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Nature, art & religion can be anti-inflammatory

Two experiments involving more than 200 young adults have indicated that the extent to which they experienced positive emotions (such as amusement, awe, compassion, contentment, joy, love and pride) was linked to lower levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. In particular, awe, wonder and amazement, were associated with the lowest levels of the cytokine, Interleukin 6 (a marker of inflammation).

High levels of cytokines are associated with poorer health and such disorders as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and even Alzheimer’s disease and clinical depression.

It's suggested that awe is associated with curiosity and a desire to explore, behaviors which are the opposite of those found during inflammation, where individuals typically withdraw from others.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-02/uoc--ana020315.php

Stellar, J. E., John-Henderson, N., Anderson, C. L., Gordon, A. M., McNeil, G. D., & Keltner, D. (2015). Positive affect and markers of inflammation: Discrete positive emotions predict lower levels of inflammatory cytokines. Emotion, 15(2), 129–133. http://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000033

Tree videos help people recover from stress

Following growing evidence that exposure to nature makes people feel and think better, a study using 3-D videos of residential streets with varying amounts of tree canopy has demonstrated a dose-response curve.

The study involved 80 men and 78 women, who were stressed by having to deliver five-minute impromptu speeches before two interviewers and a video camera, before then having to solve several subtraction problems out loud, without using computing devices, paper or pencil. Afterwards, they watched one of 10 panoramic 3-D videos showing similar neighborhood streets on which the density of tree cover ranged from 2 to 62%.

The men displayed a bell-shaped dose-response curve, with their stress biomarkers (salivary cortisol and skin conductance levels) improving steadily as the tree canopy increased from 2 to 24%. The greatest benefits came from tree canopy in the 24-34% range, and stress recovery declined for tree cover over 34%.

Women did not show the same physiological response, although their self-reports suggested that they also experienced stress reduction benefits that increased proportionally with the percentage of tree canopy viewed.

While 41% of male and female participants who watched videos with minimal tree canopy described calming effects, more than 90% reported feeling calm or relaxed when the tree canopy was at 36%. All reported well-being when the tree cover was at 62%.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-10-d-videos-trees-people-recover.html

Jiang, B., Li, D., Larsen, L., & Sullivan, W. C. (2016). A Dose-Response Curve Describing the Relationship Between Urban Tree Cover Density and Self-Reported Stress Recovery. Environment and Behavior, 48(4), 607–629. http://doi.org/10.1177/0013916514552321

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Older news items (pre-2010) brought over from the old website

A walk in the park a day keeps mental fatigue away

Many of us who work indoors are familiar with the benefits of a walk in the fresh air, but a new study gives new insight into why, and how, it works. In two experiments, researchers found memory performance and attention spans improved by 20% after people spent an hour interacting with nature. The intriguing finding was that this effect was achieved not only by walking in the botanical gardens (versus walking along main streets of Ann Arbor), but also by looking at photos of nature (versus looking at photos of urban settings). The findings are consistent with a theory that natural environments are better at restoring attention abilities, because they provide a more coherent pattern of stimulation that requires less effort, as opposed to urban environments that are provide complex and often confusing stimulation that captures attention dramatically and requires directed attention (e.g., to avoid being hit by a car).

Berman, M.G., Jonides, J. & Kaplan, S. 2008. The Cognitive Benefits of Interacting With Nature. Psychological Science, 19 (12), 1207-1212.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/afps-awi121808.php
http://www.physorg.com/news148663388.html

In favor of nature’s benefits for cognition

Submitted by Fiona McPherson on

As many of you will know, I like nature-improves-mind stories. A new twist comes from a small Scottish study, in which participants were fitted up with a mobile EEG monitor that enabled their brainwaves to be recorded as they walked for 25 minutes through one of three different urban settings: an urban shopping street, a path through green space, or a street in a busy commercial district.

Natural scenes have positive impact on brain

A couple of years ago I reported on a finding that walking in the park, and (most surprisingly) simply looking at photos of natural scenes, could improve memory and concentration (see below). Now a new study helps explain why. The study examined brain activity while 12 male participants (average age 22) looked at images of tranquil beach scenes and non-tranquil motorway scenes.

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