January 12, 2010 - 1:12 PM

Nature and R & R

Location: Buchanan County, Missouri

Location: Buchanan County, Missouri

In my last blog post I cited research that documents the positive effects of nature on people’s relationships, health, and views about their work.  To convey this therapeutic effect here in this blog, it would be beneficial to understand why nature has this positive impact.  If we have a sense of the why, then the images shown, and the discussions presented can be fine tuned to maximize this and other positive effects of nature. 

The Value of Rest

Rachel & Stephen Kaplan’s research has indicated that views of nature are beneficial for relieving mental fatigue.  (Kaplan and Kaplan. 1989. The Experience of Nature.  New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.) Often a consequence of mental fatigue is a “cluttered mind”, where details and deadlines overwhelm orderly thought.  I thought of this as I watched the latest winter storm cast down a thick blanket of snow over the surrounding terrain, softening sounds and burying textures under glistening white.  A blank canvas now covered all the details of a resting winter landscape.  The pristine white blanket of snow was the perfect antithesis of a cluttered mind.

Winter is a time of rest.  What better example of the positive, healing effect of nature than one of rest?   The cycle of activity and inactivity is ubiquitous in nature, and for obvious ecological benefit.  Daytime and night, and the field left fallow are tangible examples.   We are creatures of nature, and our biology needs this same rhythm of activity and rest.  

How many times have you worked long and hard on a problem, and when forced to take leave of it, the answer comes like a flash out of that period of rest?  The break from the puritanical push to get things done has a definite bearing on productivity.  Here is an excerpt from an interesting article in Businessweek, May 21, 2007:

“Refusing to take time off burns people out and wreaks havoc on productivity. Vacation deprivation is one reason workers are reporting more mistakes, anger, and resentment at co-workers, according to the Families & Work Institute.

Former NASA scientists, working on behalf of Air New Zealand and using testing tools normally reserved for astronauts, recently found that vacationers experienced an 82% increase in job performance post-trip.”

When we are sick, the idea of rest meets no resistance, in fact we may chastise ourselves for not getting more rest in the first place!  So as we launch into this new year of 2010, we can see the beginnings of an economic recovery, but also an economic climate full of volatility.  The impulse is to work more, faster, and  harder when Americans already work more hours than any other country on earth. (statistics from the International Labour Organization)  As the above study shows, more is not necessarily better. Taking time off takes discipline to prepare for, but the benefits are worth it.  On our death beds, how many will wish they worked more?

  Enjoy the pictures above of the landscape at rest, take the cue from nature, and give yourself permission to take time off, without the Blackberry or iPhone!  Your thumbs need the break!