The Great Outdoors- Why We Need Nature And Animals

‘It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty, the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.’

                      Sir David Attenborough (broadcaster, writer, naturalist)

This year, we were lucky enough to spend a deeply relaxing and refreshing holiday in beautiful Masuria, Poland, a remote region full of lakes, rivers and forests. And anybody who knows us can testify that we gain a lot of pleasure from spending time with our rescue dogs, come rain or sunshine. I think that our experience is similar to that of most people that we know: Having contact with nature and animals greatly contributes to a good quality of life. But I have been wondering if this is just because some people simply like spending a lot of time with nature and animals, but others don’t. Or does everybody benefit from nature and animals? And if yes, how does it work?

The many ways that nature contributes to our well-being

There is indeed a mounting body of evidence that contact with nature has general beneficial effects on the mental well-being of humans.^1-6 For example, it has been shown that living near green space increases our physical health and longevity, that exposure to nature improves our mood, and that it reduces stress and mental fatigue.^1,2 It has also been reported that hospital patients who have a view on green space and nature have shorter hospital stays than people with built-up views.³

However, while the positive effect of nature appears to have been sufficiently demonstrated, the mechanisms through which this works are less clear.² It has been suggested that in contrast to a built-up (urban) environment, nature automatically captures our attention and eliciting feelings of pleasure. Additionally, it allows us the feeling of escape and freedom from the demands of daily life.⁴ Contact with nature can also give us an increased sense of connectedness (to nature, to other people or to life as a whole).⁵ And it has been shown that living near a forest structurally alters the brain in certain regions, which may improve the ability to cope with stress.⁶

One big factor appears to be the visual appreciation of nature (appreciation of beauty or the experiencing awe).^1,2 We just seem to love watching sunsets, seeing a beautiful landscape or plants, or observing wild animals. It has been suggested that the visual attraction of nature is to a large degree due to curved shapes, colours (particularly the various shades of blue and grey) and commonly occurring fractal patterns, which our eyes appear to be drawn to.²

But although the visual impact of nature has been most intensively examined, there is evidence that the positive influences of natural surroundings are so strong because they are multi-sensorial. Impressions through sound, smell, taste and touch give depth to our experience. Here are some examples:²

• Sound: We very much appreciate the reduction of noise levels in nature (when compared to an urban environment). And the quality of sound also makes a difference. For example, we tend to prefer the sound of wind, water and animals over that of traffic or even recreational noise. It has also been shown that birdsong, forest and other nature sounds can reduce stress and anxiety. This automatically calming effect of certain naturally occurring sounds is thought to be shaped by evolution.
• Smells: Smells have also been reported to have a huge effect on our mood, behavior and thoughts. Certain smells such as flowers, cut grass and damp earth are also experienced as pleasurable by most of us. The odor of summer air (which is due to something called leaf alcohol, produced by many plants), bees wax and fragrant flower gardens have been shown to elevate our mood. Experiments with smells such as peppermint and lemon fragrance have demonstrated a measurable positive effect on cognitive (thinking) tasks. So pleasant smells are thought to play an important role in the positive nature experience. Similar to sounds, it has been suggested that the pleasurable effect of some smells is due to our evolutionary roots.   
• Taste: This is of course closely associated to smell. We are mostly tasting nature through our food, which comes from natural sources. Experiencing flavors of unprocessed foods and growing our own food in the garden are only two examples how nature can enrich our lives in this respect. There will be a special post on food next week and we will discuss this point in more detail then.
• Touch: Finally, there is touch. Our tactile sense is generally often undervalued, although it is the first sense we develop. Touch not only has a crucial role in interpersonal and human-animal relationships (see below) but can also increase our appreciation of nature, e.g. by feeling the grass under our feet when walking barefoot, touching trees, feeling the ripple of water around us when swimming and sensing wind on our skin.

