Get a Life with Nature

Feeling bored, low on energy, exhausted?  Don’t reach for a cup of coffee.  Get out into nature.  Researchers at the University of Rochester ran some controlled experiments on college students and found that those who spent a little time outdoors felt happier and more energetic.  “Spending time in nature makes people feel more alive,” the article on PhysOrg announced.  “Being outside in nature for just 20 minutes in a day is enough to significantly boost vitality levels, according to new University of Rochester psychology research.”
    The findings, published in the June 2010 issue of the Journal of Environmental Psychology, appear to be distinguished from merely exercising or socializing.  Four different experiments were run in an attempt to isolate the effect of nature alone – including some tests with just photographs, looking out windows, and visualizing oneself outdoors with and without companions.  In each case, the students who participated in either actually being outdoors or visualizing themselves outdoors recorded an increase in vitality.  The authors concluded that it was the presence of nature, not just the companionship or exercise, that contributed to the vitalizing and energizing effect.  Furthermore, this result appears robust in that it correlates with earlier studies that show people gaining a better sense of well-being, generosity and caring when relating to nature.
    “Nature is fuel for the soul,” said Richard Ryan, the lead author of the study.  “….Nature is something within which we flourish, so having it be more a part of our lives is critical, especially when we live and work in built environments.”  He believes that access to parks and natural surroundings in our cities is an important consequence of these studies.

We leave it as an exercise to figure out in what sense nature is being used here.  Nature is a very slippery word that can refer to all kinds of things, even opposite things.  Presumably we all are thinking together that here it refers to trees, grass, birds – nice outdoorsy things.
    What can you do in your situation to take advantage of the lessons of this entry?  Here are some easy suggestions.  Take a walk outside every day – either at work, or before or after work.  Decorate your house with plants and nature photographs.  Build more windows in your house or office.  Take more vacations to national parks or scenic locations.  Learn an outdoor hobby like nature photography, birdwatching, tidepooling, astronomy, camping, backpacking, sailing, river rafting or canoeing, bicycling, or whatever is appropriate to your age and skill.  This is a good habit to build into your life.  Think of it as an investment: put some assets into your bank of vitality.
    One of our sister ministries is called Creation Safaris – a Christian camping and hiking ministry with a variety of outings in the southern California area.  It’s just one of many like-minded educational and recreational ministries that combine creation information with fun, fellowship and adventure.  Take a look at our photo gallery as an experiment in how visualizing nature brings vitality and see if it works for you.