Can Spending Time in Nature Improve Your Work Performance?
“Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean “ - John Muir
On April 5, 2016 I was lying in the waiting room of the Kaiser Permanente hospital in San Francisco waiting for a second surgery to repair my shoulder that I had separated in a skiing accident. Seeing I was anxious, the nurse brought me a few magazines to read, one of which immediately caught my eye; National Geographic had a featured article Call to the Wild - This is Your Brain on Nature. I was amazed by the scientific experiments backed with modern brain scanning technology; science was beginning to quantify the value that nature has on your psyche.
Long story short, spending time in nature has a lot of positive benefits for your physical and mental health. Getting out of the city and spending time in the natural world can have a positive impact on the parts of your brain that allow you to maintain focus, control stress, and be optimally productive; we are able to function at a higher level, be more empathetic, and live happier, more fulfilling lives when we are more in touch with nature. In today’s ultra-competitive working world, many of us are trying to figure out how to improve our capabilities, and maybe the key is to “...break clear away, once in a while...”
Following surgery, I spent many months isolated in my apartment, uncomfortable with venturing out of my safe environment - any accidental bump from someone on the street, any minor stumble might send jolts of pain into my healing shoulder. I was worried that this surgery might fail like the first one had.
As an analytical introvert, I can’t help but psychoanalyze everything, myself included. I noticed myself becoming increasingly anxious, antisocial, depressed. This wasn’t the normal me. While I was removed from many important human activities, such as regular exercise and socializing, which certainly contributing factors to my state of mind, I kept thinking back on the article I had read and wondering what impact the lack of nature was having on my well-being. The outdoors have always been an important part of my life, and I wasn’t able to get out and enjoy it! Several years later, I’m incredibly grateful to all the people that supported me through this tough time, especially my wife Allison. I’m back to doing the things I love, I’m much happier, and more productive than ever.
Growing up in suburban New Jersey, I was fortunate to have easy access to nature. My hometown of Summit, NJ is already very green to begin with and we had easy access to neighboring nature reservations. I joined an active Boy Scout troop, going on monthly camping trips and quarterly backpacking trips. There’s something amazingly special about sitting on top of a mountain, seeing the world unfold before you in all directions. A cool wind wicking away the sweat off your forehead. The fresh scent of the pine forests below wafting up the slopes. The sound of birds chirping and a brook rolling gently bubbling down the mountain. It reinvigorates you.
I grew up appreciating, frequenting, and enjoying nature, but I also took it for granted. I didn’t realize how privileged my upbringing was and that others didn’t have the same opportunities as me. It wasn’t until I moved to Jersey City after college (across the river from Manhattan) that I think I began noticing the adverse effects that occur from lack of nature. New Yorkers are notorious for their grumpiness, which at least, in part, might be attributed to how far away access to nature is (it’s a 1-2 hour drive out of the city). Central Park offers some respite and is probably the primary reason why I Am Legend is still a fictional, post apocalyptic representation of New York. However, Central Park gets crowded and doesn’t offer the same stillness you would find further in the wild; the stale air, noise, and scents of the city still manage to waft in from time to time. Perhaps I’m putting my personal sensibilities on New York, but I think most New Yorkers have a love / hate relationship with their city. It comes with the territory. New Yorkers are unapologetic for the full range of emotions bestowed on any topic. It will always be my home city and there’s a part of that I’ll keep in my heart, but I recognize that it’s not the best long-term fit for me.
Personal story, rambling, and a blatant attempt to piss off every New Yorkers aside (a New Jerseyans’ second favorite pastime. #1, of course, forever belongs to BRUUUUUUCE), let’s look further into positive impacts of nature. What does the science say?
In the past decade, there have been increasing efforts to study the positive impacts of nature on your brain. Much of the conversation and studies have been driven in the Psychology community around the Biophilia Hypothesis. The Biophilia Hypothesis builds on the theory of evolution - essentially, both our physical bodies AND our minds evolved in nature and are in their optimal state in nature. Your first thought in response to this might be, “my physical body is fine living in the city.” But did you know, for example, that people in urban environments, where most surfaces are paved and flat, have higher rates of flat foot than people living in rural environments, where walking surfaces are less even (aka more natural)? Our physical bodies work better in nature. It makes sense that our minds would too.
