[acb-hsp] Into the Woods

[peter altschul]

Stuck On An Idea? Walk Through The Park
  Drake Baer April 1, 2013
  Research confirms what we've long known: A leafy stroll resets 
your mind.
  New research shows that if you want to purge your mental muck, 
you should make like a tree and leaf.
  Puns aside, a study published in the stBritish Journal of 
Sports Medicinest evidences that green spaces lessen "brain 
fatigue"--that familiar (urban?) feeling of being distracted, 
forgetful, and flighty, as Gretchen Reynolds notes for the New 
York Times.





All it takes is a stroll
  You may be familiar with the clanging clamor of urban life--and 
psychology helps us understand why it's so sapping.  Pedestrians 
get drained because they have to remain vigilant of all the 
madness that's around them, being forced to use stinindirected 
mental attentionininst--a limited resource get from one block to 
another without being run over by something with two legs or four 
wheels.  In contrast, the environs of a park, unless there's a 
stroller festival afoot, can put you into a state of ininstsoft 
fascinationstinineathe staaaaahst-inducing feeling of taking in 
the space around you.  By being in a green space, that 
ever-so-scarce resource of directed attention is able to renew 
itself.





Leafy prescriptions
  Some countries might be ahead of Scotland in the greenery game.  
stOutside Magazinest had an amazing feature in December about how 
doctors in Japan are beginning to prescribe walks in the woods to 
help the mental health of overloaded urbanites.  There's even a 
totally adorable word for it, stshinrin-yokust, which translates 
as "forest bathing."
  But you need not be in Edinburgh or Tokyo to get your 
stshinrin-yokust on.  The key is to get into the woods, whatever 
the neck may be, says Jenny Roe, the professor who oversaw the 
Scottish study.  Reynolds has the quote:





..Right about now, you should consider "taking a break from 
work," Dr.  Roe said, and "going for a walk in a green space or 
just sitting, or even viewing green spaces from your office 
window." This is not unproductive lollygagging, Dr.  Roe 
helpfully assured us." It is likely to have a restorative effect 
and help with attention fatigue and stress recovery."
  So do your brain a favor and have a midday stroll  Or, maybe 
better than that, do your colleagues a favor-- make your next 
meeting a walk in the woods.
  Copyright Ággc) 2013 Mansueto Ventures LLC.  All rights 
reserved.