8.5.1 Importance of Nature Encounters
Everyday interactions with nature within one’s community sets up positive
responses. A study found that a sense of connectedness to nature was consistently
associated with autonomy, personal growth, happiness, life satisfaction, and purpose
(Nisbet et al. 2011). Happiness, or the presence of a positive emotional mindset,
broadens how a person thinks about and acts in the daily flow of life’s efforts,
creating positive intellectual and psychological resources.
Portable EEG recordings have shown evidence of people experiencing lower
frustration and higher levels of meditation-like brain waves when in green space
versus when they are moving within retail and commercial areas having no trees
(Aspinall et al. 2015). Another study focused on the effects of exposure to nature on
positive affect and ability to reflect on a life problem. Participants spent 15 min
walking in a natural setting or a built setting. The natural setting was found to
increase connectedness to nature, ability to direct attention, positive emotions, and
ability to reflect on a life problem (Mayer et al. 2009).
The theory of restorative experiences underlies many of these positive responses
(Kaplan and Kaplan 1989). The theory posits that contemporary work and learning
activities demand extended periods of directed focus and attention. Such activity,
particularly if sustained for long periods of time, can induce attention fatigue that
results in irritability, less ability to concentrate, and reduced capacity to function
effectively. Nature can provide restorative experiences, particularly if the setting
contains key elements: being away (a sense of removal or separation from attention
demands), fascination (being readily engaged in the features of the place), extent (the
perception that there is adequate space for varied experiences), and compatibility
(feeling that the space supports one’s purposes or chosen activities). Notably, small
parcels of well-designed urban nature can provide these conditions.
8.5.2 Importance of Quiet
The term “constructive internal reflection” describes what happens in the brain
during quiet time (Immordino-Yang et al. 2012). Brain systems activated during
intentional rest are important for internally focused psychosocial mental processing.
Mental rest improves the ability to recall personal memories, imagine the future, and
feel social emotions with moral connotations. Development of some socio-emotional
skills may be vulnerable to disruption by distraction. Setting aside quiet time for
meditation and simple rest is recommended; however, finding such quiet spaces can
be challenging in many urban environments.
Findings from multiple studies show that persistent, loud noise (e.g., traffic)
causes nonauditory stress effects such as elevated blood pressure, poor sustained
attention, memory/concentration problems, sleep disturbances, modifications of
social behavior, psychosocial stress-related symptoms, annoyance, and learned
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K. L. Wolf
Everyday interactions with nature within one’s community sets up positive
responses. A study found that a sense of connectedness to nature was consistently
associated with autonomy, personal growth, happiness, life satisfaction, and purpose
(Nisbet et al. 2011). Happiness, or the presence of a positive emotional mindset,
broadens how a person thinks about and acts in the daily flow of life’s efforts,
creating positive intellectual and psychological resources.
Portable EEG recordings have shown evidence of people experiencing lower
frustration and higher levels of meditation-like brain waves when in green space
versus when they are moving within retail and commercial areas having no trees
(Aspinall et al. 2015). Another study focused on the effects of exposure to nature on
positive affect and ability to reflect on a life problem. Participants spent 15 min
walking in a natural setting or a built setting. The natural setting was found to
increase connectedness to nature, ability to direct attention, positive emotions, and
ability to reflect on a life problem (Mayer et al. 2009).
The theory of restorative experiences underlies many of these positive responses
(Kaplan and Kaplan 1989). The theory posits that contemporary work and learning
activities demand extended periods of directed focus and attention. Such activity,
particularly if sustained for long periods of time, can induce attention fatigue that
results in irritability, less ability to concentrate, and reduced capacity to function
effectively. Nature can provide restorative experiences, particularly if the setting
contains key elements: being away (a sense of removal or separation from attention
demands), fascination (being readily engaged in the features of the place), extent (the
perception that there is adequate space for varied experiences), and compatibility
(feeling that the space supports one’s purposes or chosen activities). Notably, small
parcels of well-designed urban nature can provide these conditions.
8.5.2 Importance of Quiet
The term “constructive internal reflection” describes what happens in the brain
during quiet time (Immordino-Yang et al. 2012). Brain systems activated during
intentional rest are important for internally focused psychosocial mental processing.
Mental rest improves the ability to recall personal memories, imagine the future, and
feel social emotions with moral connotations. Development of some socio-emotional
skills may be vulnerable to disruption by distraction. Setting aside quiet time for
meditation and simple rest is recommended; however, finding such quiet spaces can
be challenging in many urban environments.
Findings from multiple studies show that persistent, loud noise (e.g., traffic)
causes nonauditory stress effects such as elevated blood pressure, poor sustained
attention, memory/concentration problems, sleep disturbances, modifications of
social behavior, psychosocial stress-related symptoms, annoyance, and learned
148
K. L. Wolf