Walking and being outdoors is not only good for your body, but also for your mind. We are outdoorsy people by nature and our minds work better in nature, it turns out. Here you can read exactly how it works.
Our brains look at the world as if we were a hunter-gatherer. Loud and unexpected sounds immediately sharpen our brains. So say American scientist Kelly Lambert. According to her, it is not good for people to sit still for hours a day. “Our brain wants to have something to move,” she says. Large parts of the brain have to do with movement.
The following experiment shows that nature is the best place for us. Test subjects first saw a shocking video, which caused their blood pressure, heart rate and muscle tension to increase. They were then shown a ten-minute film with images of either a busy city or a forest. In people who had looked at the forest picture, the stress level dropped to zero. But test subjects who had looked at the picture of the city still felt stressed for a while. Looking at some greenery can reduce stress within ten minutes.
The living mountain
Scottish mountain walker, teacher and poet Nan Shepherd spent her life seeking out nature in the Cairngorms – a breathtakingly beautiful, rugged mountain range in the Scottish Highlands. Order it here.
The salt path
Perhaps the best book about hiking of recent years. True story about a couple who lose everything and decide to walk along the English south coast with nothing more than a tent. Bestseller. Order it here.
Into the wild
The classic among outdoor books. This also shows that our brain wants to be outside. Also filmed. Order it here.
Image:Gettyimages