It has been shown that we can improve our level of well-being by learning to appreciate nature more consciously, regardless of whether we feel intrinsically connected to nature or not.⁵ Further surprising beneficial effects of nature, which we cannot directly detect with our senses, have been discovered:²

• For example, there are phytoncides (natural antimicrobial agents originating from plants), which we inhale when spending time outdoors. These phytoncides not only have antimicrobial properties, but it is thought that some of them may also stimulate the immune system, prolong sleep and decrease anxiety.
• Negative air ions are charged air particles which occur when electrons are detached from gas molecules, for example during thunder, in waterfalls or under influence of UV light. Air ions are found in significantly higher concentration in rural outdoor air than in urban areas and indoors. Although the benefits of negative air ions are still debated, it has been suggested that they may improve the comfort and decrease headaches in office workers, and may be effective in treatment of seasonal affective disorder, depression and anxiety.
• A relatively recent discovery is that the microbes, which are normally found in our intestines, have a significant effect on our central nervous system, and that they may influence our mood and emotions. Some of these microbes originate from the environment, including soil bacteria. It has been suggested that repeated exposure to soil bacteria leads to a higher tolerance to stress. Contact with nature may also lead to a greater diversity of gut microorganisms, which in turn has been associated with a lower incidence of inflammatory diseases. 

Aerobic Exercise in Nature

We all know that exercise is good for us, but is there a difference between exercising indoors, outdoors in a built-up environment or outdoors in nature? It certainly seems this way: All types of physical exercise are related to a better general health, but emotional well-being is more consistent associated with physical activity in nature.⁷ Additionally, there is evidence that we experience exercise in nature as easier and more pleasurable, which can help us to stay more motivated when taking up an exercise regime.⁸

Aerobic exercise (= sustained exercise activity that elevates our heart rate and utilises oxygen) is particularly beneficial and includes activities such as walking, running, cycling, rowing/canoeing/kayaking, and swimming. Even gardening may be regarded as aerobic exercise. Just because positive effect of aerobic exercise on our brains cannot be emphasised enough, here is another quick summary of its benefits:^9,10

• Aerobic exercise releases endogenous morphine (=endorphins), which can reduce pain and produce a sense of well-being, which may last for many hours or even days.
• Exercise also stimulates re-structuring and cell growth in the human brain (neuroplasticity- the ability of the brain to rewire). This effect is particularly marked in the cortex and hippocampus, which are crucial for learning, memory formation and retention of factual knowledge.
• Exercise may also increase the function of the left frontal cortex, which is important for emotion regulation and other executive functions of the brain.
• From a previous post, you may remember a brain structure called the amygdala. The amygdala is involved in emotional memories; it has a key role when experiencing anxiety and fear, and it triggers the stress response (fight-or-flight response) of the body. Under certain circumstances, the amygdala can become hyperactive and highly vigilant, making us more vulnerable to stress and negative emotions. The good news is, that aerobic exercise has a calming effect on the amygdala. This works through alterations of levels of certain neurotransmitters (norepinephrine and serotonin) and an effect on serotonin receptors in the brain. This makes the amygdala less likely to trigger an anxiety response, making us feel calmer and less stressed. The positive effect of exercise on the amygdala can be stronger than that of some anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) drugs. The effect generally occurs within 20 minutes (faster than with most medications) and can last up to 4-6 hours. Additionally, aerobic exercise generally down-regulates the sympathetic nervous system activity (which is also involved in the flight-or-fight response), decreasing blood pressure and heart rate.
• Additional indirect positive effects of exercise on the brain are that it reduces muscle tension for at least 1 ½ hours after the work-out, and that it lowers adrenalin, cortisol and glucose levels (which are released by the stress response). This results in further reduction of amygdala activity.
• Furthermore, aerobic exercise increases our metabolic rate and energy levels, so that we feel more energetic.

The positive effects of animals

The discussion mainly applies to dogs, cats, rabbits but also horses, donkeys and other animals which are commonly found in our homes and paddocks, rather than observing or hearing wild animals, which has been discussed above.

So what is the evidence, that animals improve our well-being? Results of different studies have been somewhat conflicting. After all, not all interactions with animals are positive, and there are also some risks involved due possible transmission of infectious diseases, allergies and animal bites, kicks and scratches. In my opinion and experience, the motivation for pet ownership also varies greatly: Using dogs as an example, you may keep them because you genuinely like them, but dogs can also be kept for security reasons, as a status symbol or you may be a more ‘accidental’ dog owner or just happen to live with a partner who has a dog but not really enjoy their company.

