Science backs up "hiking in nature"

[David]

Hi - nice to hear that science backs up the benefits of hiking (and my continuous and monotonous plea to "switch off the electronics")

"Hiking While Disconnected From Technology Boosts Creative Problem Solving
A study conducted by psychologists Ruth Ann Atchley and David L. Strayer found that creative problem solving can be drastically improved by both disconnecting from technology and reconnecting with nature. Participants in this study went backpacking through nature for about 4 days, during which time they were not allowed to use any technology whatsoever. They were asked to perform tasks which required creative thinking and complex problem solving, and researchers found that performance on problem solving tasks improved by 50% for those who took part in this tech-free hiking excursion.

The researchers of this study noted that both technology and urban noise are incredibly disruptive, constantly demanding our attention and preventing us from focusing, all of which can be taxing to our cognitive functions. A nice long hike, sans technology, can reduce mental fatigue, soothe the mind, and boost creative thinking."

Here is the article - http://www.cosmicscientist.com/doctors-explain-how-hiking-actually-changes-our-brains/
and the complete report - http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0051474

But we knew all that Buen Camino!

 

[wayfarer]

I just love those scientists, how they prove what we all knew all along...

 

[dougfitz]

Thank you for sharing this David. An interesting result.

What I couldn't work out was whether it was the immersion in a natural environment or removal of electronic technology that was being tested here, although it appeared that in the full report data was not collected that would yield any insights into the relative effect of one over the other. Pity.

 

[David]

Thank you for sharing this David. An interesting result.

What I couldn't work out was whether it was the immersion in a natural environment or removal of electronic technology that was being tested here, although it appeared that in the full report data was not collected that would yield any insights into the relative effect of one over the other. Pity.

Absolutely agree with you on this Doug - shame that they didn't do two experiments, one with electronics and one without. Though, they do say that the "advantage comes from an increase in exposure to natural stimuli" and that "Utilizing insight, problem solving, and convergent creative reasoning to effectively connect the cues provided through a mediated relationship is thought to draw on the same pre-frontal cortical structures that are hypothesized to be overtaxed by the constant demands on our selective attention and threat detection systems from our modern, technology-intensive environment."

Which leads one to also wonder if just removing all electronic devices and staying in the urban environment would have had the same results!

I think that you and I could build a much better test program!! (But I still think we should switch off whilst out there )

 

[dougfitz]

I suspect there are greater effects from doing both, but it would have been useful to know how much came from each source.

 

[David]

Agree.

 

[Pelgrimpaul]

Some additional info on this topic I recently posted on my weblog Pilgrimage and Place
Including several short movies, presentations, some article references of more recent dates...

Meet the art of Shinrin-yoku or Forest bathing.
Take a nature therapy session while being at home.

The blog is here...