Three Ways Nature Inspires Happiness
The weather looked uninviting; it was overcast and damp, the kind of day when cold seeps into your bones.
To top it off, there was a breeze.
I felt like staying inside but I was restless.
Plus feeling a little … ennui; listless and flat, like life had acquired a two-dimensional quality.
I forced myself to go outside.
Once out, I immediately felt better and headed for the river, a destination that always draws me, like a magnet.
Standing on the bridge overlooking the river, I noticed the subtly different hues of white, blue, green, and grey.
I became mesmerized by the constantly unfolding pattern of water flowing under the ice. I suddenly noticed my mood had shifted:
I felt uplifted, positive, engaged, and fascinated by my surroundings.
Getting outside shifts my mood every time, no matter the weather. Why?
Biophilia:
Humans are predisposed to be attracted to nature, given that we evolved in and with nature.
For example, (according to studies) all humans prefer nature scenes over built environments.
Studies also indicate that time spent in nature predictably boosts well-being.
Attention Restoration:
We have two kinds of attention: directed and involuntary.
Directed attention requires focus and energy. This is a limited resource that gets depleted with use, leading to a negative emotional state.
Involuntary attention is our default state and is restorative. Nature provides us with a rich environment of stimuli that effortlessly supports and engages our involuntary attention.
Stress Reduction:
Exposure to a threat-free natural environment is stress-reducing and therefore enhances a sense of well-being.
In other words, wellbeing is our natural state.
Being exposed to nature enhances our experience of this state.
This is partially due to a lack of noises, sights, and other stimuli present in our urban environment that stimulate our autonomic nervous system to signal threat or danger.
The natural environment provides us with stimuli that trigger this innate state of wellbeing: gentle and soothing sounds like wind or water; visual patterns that we respond to with our sense of beauty, scents that signal health.
Getting outside and enjoying nature doesn’t have to take very long. You could stand outside and pay attention to a tree or a bush or a squirrel.
It's just a matter of stopping and tuning in.