Findings Video Extra - Thriving in nature, pt. 1
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>> I'm Michelle Segar.
I'm a Behavioral Sustainability Researcher,
and I'm the Associate Director of the Sport, Health,
and Activity Research and Policy Center for women and girls.
>> And I'm Jason Duvall, a Lecturer and Researcher
in the Program in the Environment
at the University of Michigan.
Some of my work focuses on the benefits of spending time
in natural environments.
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Spending time in natural environments is associated
with reductions in blood pressure, also reductions
in certain stress hormones like cortisol, those kinds of things.
Also improvements in psychological aspects.
So mood would be a big one.
Also improvements in the ability to function effectively.
One of the big areas of study looks at exposure
to natural environments and then how people function
in terms of self-regulation.
Can I focus on a task for a longer period of time?
Do I make less mistakes?
We see big improvements in terms of exposure
to natural environments and some of those outcomes.
In terms of the theoretical explanations
for why people might experience these kinds
of cognitive improvements has to do with the attentional system.
When we look at attention we can really separate attention
into two different types.
One type is what we would call involuntary attention.
It's the kind of attention that you use
when you're naturally drawn
to something that's innately fascinating, right?
It doesn't take any effort to focus on those kinds of stimuli,
those kinds of events.
So if you go to the demolition derby, right?
You don't have to work to pay attention
to what's going on there.
However, there are a whole other set of tasks,
which require effort, right?
Require focus.
So when you're doing those tasks it takes work, right?
And we've all been in that situation
where we've spent time writing a paper, working on our taxes,
you know, all kinds of different activities everyday
that are effortful.
And after you spend a certain amount of time
on them you can feel mentally exhausted.
You feel worn out.
What happens when you spend time
in a natural environment is you're letting
that directed attention system rest because you're
in an environment that's filled
with involuntary fascinating things, right?
So staring at trees or wild animals,
that doesn't require effort, right?
It's not effortful.
It's easy to do.
So you're basically shifting that burden away
from the directed system and then
onto this involuntary system.
It's not necessarily enough just to go spend time
in a natural environment.
You need to be present in the environment.
So what I see a lot of on campus around here is students walking
to and from class on their phones.
>> Right.
>> Texting each other.
And to me that's a missed opportunity
because what's happening is they're not present
in the environment.
So they have a chance to take a break.
>> Right.
>> To consolidate some things
that they've been learning about, you know,
that could happen with not just students but other people too.
And when you don't do that, right, when you interrupt it
with something else and you're absence
from the natural environment then you're not being able
to take advantage of it.
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