In a recent Nature Conservancy poll which was conducted in the United States, only a minuscule 10% of teens engaged in activities outside on a daily basis. Furthermore, American adults reported that they spent more time inside the realm of their vehicle than they did outdoors from week to week. Our current population has grown so accustomed to their version of a work-life balance that many have forgotten about what the life portion of that balance truly is. There is rarely an opportunity throughout any given day where an individual is not receiving some form of external stimulation. This stimulation can be in the form of television, music, social media, the radio or any other routine task in which the human brain is being utilized in order to achieve a goal. Providing yourself the chance to get away from all these sources of stimuli can have extremely positive effects on not only your mental health, but your cognitive functioning as well.

The University of Michigan recently conducted a research study labelled “The Cognitive Benefits of Interacting With Nature”, which included scientists from their Computer Science, Engineering and Psychology faculties. Their study aimed to explore a therapy which had absolutely no side effects, yet could drastically improve your cognitive functioning and mental health. The researchers go on to explain that they have been able to extensively document the astonishing improvements which nature can provide to the human mind and overall well-being. In order to break things down into more manageable information, the report mentions that this sort of therapy is being branded as Attention Restoration Therapy, or ART for short. ART’s main target is the brain’s directed attention, which in better terms is the cognitive mechanism they desire to restore via interaction with nature. This direct attention plays a prominent role in the high-level functioning of our cognitive abilities and emotional state. As such, nature invokes a counteractive type of attention. This is referred to as involuntary attention which, when triggered, allows for your direct attention threshold to be replenished.