Nature is, without a doubt, something you simply cannot afford to miss in this short life. I try to travel as frequently as I can to hike, mountain bike, snowboard and scuba. I was in Switzerland for several days recently and it was just jaw-dropping. [1][2][3][4][5]. Being away from crowds/touristy areas, the concrete jungle, light/noise/air pollution really puts a lot of your life and problems into perspective.<p>[1] <a href="https://i.imgur.com/ETu4tsr.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://i.imgur.com/ETu4tsr.jpg</a><p>[2] <a href="https://i.imgur.com/EsppCVS.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://i.imgur.com/EsppCVS.jpg</a><p>[3] <a href="https://i.imgur.com/WwqmZjJ.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://i.imgur.com/WwqmZjJ.jpg</a><p>[4] <a href="https://i.imgur.com/aWJxEZf.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://i.imgur.com/aWJxEZf.jpg</a><p>[5] <a href="https://i.imgur.com/zJRh5tm.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://i.imgur.com/zJRh5tm.jpg</a>
Is there any reason to believe that urban hiking has a similar effect? I don't go on nature walks very often, but learning to walk my way around my city has given me an entirely different outlook on where I live.<p>Seattle has a lot of greenery, but walking around is a pretty urban experience.<p>I think that there is also a lot to be said about regularly moving your body (walking 5-10 miles a day), and the effect it has on your mental state. I wouldn't be surprised if your surroundings play a minimal role compared to simply engaging in physical activity and changing your surroundings regularly.
If urbanization makes people depressed and anxious, why do millennials seem to prefer cities? How does this jive with the "safety in numbers" feeling young people usually use to explain why they want to live in cities?<p>I'm starting to think that the desire to live in cities in our newest generation has been implanted by marketers. Keep humans in a constant state of rushing and anxiety, then quell them with gastropubs and single-origin coffee and other urbane pleasures, in order reinforce a permanent state of discontent. The goal is to have an insatiable working class that will do <i>anything</i> to afford their $1,500/month Brooklyn closet, without realizing that you can be much happier and more relaxed anywhere else.
Japanese concept of 'forest bathing':<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_bathing" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_bathing</a><p>there may also be a biochemical process here involving the inhaling of phytoncides<p>we don't really <i>need</i> another reason to respect and protect trees and nature but there is ample evidence that we need them much more than they need us
Being in a wooded area triggers my anxiety. I'm constantly itching, scratching and worried about ticks (as others have mentioned here). Obsessively to the point of not being able to relax. I have no affinity for flowers or trees or any such thing -- I'm just not built that way.<p>But there are other ways to enjoy Nature -- the beach for instance. It doesn't have to be a stroll through the woods or a hike. It can be just as freeing and relaxing to be on a beach.<p>Well, except I'm a pseudo-ginger (red beard, blonde hair, pale and freckled). So I'm usually under a giant umbrella, coated in the strongest SPF blocker I can be. And a big straw hat to boot.<p>Hell, now that I think about it, the Outside is trying to kill me. I should stay home more.
Another interesting side effect of the outdoors that I've noticed is the impact on human social interaction. I ride the train into SF every day and throughout the week I sit next to countless other people without speaking to a single one of them. I went backpacking through the Lost Cost Trail last weekend and had a conversation with literally every human being that I passed. Not just a "hi, how you doing?" but a genuine conversation about where they were from, what part of the trail they started on, where they were going, what they had seen. In fact, I would get people waving and saying hi from 100 yards away across a stream. It felt genuine and easy and I'm pretty sure they all felt the same.
> the scientists randomly assigned half of the volunteers to walk for 90 minutes through a leafy, quiet, parklike portion of the Stanford campus or next to a loud, hectic, multi-lane highway in Palo Alto.<p>So waking through a particularly beautiful part of Stanford campus leads to better mental health than waking along a noisy highway. No shit.
I visited my cousins in a little town in Germany recently that is surrounded by walking paths all through town and in the surrounding hills. The town is filled with clinics that Germans get to go to to recover from surgery and other health issues because the walking and nature is so peaceful. Wish I lived there :-(
However I'd like to point out this nice dissection of the article, where a lot of serious flaws had been found. For instance: missing significance.
<a href="http://neuroconscience.com/2015/06/30/a-walk-in-the-park-increases-poor-research-practices-and-decreases-reviewer-critical-thinking/" rel="nofollow">http://neuroconscience.com/2015/06/30/a-walk-in-the-park-inc...</a>
I'm not sure how anyone could think that walking next to a loud highway for an hour and a half (without a distraction such as a friend or music) would be a great idea.
I just got back from a walk in Nature for my lunch brake.<p>A Kookaburra stole my sandwich and now i'm stressed as fuck and angry at the world.<p>/anecdote
May I put forth a pet theory ? Indulge me ...<p>Nature, and being in nature, is soothing and palliative because your sophistication/environment ratio goes to infinity.<p>At any point, you can be in an environment (city, highway, coffee shop) and you have a certain level of sophistication, and no matter how sophisticated you are, there's a ratio to the environment you are in. Quiet main street in your home town ? Very high ratio. Formal wedding in a foreign country surrounded by strangers ? Low ratio. Stress. Uncertainty.<p>But in nature, no matter how unsophisticated you are, the "nature" you are in is (essentially) zero complexity (at least in terms of technology and cultural sophistication). So the ratio goes to infinity. No matter what.<p>That's probably nice for a brain...
I walk 20 minutes to and from work through park each day. I like it, but I kinda associate that park with my job at this point, and immediately start to think what I have to do the next day.<p>I also like to go on a few hours long photo-shooting trips through my city and it relaxes me more, no matter the relative lack of nature. I think the point is - it makes me focus on different things, after a while I'm in the "flow" and forget about daily problems.
Highly recommended for those living in London: <a href="http://www.walkingclub.org.uk/book_1/index.shtml" rel="nofollow">http://www.walkingclub.org.uk/book_1/index.shtml</a><p>All those walks start and end at rail stations. You'll need a compass, but no sophisticated orientation skills are required.
Grew up in Snowdonia, North Wales. Nature made me feel both privileged and insignificant at the same time. It truly is amazing that there is so much variety and depth to nature. There is so much life in there, you just need to open your eyes and ears. I highly recommend the area as a traveling destination.
I made the decision that no amount of benefit from nature walks is worth the gamble of being screwed-for-life by Lyme Disease.<p>Clearly, that math works for some people, and good on them. I just can't make the odds work.