Easing Brain Fatigue With a Walk in the Park. Brick House Pictures/Getty Images Phys Ed Gretchen Reynolds on the science of fitness. Fitness Tracker Marathon, half-marathon, 10K and 5K training plans to get you race ready. Scientists have known for some time that the human brain’s ability to stay calm and focused is limited and can be overwhelmed by the constant noise and hectic, jangling demands of city living, sometimes resulting in a condition informally known as brain fatigue.
With brain fatigue, you are easily distracted, forgetful and mentally flighty — or, in other words, me. But an innovative new study from Scotland suggests that you can ease brain fatigue simply by strolling through a leafy park. The idea that visiting green spaces like parks or tree-filled plazas lessens stress and improves concentration is not new.
But this theory, while agreeable, has been difficult to put to the test. But it had not been possible to study the brains of people while they were actually outside, moving through the city and the parks. A Natural Way To Reduce Stress In The Workplace by Dr. Paul Lanthois. I was driving into the car park of the local shopping mall. The news bulletin was on the radio. "Researchers have found that exercise causes the release of a chemical that helps us better control our sugar levels. " I wasn't really surprised by the result. There are still probably so many benefits of exercise that are yet to be discovered. "Hopefully this will encourage more people to get off their backsides," I thought to myself as I found a parking spot.
But the end of that news bulletin nearly caused me to bump into the parked car in front of me. "Based on the results of this study, the researchers have now obtained a two million dollar research grant to develop a drug that mimics the affect of exercise. " Why do we waste so much time, effort and money trying to find a way to outdo and outsmart Mother Nature? One previous study showed that surgical patients with a view of trees required fewer painkillers than those looking at a brick wall. 30 240 less times every week Do you get my point?
Take a Braincation in Nature for Better Mental Health | Nature. Www.haworth.com/en-us/Knowledge/Workplace-Library/Documents/Effects of control over office workspace.pdf. Windows in the Workplace. Sunlight, View, and Occupational Stress Phil Leather Di Beale Claire Lawrence Abstract This article investigates the direct and indirect effects of windows in the workplace onjob satisfaction, intention to quit, and general well-being. The impact of three specific influencing mechanisms are examined: general level of illumination, sunlight penetration, and view. The extent to which these environmental features might moderate the negative consequences of job stress is investigated. Archive.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/obj/irc/doc/stress-buffering-mechanism.pdf. Www.haworth.com/en-us/knowledge/workplace-library/Documents/An Easy, Effective, and Useful Measure of External View Abstract.pdf. Commons.emich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1150&context=theses. Notes from the Workplace Garden » Blog Archive » 9 benefits of having plants in your workplace.
Posted on March 23rd, 2010, by Karen Why not become an actual workplace gardener and get yourself some pot plants for your office. Here are some fascinating statistics about the benefits of having plants in your workplace. Plenty of good reasons to justify the expense . . . you should call the indoor plant people now! A 2004 study by Dr Virginia Lohr of Washington State University found that students working in a computer laboratory that contained plants were 12% more efficient than students performing the same tasks in a room that was completely free of foliage. The blood pressure level of the students in the “green” lab were also lower.Clas Bergvall, an ethnologist at Umeå University in Sweden has researched the metaphysical connection people have to plants.
Karen Schmidt, www.letsgrow.com.au Tags: employee engagement, Karen Schmidt, Productivity. Green Plants Increase Job Satisfaction. Study shows employees with either live plants in their offices, or windows overlooking green spaces, feel greater job satisfaction. We reported last month that the presence of art posters on office walls — particularly nature scenes — lowers the anger and stress levels of men. Well, new research suggests potted plants and Picassos have similarly positive effects. A team of researchers led by Andrea Dravigne of the San Marcos Nature Center in Texas created a job satisfaction survey, which they administered to approximately 450 office workers in Texas and the Midwest.
