Why nature walks are useful for the brain

your the brain anyway, you love nature or not. He needed green space. Nature - a life-giving balm, and this has been proved over the years of research. Communion with nature improves mood, memory, attention. And when you consider that people have moved to the cities, attacks on nature become more and more important.

In Russia there are more than 70% of the population lives in cities. In the world - more than half. human life has changed. And what is most interesting, the mass transfer in high-rise buildings combined with the rapid increase in the number of mental disorders.

urban brain

The reasons why the number of people with mental disorders growing a lot. Experts say reducing the free time (including children), economic difficulties removing moral prohibitions to apply for psychological assistance and a number of other factors.

A considerable number of diseases associated with anxiety and depression are common among city dwellers. Psychologists have long suspected that the life in a negative impact on the brain.

In 1984, the biologist Edward Osborne Wilson (edward Osborne Wilson) described the reasons for the positive impact of nature on human mental state in his book "Biophilia". He suggested that people have an innate desire to seek connection with plants and animals. ArticlePublished in the journal Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, summarized the data obtained in the course of 20 trials that compared the inhabitants of towns and villages. It turned out that affective disorders is 40% more common in urban areas. Anxiety disorder, too, are more typical for urban residents. The only difference is partly explained by demographic differences of cities and towns.

Also, there is no reason to think that the city go sullen personality, and all the merry fellows tend to stay in the countryside. In 2013 it was published study: For 18 years, interviewed 10,000 people moving to and from the city. Subjects reported a growth of well-being and reduce stress, while they lived in the green zone with a diameter of about 4 km. The improvements were modest: approximately one-third of the subjects linked the changes to marriage, for example, but on the scale of the entire population of the data have a great potential.

magazine study Nature It found that people who grew up in the village, to cope with stress better than the people who grew up in the city, judging by the activity of the amygdala - part of the brain responsible for anxiety and learning. But the self-assessment of stress among residents of towns and villages is no different, as the behavior in stressful situations.

Other studies have shown that a walk in the green areas to improve mood and cognitive abilities as people in depressionAnd in people without mental disorders. The landscape outside the window associated with the best concentration and impulse control. The green space around the house reduces the level of cortisol (stress hormone) and reduces anxiety, patients' assessments.

Why is green

Even less clear why the greens so affects our health. A recent study showed that it is necessary not to go to distant lands to protect your brain.

A researcher at the Stanford Institute for Environment Gretchen Daily (Gretchen Daily) conducted a survey of 38 people. On a college campus participants brains were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The participants also filled out questionnaires, which describes the presence of obsessive thoughts, particularly about the negative attitude towards yourself and your actions.

Then, 19 participants went on a 90-minute walk along the main street choked traffic. The rest went for a walk on a paved path in the hills around the telescope, which was not far from the campus. Routes were chosen specifically to assess the practical benefits of a short rest, possible every day.

After returning participants again completed the survey. Those who walk on the nature, the results were much better. After city walks subjects feeling did not change.

The brain after contact with nature has changed, too. Portion of the brain responsible for sadness and soul-showed less activity. This effect did not have people walking along the road. And these changes can not be explained only by the difference in heart rate and breathing.

Something in nature has a calming, moreover it is not associated with light physical activity and breaks. What exactly - is not clear.

Now the identification of these special factors - the number one task for researchers.

Meanwhile, in the world are already planning the city, taking into account access to the natural islands. In Cape Town, pay attention to the distance of the future schools to parks: children should not spend much time on the road from the place of study to the green zone. In Stockholm, refer to the "natural rays", built in the urban space in the form of parks and gardens. Some researchers are trying to figure out how many trees must grow in the same street, in order to improve the psychological state of passers-by. For each square centimeter of greenery must be fought if we do not want to go crazy. Especially that destroyed part of nature easily, but return it to the urban environment is much more complicated.