Postcard

By Mary McKay Duncan, LCSW. If you had the good fortune to explore in nature this summer, you may have experienced some of the therapeutic effects attributed to immersion in natural environments.

Nature is a mighty force in our lives … in its presence through, and, also, in its absence from our days. How many of us live and work indoors? Disconnected, in some way, from the world of flora and fauna whose spaces we’ve captured and built out. Though traditions and disciplines through centuries have emphasized the role nature plays in our lives, over the past thirty years a growing body of research is studying and documenting evidence of the potential psychological and physiological benefits of experiencing green spaces, as well as the impact of the increasing amount of time spent by most in urban built environments where, for the first time in history, the majority of the Earth’s population now lives.

The Attention Restoration Theory holds that urban environments are filled with stimulation, demanding more of our directed attention and eventually causing attention fatigue and cognitive deficit. The consequences of this drain on executive function can include lack of impulse control, inattention, difficulty in concentrating, a decrease in working memory, and irritability, among others (Berman et al., 2008). Interacting with nature, according to the theory, provides the platform and opportunity for a bottom up “soft fascination” or involuntary attentional experience, which allows the brain to recover from the fatigue of directed attention, thus restoring and replenishing itself (Kaplan, 1995).

This concept may also help explain anecdotal evidence of children with attention-deficit disorder exhibiting fewer symptoms in natural settings. In one experiment with children diagnosed with ADHD, each child was taken off his medication and given the opportunity to experience a 20-minute walk in a downtown setting, a neighborhood setting and a park setting. Significantly elevated attention performance, concentration and focus were found in participants after time spent walking in the park relative to the other two settings (Taylor & Kuo, 2009).

Other studies have found time in green spaces to have a positive effect on mood and on aspects of cognitive function, including restoration of working memory and a dampening effect on anxiety (Bratman et al., 2012). More recently, reduced subgenual prefrontal cortex activation, together with an associated reduction in rumination, was measured in study subjects following 90 minutes of walking in a natural setting (Bratman et al., 2015).

In 1982 the Forest Agency of Japan introduced the concept of “shinrin-yoku,” which could be translated as “taking in the forest atmosphere” or “forest bathing” and is considered to have the capacity to provide relaxation and vitality and to reduce stress, along with other physiological benefits. A good deal of research has since been conducted to ascertain some of its positive effects. In one experiment, two 20-minute walks in forest areas and urban areas (on alternating days) revealed a significant lowering of prefrontal activity and of salivary cortisol measures in the forest group each day (Park et al., 2007).

Another recent study focused on other physiological aspects of subjects walking in a forest environment as opposed to an urban setting. The results indicated that participants in the forest environment had enhanced parasympathetic nervous tone and function and decreased sympathetic nervous activity (interpreted through heart rate variability measures) as compared to those in urban settings (Park, 2010). In the same set of experiments, measures of blood pressure and pulse were lower in the participants after spending time in the forest than after they had spent time in the city. Forest bathing trips have also been shown to increase immune function through an increase in natural killer cell activity (Li, 2008).

Surely an appreciation of the natural world can inspire awe. Paul Piff and his colleagues have explored the effects of awe, which they describe as “an emotional response to perceptually vast stimuli that transcend current frames of reference” or “the experience of wonder and beauty in the world around.” “Experiences of awe attune people to things larger than themselves,” says Piff (Piff et al., 2015). “They cause individuals to feel less entitled, less selfish, and to behave in more generous and helping ways.” This one benefit, standing on its own, is enough, perhaps, to merit our spending more time outside. The benefits of awe are physical too, with the regular experience of moments of awe having been linked to lower levels of inflammatory compounds in the body (Piff et al., 2015).

All science aside, a postcard this, perhaps, from the Summer… beckoning us all to hold as part of ourselves and to access each day some of the healing and delight found in the Great Outdoors, for if we can, we are transformed.

References:

Berman MG, Jonides J, and Kaplan S. 2008. The cognitive benefits of interacting with nature. Psychological Science Dec.19(12):1207–1212.

Bratman GN, Hamilton PH and Daily GC. 2012. The impacts of nature experience on human cognitive function and mental health. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Feb;1249:118–136.

Bratman GN, Hamilton JP, Hahn KS et al. 2015. Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation. PNAS. July 14;112(28): 8567–8572.

Kaplan S. 1995. The restorative benefits of nature: toward an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Health. 15:169–182.

Li Q. 2010. Effect of forest bathing trips on human immune function. Environ Health Prev Med. Jan15(1):9–17.

Park BJ, Tsunetsugu Y, Kasetani T, Kagawa T et al. 2010. Physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku (taking in the atmosphere or forest bathing): evidence from field tests in 24 forests across Japan. Environ Health Prev Med. Jan 15(1):18–26.

Piff, PK & Keltner, D. 2015. Why do we experience awe? The New York Times, May 24.

Piff, PK, Dietze P, Feinberg M et al. 2015. Awe, the small self and prosocial behavior. J Pers Soc Psych. Jun 108(6):883–899.

Taylor AF & Kuo, FE. 2009. Children with attention deficits concentrate better after walk in the park. Journal of Attention Disorders. March 12(5):402–409.

Mary McKay Duncan, LCSW is a clinical social worker and psychotherapist in private practice in Austin. She enjoys working with children, adolescents, and adults and with parents, collaborating closely for the child. As a certified Nurtured Heart Approach® advanced trainer, she incorporates this work with psychodynamic, cognitive, solution focused, and humanistic approaches. Her areas of focus include working with gifted or intense children and those dealing with anxiety, willfulness, developmental, behavioral or attentional issues. In the meantime, she loves the Outdoors!

Contact Mary McKay Duncan, LCSW at 4131 Spicewood Springs Road, Suite J3, Austin, Texas, 78759, Phone: (512) 472–5640.

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