 However, there is certainly evidence that animals can benefit our well-being:^2,3,11-13

• Touching animals has been shown to have beneficial cardiovascular effects, reducing heart rate and blood pressure. It also lowers stress, feelings of anxiety and pain. This effect appears to be present regardless of whether or not we are familiar with that specific animal or not. This positive influence appears to be mainly due to the release of the hormone oxytocin. Interestingly, the animals who are being stroked also show an increase in oxytocin levels and a reduced cardiovascular reactivity in stressful situations. 
• Playing with animals or watching videos of animals can evoke positive emotions.
• Of course, animals like dogs and horses can also motivate us to exercise outdoors, with all the benefits discussed under the exercise section. There is of course also an overlap between these benefits and those of oxytocin.
• In children, there is evidence that pet ownership is beneficial for emotional, intellectual and social development.
• Companion animals, particularly dogs, may also promote social relationships between people by enabling social interactions, new friendships and encouraging prosocial behavior.

Conclusions

I hope that today’s post has demonstrated Sir David Attenborough’s point that nature is truly one of the greatest sources of what makes life worth living. Having just returned from a wet and windy dog walk, I certainly agree that the combination of nature, exercise and animals is a great way to spend your time, even when conditions are muddy!

Preview:  Continuing on the theme of tasting nature, next week’s post is going to be about the different connections between food and well-being.

References and further reading:

1. The New Economics Foundation (2008). Five ways to well-being: the evidence. Available on request through www.foresight.gov.uk

2. Franco LS, Shanahan DF, Fuller RA. A review of the benefits of nature experiences: More than meets the eye. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2017;14:864.

3. Fredrickson B. Positivity: Groundbreaking Research to Release Your Inner Optimist and Thrive. Oneworld Publications; Oxford, England. 2010.

4. Pearson DG, Craig T. The great outdoors? Exploring the mental health benefits of natural environments. Frontiers in Psychology. 2014;5:1178.

5. Passmore HA, Holder M. Noticing nature: Individual and social benefits of a two-week intervention. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 2017;12(6): 537-546.

6. Kühn S, Düzel S, Eibich P, Krekel C, Wüstemann H, Kolbe J, et al. In search of features that constitute an “enriched environment” in humans: Associations between geographical properties and brain structure. Scientific Reports. 2017;7:11920.

7. Pasanen TP, Tyrväinen L, Korpela KM. Relationship between perceived health and physical activity indoors, outdoors in built environment and outdoors in nature. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-being. 2014;6(3):324-346.

8. Gladwell VF, Brown DK, Wood C, Sandercock GR, Barton JL. The great outdoors: how a green exercise environment can benefit all. Extreme Physiology & Medicine. 2013;2:3.

9. Siegel D. Mindsight: Transform Your Brain with the New Science of Kindness. Oneworld Publications; Oxford, UK. 2011.

10. Pittman CM, Karle EM. Rewire Your Anxious Brain: How to use the neuroscience of fear to end anxiety, panic & worry. New Harbinger Publications; Oakland. 2015.

11. Kabat-Zinn J: Full Catastrophe Living: How To Cope With Stress, Pain and Illness Using Mindfulness Meditation. Piatkus. 2013.

12. Borgi M, Cirulli F. Pet Face: Mechanisms underlying human-animal relationships. Frontiers in Psychology. 2016;7:298.

13. Colarelli SM, McDonald AM, Christensen MS, Honts C. A companion group increases prosocial behaviour in work groups. Anthrozoös. 2017;30:4.

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Expanding Your Personal Horizon: Why Opening Your Heart And Mind Increases Your Well-being

‘Whatever you do in life: Think higher and feel deeper.’

                                                           Elie Wiesel (journalist and writer)

Today’s post is about a well-known phenomenon that we are probably all familiar with: the positive effect we experience when we are learning, exploring and broadening our horizon. In other words, the benefits of personal growth and self-development, and the many ways we can achieve them.

