Does Nature Really Help Us Relax?
Most of us feel immense relaxation when we breathe in that breath of fresh air on a cold winter day. Or, lying at the beach listening to the waves, or playing in the sand brings us to that care-free state.
Nature helps most people relax; that’s why there are so many wallpapers with pictures of nature out there. That’s also why numerous apps designed to put you in a relaxed state have sounds of nature built-in. But does these artificial manifestations of natural beauty really help people relax, similar to being in nature in reality?
Here’s a great article verifying the relationship between looking at nature and decreasing stress: Nearby Nature Effect
Enjoy!
Desktop Greens
Look around you. Do you see any plants or greens? If yes, pay attention to it for a moment, and then reflect on how you feel. If no, well, think about putting some greens in your surrounding. Scientists proved that doing so can help you feel better. For real!
Studies have shown that being surrounded by nature improves our well being. As a matter of fact, plants can have such a powerful impact on us that horticulture is now also a therapeutic modality. Horticultural therapy improves cognitive, social, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
Additionally, living in a large city without many greens can interfere with your brain performance – lower attention, worse memory and mental exhaustion. However, there’s the good news: studies also showed that just getting glimpses of green areas can improve your brain performance. That means, even if you don’t have a chance to spend some quality time in a park, putting photos of nature as your desktop background can relieve mental exhaustion.
So, what are you waiting for? Go get your plant! If it’s not feasible to have a planter in your office, there are plenty of amazing desktop greens online; consider downloading a few of them.
Reference:
http://www.chta.ca/