Your Brain On Nature: The Science of Nature's Influence on Your Health, Happiness and Vitality

236 Pages·2012·1.44 MB·English

by  Eva M. Selhub MD

Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Introduction
Chapter 1: Nature on the Brain: From Ancient
Intuition to Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Biophilia—Humanity's Vital Bond with Nature
Nature: An Ancient Cure Abandoned
Nature and Stress Physiology
Shinrin-Yoku—Forest Bathing
Plants, Pain, and Sickness
Neighborhood Greenness—Stress Buffer, Life Saver
Nature and the MRI Scanner
Looking Back, Looking Forward
Chapter 2: Backs to Nature, Sights on Screens: Are We
Happy Yet?
The False Promise
Wired for Info-Desire
Daily Hassles and Stress Physiology
Screen Culture and Nature Displacement
The Fork in the Road—What Are We Losing and What Can
We Gain?
Chapter 3: Nature and Cognition: What Can Green Do
for You?
The Discovery of Directed Attention Fatigue
Attention Restoration Theory
Why Cognitive Restoration Matters
Indoor Plants and Cognition
The Future of Nature and Cognition
Chapter 4: Something in the Air: Specific Elements of
Nature on the Brain
The Aromas of Nature
Plants as Vacuum Cleaners
Light—Natural Deprivation and Artificial Gluttony
Negative Ions
Water
The Sounds of Nature
Chapter 5: Green Exercise Is Like Exercise Squared
The Cognitive Benefits of Exercise
Exercise and Mental Health
How Does Exercise Promote Brain Health?
The Benefits Are in Your Mind
Adherence—Promoting the Brain Benefits of Exercise
Green Exercise Trumps the Treadmill
Putting Research into Motion—Practical Solutions
Chapter 6: Kingdom Animalia: The Last Stronghold of
Nature on the Brain
Get Us to the Green'Physical Benefits of Pet Ownership
Animals and Mental Health Care
Animal Interactions and Cognitive Performance
Animals and Empathy
Animal Goggles
The Canaries in Our Coal Mine
Moving Forward
Chapter 7: Practical Nature Interventions:
Horticultural and Wilderness Therapies
Historical Aspects of Gardening for Mental Health
From Anecdote to Scientific Inquiry
Gardening, Physical Activity, and Stress Hormones
Soil, Its Beneficial Bacteria, and the Brain
Gardening and Cognition
Gardening Changes the Brain for Life
Wilderness and Adventure Therapy
A Higher Dose of Forest Medicine
What Makes Wilderness Effective?
Gardening and Wilderness'Self, Community, Planet
Chapter 8: The Brain on Nature's Nutrients: Nutri-
Ecopsychology
It's All Part of a Balanced Diet
Essential Natural Nutrients
For Us or Against Us'Changing the Brain with Foods
Dietary Patterns, Depression, and Cognition
Bringing Back Nature'Mediterranean or Traditional Diet
Dietary Supplements and the Brain
Nutri-Ecopsychology
Chapter 9: Vis Medicatrix Naturae: The Healing Power
of Nature and Ecotherapy
Ecopsychology in North America—What Took So Long?
The Doctor Is In—a New Psychotherapy Office
Vitamin G Prescriptions—Forest, not Pharmacy
Plastic Trees and Plasma Screens—Providing Communion
with Nature?
The Leisure Problem and Nature Identity
Cities of the Future—Vis Medicatrix Naturae for All
Step Out of the Blogosphere and into the Atmosphere
Appendix
References
Authors
Natural and Holistic Medicine Organizations
Horticultural Therapy
Nutrition
Research, Education, and Publications
About the Authors
Index

Copyright © 2012 Eva M. Selhub and Alan C. Logan All rights reserved.
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This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its author(s) and is
designed to provide useful advice in regard to the subject matter covered. The
author(s) and publisher are not engaged in rendering medical, therapeutic, or
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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Selhub, Eva M.
Your brain on nature : the science of nature's influence on your health,
happiness, and vitality / Eva M. Selhub and Alan C. Logan.
Includes index.
Also issued in electronic format.
ISBN 978-1-118-10674-7
1. Brain. 2. Human beings—Effect of environment on. 3. Technology—
Health aspects.
I. Logan, Alan C., 1967– II. Title.
QP376.S44 2012 612.8′2 C2012-900904-0
ISBN 978-1-118-10674-7 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-11449-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-
1-118-11450-6 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-11451-3 (ebk) Production Credits
Managing Editor: Alison Maclean
Executive Editor: Robert Hickey
Executive Editor: Robert Hickey
Production Editor: Pauline Ricablanca Cover Design & Cover Art: Adrian So
Composition: Thomson Digital
John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
6045 Freemont Blvd.
Mississauga, Ontario
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This book is dedicated to Woodsy Owl and all individuals who have
worked tirelessly to preserve nature, to balance protection with access
and opportunity for nature engagement, and to raise awareness of
nature's importance to human health.
Introduction
Humanity's relationship with nature, a never-dull affair based on both fear
and attraction, spans more than 2 million years. Our ancestors grew to
understand the natural landscape, figuring out over time how to maximize
their ability to secure the factors that sustained life and minimize the multiple
threats to it. They grew to respect nature, balancing the understanding that
nature can bite, sting, poison, maim, and kill, with an awe and appreciation of
what the natural world could offer to promote health of mind and body.
Throughout the ages, and across cultures, philosophers, poets, nature
writers, and outdoor enthusiasts have extolled the mentally rejuvenating and
uplifting power of nature. But what of the science? To what extent is the 2-
million-year relationship with the natural environment imprinted in our
neurons, and to what extent does nature immersion and deprivation work for
and against the individual?
In our contemporary age of science and technology, researchers have
finally turned their attention toward the evaluation of these enthusiastic
claims related to the medical aspects of nature. What started as a trickle of
scientific inquiry in the 1970s has transformed into a formidable body of
research, with many of the most startling research findings published within
just the last 36 months. Scientific researchers are investigating nature's role in
mental health at a time when humans are more distanced from the natural
world than ever before, an environmental context in which humans are
increasingly becoming part of the machine. Humans have long demonstrated
a pronounced ability to use technology to conquer, control, and adapt to our
natural environments. Our earliest ancestors used fire and crafted cutting and
hunting tools, clothing, and shelters. Since then, technology and man's
mastery over the natural environment have developed at an astonishing rate.
As far back as a century ago, writers were concerned that industrialization
had placed a machine in the garden, one capable of dramatically changing
our natural world. Today, not only has the machine taken over the garden but
there are also legitimate fears that there is now only a bit of the garden left
within the machine.
This should be of great concern: natural environments offer unbelievable
benefits for our health. As neuroscience develops at a rapid pace, researchers