I found an interesting article in The Boston Globe that talks about how our brain is effected by our interactions with urban environments.  New research is showing the benefits of exposing the mind to more natural environments.

They are reporting that studies show such results as:

1. Hospital patients recovering faster when they can see trees from their rooms.
2. People focus better when their apartment windows overlook grass and gardens.
3. Less domestic violence in a apartments with more plants and greenery.

Thats not to say that you should sell your apartment and go live in the wilderness survivor style. It just means that you need to expose your mind to more nature, because being in urban environments doesn’t dull your mind, but being in more natural settings definitely sharpens it. These same effects have been shown by just having people look at photos of urban and natural environments. Which is in line with how mirror neurons work, which shows the mind can still experience all the sensations it would have performing an action, by just watching a video or photo. Interestingly not all nature landscapes and settings are beneficial to the mind. Desert Savannah like landscapes where there is little trees and wildlife are the least beneficial.

This would also make sense, since areas with trees have the higher oxygen levels that your brain craves. Schizophrenia has been shown to be much more prevalent in urban environments. But its not know what part of urban living increases the risk factor of someone having schizophrenia. Go check out the article “How The City Hurts Your Brain… And What You Can Do About It” and then go outside and get back to nature.

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