The smell of pine needles baking in the sun. The feel of crisp winter air on your face on the top of a ski run. The sight of a brilliant Rocky Mountain sunset, with the last few glints of gold flickering and casting dramatic shadows.
What is YOUR favourite touch, feel, smell, or sight in nature? We all have one (or many!)
“Biophilia” is a term that refers to the innate urge to connect with the natural world around us. To play an active part in the grand ecosystem of which we are all apart.
Many of us here in the Roaring Fork Valley have moved to the mountains for just that purpose: to increase our access to the beauty of nature that surrounds us. Not only can we appreciate the aesthetic of our home town, but there is also a physiological response that happens when people interact with nature on a regular basis. As the image above shows, our parasympathetic nervous system (AKA the “rest and digest” mode) is activated (much like during meditation, yoga, deep relaxation) when spending time in nature. Having your parasympathetic nervous system actively engaged on a regular basis is shown to have positive results such as (but not limited to):
- lowered blood pressure,
- increased digestion
- relaxed blood vessels
- Even a strengthened immune system!
In our time of screens, keyboards, and fluorescent lighting it can be hard to make time to spend outdoors. With the winter sun going down early, working full time, and COVID regulations urging us to be indoors, it can be tricky to find the time to get outside.
Here are some tips to help you find time to be outdoors:
- 30 minute break? Go for a walk around the block. Do a loop next door at Sayre Park!
- Take doggo/family member for a walk when you’re out of work, even if in the dark (If it is dark when you leave work, remember your light up dog tags, reflective leashes, etc.)
- Schedule outdoor time (Ex: every Sunday engage in your favorite outdoor activity)
- Bike or walk to work if possible
- Exercise outdoors when possible
But how do we adhere to COVID standards with numbers on the rise?
We can still enjoy the great outdoors AND keep each other safe! Here are some tips from the CDC:
- Visit parks and recreation areas that are close to your home.
- Don’t visit crowded parks or campgrounds.
- Carefully consider use of playgrounds, and help children follow guidelines.
- Stay at least 6 feet away from people you don’t live with.
- Wear a mask.
- Wash your hands often and don’t share items with people you don’t live with.
Of Wilderness and 4 Winds Farm is actively using the concept of “neurobiophilia” in the layout and interior design at 4 Winds Farm. Neurobiophilia is the science of how nature engages the brain. Psychologists are finding how nature in hospital rooms, therapy offices, etc. increase healing rates and find patients requesting less pain medication. Tierne Thys explains her great theory here in a short six-minute TED talk – check it out!