Interaction With Nature Improves Cognitive Function
The calming effects of nature are widely accepted by society, but researchers in recent studies attempted to determine whether digital images of natural elements are as beneficial as viewing the real thing. The results indicate that nothing compares to actual interaction with the living world around us and reveal the possible reasons behind nature’s calming effect on humans.
Environmental psychologist Peter Kahn of the University of Washington explored the effects of viewing nature on television screens in a recent experiment. Plasma TV “windows” were installed in workers’ windowless office spaces over a period of 16 weeks, and workers viewed scenes of parks and mountain ranges while their psychological function was monitored. The workers reported increased feelings of well-being and a greater sense of connection to nature.
Proving that a televised image of nature is superior to a blank wall when it comes to stress, Kahn and his colleagues initiated a second study to examine how the televised images of nature compared to the real thing. In this experiment, a group of test subjects viewed a nature scene through a window in their office while another group watched nature images on television screens. Each test group was exposed to low levels of stress that increased their heart rates and then researchers monitored how long it took them to become calm.
The results indicated that actual views of the natural world provided the best calming effect while the televised view of nature scenes had little effect on stress. The researchers concluded that nature scenes on television cannot fool the brain and that nothing beats the real thing when it comes to stress management.
Curious as to what part of the psyche is restored by viewing scenes of the natural world in real life scenarios, University of Michigan psychologist Marc Berman hypothesized that nature causes shifts in brain thought processing modes. Dr. Berman suggests that the thought processes of the urban dweller are often focused in an alert mode due to traffic and city noises. This type of alertness, Berman suggests, is very similar to that of the alertness needed to study for exams and conduct the business of daily urban life. Berman believed that interaction with nature might actually restore the parts of the brain that are exhausted by urban dwelling.
In a study to test his theories on mental depletion, Berman and associates devised an experiment that taxed the cognitive function of volunteers and created the type of stress caused by concentration. Test subjects were then sent on three-mile walks, with one group walking through the Ann Arbor Arboretum and another walking down a busy city street. After monitoring the test subjects’ levels of focus and concentration after their walks, the resulting analysis revealed that those who took the leisurely walk through the natural setting of the Aboretum had significantly better focus than those who took a walk down a busy city street.
Apparently interaction with nature has a calming effect on viewers who seem to benefit from the lack of focus that nature viewing requires. The serenity of nature allows the brain to take in the surroundings and process them with little effort, thus allowing the brain to switch thought processing systems and replenish the system that allows concentration on tasks demanded by life in modern times.