They found employees with either live plants in their offices, or windows overlooking green spaces, felt greater job satisfaction (as measured in a variety of ways) and reported a higher overall quality of life. The stress-reducing effect of office posters was limited to men, so it is intriguing to learn that Dravigne and her team also found a gender gap in their results. Plants Make You Feel Better. Recently, an article in Miller-McCune caught my attention. It mentioned several research studies related to the positive impact of nature on the human condition. Having plants, going for a walk in the park, or even looking at a landscape poster could produce psychological benefits, reduce stress, and improve concentration.
Click here for the Miller-McCune article: Nature is Good . So, I decided to take a closer look at the research and see what might be helpful relative to our often stressful experience of living and working in the city. This post addresses the physical presence of plants at work, home, or even in the hospital. Based on several experimental studies, the presence of potted plants has been found to be helpful in many different settings including work, school, and hospitals. Not bad, huh?! Before we get ahead of ourselves and start replacing the carpet with trays of wheat grass, it's important to know one major limitation of the research. The Restorative Effects of Nature in Cities. Marc Berman, John Jonides, and Stephen Kaplan of the Universy of Michigan published a report in the journal, Psychology Science, outlining the negative impact of urban areas on cognition, and the beneficial effects of nature on the brain.
According to the University of Michigan study: “Nature, which is filled with intriguing stimuli, modestly grabs attention in a bottom-up fashion, allowing top-down directed-attention abilities a chance to replenish. Unlike natural environments, urban environments are filled with stimulation that captures attention dramatically and additionally requires directed attention (e.g., to avoid being hit by a car), making them less restorative. We present two experiments that show that walking in nature or viewing pictures of nature can improve directed-attention abilities as measured with a backwards digit-span task and the Attention Network Task, thus validating attention restoration theory.”
Read the research study and the Boston Globe article Like this: Does Looking at Nature Make People Nicer? A new study from the University of Rochester published in Personality and Social Psychology argues that paying attention to the natural world makes people feel better and also makes them behave better. Richard Ryan, an author of the study, says that viewing nature can not only have personal health benefits, but also broader social benefits. The University of Rochester writes that 370 test subjects exposed to natural as opposed to man-made environments led people to “value community and close relationships and to be more generous with money.”
Lead author Netta Weinstein argues that the research findings illustrate the value of green space in cities. “Incorporating parks and other representations of nature into urban environments may help build a stronger sense of community among residents. To the extent that our links with nature are disrupted, we may also lose some connection with each other.” Even indoors, Weinstein says people should maximize their connections with nature. Like this: 7 Ways to Stay Healthy at Work. Spending an average of 40 hours per week at work can be physically and mentally draining, but the workplace can also be unhealthy in other ways as well. Sitting or standing for long periods of time can cause pain and other adverse effects, and there can also be nutritional traps, such as vending machines, that could contribute to weight gain. But experts say there are numerous things people can do to make their workplaces healthier.
The following pages feature simple tips for keeping healthy at work. Keeping Healthy at Work Leave the cubicle or the office and experience nature, advised Dr. Marc Berman, a post-doctoral research fellow at Rotman Research Institute in Toronto. In research published in the journal Psychological Science in 2008, Berman and a team at the University of Michigan found that people improved their working memory span by about 20 percent after a 50-minute nature walk.
The idea: we have two forms of attention -- directed and involuntary. Bring the nature to you. Research Shows Nature Helps With Stress. Michael Posner, professor emeritus at University of Oregon who studies attention, says that our brains gets fatigued after working for long periods of time, “particularly if we have to concentrate intensely or deal with a repetitive task.” Taking a break may or may not help deal with stress during high-pressure times. What’s crucial is the type of break taken: According to The Wall Street Journal, taking a stroll in the park “could do wonders” while drinking lots of coffee will just be further depleting. Also, in other instances, not taking a break at all may be the best course, simply powering through can be “more effective than pausing.” Recent research shows that taking a stroll through a natural setting can boost performance on “tasks calling for sustained focus.” Even just looking at photos of nature in a quiet room has a greater cognitive boost than walking down a busy urban street.
Read the article. Image credit: Harvard University Arboretum / Photo Challenge. Like this: Shopping Cart. Healthy Workplaces: The Effects of Nature Contact at Work on Employee Stress and Health.