Life sustains life, and as a human, we have a biological need for food, water, and shelter, all of which nature provide to us. The Biophilia Hypothesis stipulates that as humans evolved, this love for nature is into built the foundation of our psyche; nature allowed us to survive by seeking out abundant natural areas, and our brains evolved with psychological rewards for being in nature. Biophilia further hypothesizes the following with increased exposure to nature:
Our cognitive systems work quicker and better
Our senses are optimized
Our emotions and biological systems are optimized at a neural level
The neuro-endocryne and immunological systems function better
In the National Geographic article, they reviewed research from David Strayer, a psychologist at the University of Utah who specializes in attention. One of the things he is studying is nature’s impact on the prefrontal cortex, the command center of the brain with strong links to planning and decision making, attention, personality, social behavior, and your will to live.
Strayer specifically studies what is called the “three day effect”; essentially after a long, continuous exposure to nature, such as what you might experience on a three day backpacking trip, our brains are able to reset to their more natural state. Strayer calls this Attention Restoration Theory (ART). This theory states that long exposure to nature helps our prefrontal cortex relax, which is a good thing for it (this is what happens when it’s too active). When your prefrontal cortex is relaxed, your executive attention system improves.
Strayer ran an experiment where a group of Outward Bound (a wilderness expedition organization for students) participants were given a Remote Associates Test (RAT), “which has been widely used as a measure of creative thinking and insight problem-solving.” After their three day expedients, participants performed around 50% better on the RAT than they did before embarking on their trips.
That’s amazing! In our modern, consumerist world, so products claim to offer the ability to make you your best self - “take this pill and focus better”...“put on this makeup and look your best”... “buy this Ayurvedic Oil for $85 and experience pure energy!” You’re saying I can be my best self by spending more time in nature? Yes please! I’ll take two.
If you don’t have experience in backpacking and are seriously interested in giving it a shot, my recommendation would be to go with an experienced friend (who promised not to leave you behind if when you start asking, “are we there yet?”) or join a beginner backpacking group. In the US, companies such as REI offer guided beginner trips and gear rental so you can give it a shot before buying the gear. The gear can be an expensive upfront investment, that can cost anywhere between hundreds and several thousands of dollars, depending upon the level of performance equipment. The good news is, once you make this investment, each individual trip is fairly affordable (Hello 5 Star views for $0! Take that Hilton!). The easiest way to kill your fun on a trip is to get a blister or accidentally stepping in that stream you were trying to cross, s make sure to have a good pair of waterproof boots and proper clothes before you go. Plus whatever else your guide recommends.
If your not interested in backpacking, even a walk in the park can have a significant upside. In a study done at Stanford University, they sent two groups of participants on 90 minute walks. One group walked through a nearby park while the other walked through an urban environment. Brain scans were given to each participant before and after their walks to examine the impact, with the group going to the park showing noticeable reduction in prefrontal cortex activity - the same part of the brain mentioned before (remember, less activity = good). Committing time to experience nature can pay big dividends. Even adding nature to your home can have a big impact on your health, mood, and mental state.
And let’s not forget some basics. In modern city-living, many of us don’t venture outside enough (damn you Netflix! But yes, I do want to continue watching). It’s estimated that over 1 billion people worldwide have a vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D is produced naturally in an internal biological process catalyzed by sunlight hitting your skin. It’s recommended to spend at least 15-20 minutes outside with sun exposure on at least 40% of our skin. However, this exposure recommendation is impacted by sunscreen (which limits Vitamin D production by up to 90%) and geographical location (there is less UVB radiation further from the equator, which is the sunlight required for Vitamin D production). Vitamin D can have a huge impact on your physical health, especially as you get older; research is ongoing, but deficiency is linked to increased chance of cancer, organ health, bone brittleness, and immune system strength. A healthy body is crucial to enjoy to the fullest all that nature has to offer.
Around the world, rates of depression continue rising. So are rates of deforestation and species loss; in fact, scientists believe we are now in the middle of Earth’s sixth mass extinction. Modern scientific research is starting to show there’s a strong link between nature, human cognitive capabilities, and happiness. It’s incredibly sad to think that we might be destroying something so core to our humanity.
But maybe the solution is to get outside and encourage others to join you. Feel the power of nature yourself and remind others how valuable it to them. You’ll return refreshed, reinvigorated, and ready to take on any challenge your boss throws your way. You’ll have less stress in your life. You’ll be a better, more empathetic leader. You’ll be your best self.
Additional Sources:
ishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefrontal_cortex; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefrontal_cortex; https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0051474; https://news.stanford.edu/2015/06/30/hiking-mental-health-063015/; https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/people-places-and-things/201802/benefits-the-indoor-plant; https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamins/vitamin-d/; https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/04/what-is-depression-and-why-is-it-rising; https://www.wri.org/blog/2018/06/deforestation-accelerating-despite-mounting-efforts-protect-tropical-forests