Personal growth can be described as having a feeling of continued development, to be open to new experiences, having a sense of growing, expanding and realizing our potential. On the other hand, absence of growth may be experienced as a sense of stagnation, lack of improvement or expansion; we may also feel bored or disinterested in life, and unable to develop new attitudes and behaviours.¹

Why should we want to grow?

It has been shown that there is a strong, bidirectional relationship between mental well-being and life skills.^1-4,10-12 Having a sense of growth and expansion directly evokes positive emotions, which make us feel good; it increases our self-esteem and has a general positive effect on our well-being. Equally a higher level of well-being is associated with greater curiosity, flexible thinking and openness to learning. So learning, growth and well-being reinforce each other and can lead to an upward spiral.⁵

Broadening our attention and thinking allows us to form higher-level connections and have a wider range of perceptions or ideas (increased creativity).^5,6 These expanded outlooks help us to discover and build personal resources. Personal resources are equally important for our professional and private lives; they help us to take advantage of life’s opportunities and deal with challenges more effectively. Helpful personal resources include:^2,5

• Cognitive resources: e.g. the ability to focus our attention, creative thinking and problem solving
• Psychological resources: e.g. having a sense of mastery and control over our environment
• Emotional resources: e.g. perspective taking and being able to receive and give emotional support in order to build good interpersonal relationships
• Physical resources: e.g. good general health, increased immunity

So personal growth benefits our well-being in the short term (through positive emotions) as well as in the long run (through building personal resources, which increase our resilience).

Personal growth changes our brains

In previous posts we have come across the concept of neuroplasticity, which is the fact that the nerve cells in our brains constantly form new connections. Effectively, every new experience and everything we learn changes, builds and re-shapes our brain.^3,7,8 Of course many events just happen to us whether we want or not, but in order to harness the great potential of neuroplasticity to increase our personal resources, we need to be open and receptive for new ideas and experiences.

Neuroplasticity can have quite dramatic effects. For example, brain scans have demonstrated a significant growth of brain areas responsible for the control of the left hand in violinists, and the brain region involved in spatial memory in taxi drivers.⁷ It has also been shown that keeping active (including learning new skills, having responsibilities; social activities and interactions; physical activity) has a protective effect for developing signs of dementia. Older people who stay active build up a ‘cognitive reserve’, which preserves their brain function. Although their brain may show structural changes similar to patients affected by Alzheimer’s disease, stroke or Parkinson’s disease, they are less likely to show clinical signs associated with these conditions.⁹

There are many ways to grow

Of course personal growth may be achieved through many ways, but here are a few evidence-based suggestions on how to broaden our personal horizon, promote growth and/or become more receptive for new ideas. Please note that there is some degree of overlap between some of the categories. 

Cultivate curiosity^10,11
Curiosity (i.e. seeking novelty, exposing ourselves to changing situations and investigating new information and experiences) is not only an important component of well-being, but also essential for learning. By seeking exploration and novelty, we can focus on activities that feel meaningful to us, facilitate learning, competence and self-determination. By seeking new and challenging events, we stretch and expand our knowledge and skills.

Seek positive emotions^3,5,7

It has been shown that positive emotions directly broaden our outlook, giving us new insights and perspectives;  they make us more receptive and creative, and open us intellectually and emotionally, which encourages exploration, connection and experimental learning.  Positive emotions also promote neuroplasticity (see also below) and the building of personal resources.

Positive emotions include joy, gratitude, serenity/contentment, interest, hope, pride (for achieving something), amusement, inspiration, awe and love. Try to take notice and find opportunities to experience these emotions for example by interacting with other people, particularly those close to you; spending time in nature; visiting museums, art galleries, concerts and theatres; spending time with your favourite hobby and/or sport; performing small acts of kindness; remembering what makes you laugh and using humour.

