In our technology-rich world, many of us spend far too much time looking at screens – from TVs and tablets to laptops and cell phones. This constant connectivity has led us to place a high value on skills that let us filter the onslaught of information.
Multitasking, problem solving, and selective attention are all higher level cognitive skills that are taxed by the competing demands of modern technology. Several studies have indicated that contact with nature can help restore these executive functions, with a new study in the journal PLOS ONE providing compelling evidence for booking a camping trip this summer.
Led by Ruth Atchley, a Cognitive Psychologist at the University of Kansas, the study looked at how adults performed on a creative, problem solving task before and after an ‘unplugged’ nature immersion. Participants took part in technology-free Outward Bound expeditions in Colorado, Maine, Alaska, and Washington. On the average, after four days of backpacking in the wilderness, subjects saw their problem solving performance increase by a whopping 50%.
If this isn’t enough to motivate you to take a hiatus from your Smart Phone and commune with nature – consider these sobering statistics. Youngsters from 8-18 spend 7 ½ hours a day engaging in screen time – and for adults this number can be even higher. At the same time, we’re outside less. Kids spend a paltry 15–25 minutes a day playing outdoors. And since the 1980s there has been more than a 20% decline in nature-based recreation, including visits to national parks.
You can help reverse this trend and your brain will thank you.
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Web Links
Creativity in the Wild: Improving Creative Reasoning through Immersion in Natural Settings
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0051474
Photo, taken on May 28, 2006, courtesy of Elisa Bracco via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY, with partial support from the Field Day Foundation.