Modern people are so accustomed to absolute comfort that they cannot last long without Wi-Fi, a hot shower, a soft sofa, etc. In fact, psychologists say that from all these blessings of civilization you need to escape into the forest from time to time – according to experts, this is a great way to relieve stress, which in its effectiveness is in no way inferior to a professional psychotherapy session.
Ecotherapy : how the forest helps relieve stress
Psychologists from the University of Michigan have found that just 5 minutes spent by a person on a busy street provokes a decrease in self-control, as well as a decrease in the brain's ability to retain facts in memory. For this reason, we become aggressive and impulsive. This effect is especially noticeable in large shopping centers: noise and crowds bring a person to a state of excitement, and when a person finds himself at home alone, in the company of only a huge bag of purchases , he begins to realize that most of these purchases is unnecessary and useless.
Lead study author Mark Berman notes: "Our brain – not a perpetual motion machine, and it has its own margin of safety. Today we understand quite clearly that it is the urban atmosphere (in the broadest sense) that creates a load on the brain”.
The attention of psychologists is increasingly attracted by natural methods of dealing with stress, one of the clearest examples of which is ecotherapy. This technique is based on the direct interaction of man with nature. A few years ago, another study found that 90% of depressed subjects experienced an increase in self-esteem after walking in the park, and in a third, their symptoms of depression were significantly relieved.
Another study found that 94% of people with mental health problems reported a measurable improvement in mood while being in nature.
Scientists from the University of Exeter have found that people living in green areas are much less likely to suffer from mental illness, and also experience little stress and are much more cheerful than city dwellers.
The Japanese actively use ecotherapy, in order to get rid of stress, they resort to the practice of shinrin-yoku (literally translated as "forest baths"). This technique is extremely simple: just leave the house and go in search of the nearest forest, where you should spend some time breathing in the forest air with a full chest. The effectiveness of shinrin yoku was confirmed during a study in 2007.
Walking in the woods has been found to lower blood cortisol levels, heart rate and blood pressure, thus helping to relieve stress.
But why does nature go out to relieve stress? This is all due to the fact that far from civilization, our mind processes a much smaller amount of information than in everyday life.
City life forces brain to be constantly in an excited state, because you need to be constantly on the alert – follow the traffic, regularly interact with others, very often you have to pay attention to bright advertising, various inscriptions. In nature, the mind is not overloaded – the flow of thoughts becomes balanced, and breathing and other processes in the body become more rhythmic.
Thus, in order to get rid of stress, it is not necessary to rush to an appointment with a psychologist and be frank with him for a long time. To sort out your feelings, clear your mind and calm your nerves, ecotherapy will help, combining business with pleasure.
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