Allow yourself time to play⁶

Having ‘playtime’ encourages us to engage in unfocused thinking and exploring avenues of thoughts and activities that we are normally not involved in (diversification- see below). It also evokes positive emotions, which are so important for our creativity and personal resource building, as explained above. Try to make some time in your day for unstructured activities, which allow idle thinking, such as listening to music, taking a walk, gardening or cleaning. Try to intermix tasks needing focus with these ‘de-focused’ activities.

Diversify^2,6-8,12

Nowadays we mostly strive towards a goal by devoting most of our time onto one area, but this tight focus on one topic/domain can limit our creativity and inventiveness. Diversification can be achieved in many ways, e.g. you can learn a new skill or rediscover an old interest; try activities you never tried before; diversify at work and take on new responsibilities; learn to fix things; learn a new language; start to play an instrument and develop an interest in music; engage in visual arts, literature/poetry or performing arts; take up a new sport; try to read books outside your normal area of interest; watch documentaries or shows on topics you do not know anything about; explore new ideas, theories and concepts; go outdoors; travel; meet new people.

We become creative when the left and right hemispheres of our brain work well together and integrate different networks. The left hemisphere is predominantly involved in linear and logical thinking, whereas the right hemisphere processes images and other non-verbal cues, and allows thinking in more divergent and holistic ways, seeing the bigger picture. So particularly engaging in activities which challenge both hemispheres can increase our creativity. More on this topic will follow in next week’s post.

Enhance the neuroplasticity of your brain⁷

It has been shown that neuroplasticity can be promoted and enhanced by several factors. One of them is emotional arousal, which is another reason why we should seek positive emotions, as mentioned above. Additionally, neuroplasticity is stimulated by:

• Focusing our attention
• Aerobic exercise
• Novelty

Particularly new experiences and ideas stimulate the formation of new connections; it has even been shown that novelty can promote growth of new nerve cells. So by actively seeking novelty, learning to focus our attention, making sure that we are physically active and experience positive emotions we can maximize the effect of neuroplasticity, strengthening new brain connections.

Live mindfully^3,12,13

Regular followers of this blog may have noticed that mindfulness gets mentioned a lot. And it is certainly true that it has many things to offer; in fact, it is probably one of the most important skills when trying to expand your horizon. Mindfulness can be described as a way of living where we pay attention to the present moment experiences with a curious, non-judgmental, accepting and open attitude. The open attitude refers to openness of the mind as well as openness of the heart.

Mindfulness can be practiced with various formal meditations. The effects of the meditations tend to ‘spill over’ into daily life beyond the time limits of the meditation itself. Additionally, we can exercise informal mindfulness practices, such as briefly focusing on our breathing during the day or focusing our attention to a specific situation or experience. In this way, mindfulness can be truly transforming and affecting our day-to-day lives in a positive way. Mindfulness can help us to achieve personal growth in several ways including:

• Mindfulness makes us more attentive to the moment, allowing us to see the beautiful, remark on the usual, savour the moment, and to be generally more aware of the world, our thoughts and feelings.
• Mindfulness can reduce our bias and approach situations with a more open and non-judgmental mind. It therefore allows us new insights and outlooks, and makes us more creative and receptive to new ideas.
• A certain type of meditation (loving-kindness meditation) can evoke positive emotions of warmth and compassion for oneself and others, and has been shown to contribute to growth by increasing personal resources.
• When practiced regularly, mindfulness can help us improving our ability to pay deliberate attention, and it improves our memory as well as decision-making. It can also make us more resilient, content and emotionally stable.

A great book on the topic

Talking about broadening our horizon, I have recently spent more time exploring mindfulness and have come across the excellent book Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn, who pioneered mindfulness by adapting and transforming Buddhist traditions into secular practices. This book provides comprehensive information about what mindfulness is and in which ways it may help us to grow.  

Truly amazing people- What can we learn from…:

This week’s amazing people are two veterinary surgeons who opened their hearts and minds:

Andrew Francis and Björn Rambags met incidentally on a business trip but soon discovered many mutual interests, and developed a close friendship over many years. With both friends having strong professional ambitions, they soon had the idea to develop a joined business project.

However, during a brainstorm on the Dutch island of Terschelling, Andrew and Björn discovered that most of their business ideas lacked a higher purpose or meaning. Continuing to contemplate on the project, they eventually realized that it was most important to them, that the business had a social impact and was able to help other people.

