental abilities in the midst of our hectic lives. When we think of the natural world, most people imagine a scene filled with lush greenery, wildlife, fresh air and relaxing sounds of nature. Our natural environment is buzzing with energy that invigorate us, even just staring at a nature scene out of the window provides our eyes and minds with rest. Conversely thinking of urban environments evokes images of noisy streets and congested roads which can be energy draining. Residing in crowded cities increases stress levels and risk of anxiety disorders. Why then do we seem to be recharged by nature? The answer lies with the Attention Restoration Theory!
Here is a short video illustrating this concept!
Background
The attention restoration theory was put forth by Stephen and Rachel Kaplan to explain the position effects of being in nature. This theory suggests that being in nature is not only pleasant but also helps replenish cognitive resources such as attentional capacity which gives us the ability to concentrate.
Image created by blog author, Isabelle Lim, illustrating the different stages of attention that will be mentioned below.
We encounter many stressors in daily life and engage in higher order tasks that require our directed attention. For instance needing to complete an assignment, or having to rush a big proposal. These activities involve great mental focus and energy because we have to ignore distractions to concentrate on the task at hand. However over a long period of time of engaging in these activities we start to get tired. This is because our cognitive resources have been depleted and we become less efficient at our tasks. Such phenomenon is also called directed attention fatigue.
How then can we get back to maximum efficiency? The answer is simple, just step aside from these task and spend time in nature! Being in nature activates a different kind of attention known as ‘effortless attention’ which means no effort is required to sustain attention. This directs our cognitive resources away from the draining task and allows our cognitive functioning to recover.
Features of restorative environments
Rachel and Stephen identified four features of an environment that makes it restorative and they are:
- Fascination: The environment must evoke a sense of awe and wonder. This directs the person’s attention to the environment.
- Being away: The environment must allow the person to feel as though they are far away from their worries and daily life
- Extent: The sensation of travelling through the environment, being able to feel connected to elements in the environment
- Compatibility: How compatible is characteristics of the environment to innate human tendencies.
Image created by blog author, Isabelle Lim using Canva
Nature scores highly on all these scales. Many elements of nature are fascinating to mankind and readily capture our attention without much effort. This explains why we are easily captivated by sunsets, clouds, mountains, rivers, the list goes on! Very often natural settings evoke the sense of ‘being away’ from the urban environment. Mountains and forest are popular vacation destinations which provide a change in environment that allows individuals to be rested and restored. The extent of a place is often enhanced by footpaths and hiking trails, historical artifacts in nature evokes a sense of connectedness with larger world. Lastly, the biophilia hypothesis is evidence that natural settings are compatible with human nature.
Benefits of nature
The Attention restoration theory has been tested time after time and researchers drew that conclusion that natural environments has restorative benefits:
- Increases attention performance (Tenneseen & Cimprich, 1995)
- Restores cognitive resources after participating in a cognitively draining task (Berto, 2005)
- Buffers the negative health impacts of stress from life events (van den Berg, Maas, Verheij & Groenewegen, 2010)
- Improves cognitive performance and reduce symptoms in children with ADHD (van den Berg & van den Berg, 2010)
I hope this has helped you understand the benefits of nature. Whenever you’re feeling a little down or overwhelmed, remember to look out of the window! If you’re up for it, nature is waiting for you to venture out. take a hike, climb a mountain, whatever you do, its bound to make you feel energised and ready to take on the day!