And so, unlikely as it sounds, Andrew and Björn developed the idea of a children’s book concept supporting children in need: Although neither of them had any experience in writing children’s stories, in publishing, illustrating or retail marketing, they wrote an illustrated bed-time story about two little bears called Lino & Luka. Then, they set up a partnership with the Childhood Trust, which is working to reduce child poverty, and the children’s hospices Chestnut Tree House and Naomi House & Jacksplace. For every sold Lino & Luka book, a child affected by poverty, chronic or terminal illness receives a copy for free.  

Andrew Francis and Björn Rambags show us that it is possible to branch out into different territories. By thinking higher and feeling deeper, we may be able to expand our world, allowing us to grow and –maybe – finding a way of helping others at the same time.

Andrew says about his experience: ‘The Lino & Luka project has made a huge difference to my well-being. We started with a simple aspiration. Wouldn’t it be great if the simple act of buying a book to read a bed-time story to a child that means the world to you could touch the life of a child in need, each and every time? I have been overwhelmed by the response to our story from little people and their parents. What’s more, the feedback we have received from our partner charities has been fantastic. I have learnt so much and met many hugely inspiring people during our journey so far and I feel that the Lino & Luka story is only just beginning.’

Andrew’s friend Björn also feels enriched by the diversification saying that: ‘Everyday, Lino & Luka contribute to my well-being, personal development and sense of purpose in three different ways. The book ‘Tea for two’ allows Andrew and me to make a direct, positive impact on the lives of children and their families, both under wonderful and sad circumstances. Secondly, our own little independent enterprise teaches me about literally every aspect of international business, from book publishing to product distribution, from collaboration with visual artist to partnering with charities, from trans-European taxation rules to retail marketing. Last but not least, our two little bears have enabled the continuation of the magic and flow which are tangible when Andrew and I get into one room and put our brains around, and shoulders under, yet another wild and sheer impossible idea to make this world a wee bit better. And having fun while at it!’

You can find out more about the Lino & Luka story at www.linoluka.com

Preview: Next week we will look more closely at harnessing our creativity and the question, in how far the arts can contribute to our well-being.

References and further reading:

1. Ryff C. Psychological well-being revisited: Advances in Science and Practice. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. 2014;83(1):10-28.

2. Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project (2008). Final Project report. The Government Office for Science, London. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/292450/mental-capital-wellbeing-report.pdf

3. Fredrickson B. Positivity: Groundbreaking Research to Release Your Inner Optimist and Thrive. Oneworld Publications; Oxford, England. 2010.

4. Robotham D, Morgan K, James K. Learning for Life: Adult learning, mental health and wellbeing. Mental Health Foundation. London. 2011. Retrieved from: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/learning-life-adult-learning-mental-health-and-wellbeing

5. Fredrickson BS, Cohn MA, Coffey KA, Pek J, Finkel SM. Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2008;95(5):1045-1062.

6. Seppälä E. The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success. Piatkus; London, UK. 2016.­­

7. Siegel D. Mindsight: Transform Your Brain with the New Science of Kindness. Oneworld Publications; Oxford, UK. 2011.

8. Graham L. Bouncing Back: Rewiring Your Brain for Maximum Resilience and Well-Being. New World Library; Novato. 2013.

9. Eagleman D. The Brain: The story of you. Canongate Books Ltd; Edinburgh, UK. 2015.

10. Gallagher MW, Lopez SJ. Curiosity and well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 207;2(4):236-248.

11. Kashdan TB, Steger MF. Curiosity and pathways to well-being and meaning in life: Traits, states, and everyday behaviors. Motivation and Emotion. 2007; 31:159-173.

12. NEF (2008). Five ways to well-being: the evidence. Available on request through www.foresight.gov.uk

13. Kabat-Zinn J: Full Catastrophe Living: How To Cope With Stress, Pain and Illness Using Mindfulness Meditation. Piatkus. 2013.

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Donations are in aid of the International Rescue Committee and the World Veterinary Service