April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 37

Rachel Kaplan and Steven Kaplan
deconstruct what they call " the restorative experience. " This experience of being lifted out of a state of
mental fatigue can be realized in a
number of ways, but is most often
accomplished by " getting away " or
" escaping " from stressful environments and situations.
All of us can attest to times that we
just want to get away, or spend time
away from it all. However, research
by the Kaplans and others shows
that in the process of escaping from
a state of mental fatigue, there are
certain types of restorative experiences that seem to transcend others
and produce multiple benefits, not
just the benefit of escape from stress
alone. One of these states is the " fascination " that occurs when a person
is immersed in nature. Entering this
state of effortless attention can occur in a variety of ways-walking
in the woods, hiking along a trail
in a totally natural environment,
or sitting by a stream watching water tumble over rocks. It seems that
the experience of being in nature is
transformative in and of itself-it
can cause a person's emotional state
to be uplifted and mental balance to
be restored. Being in nature is truly
refreshing in a very deep, meaningful way.
Astute observers of the human
condition have been cataloguing
the things that fascinate us for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
However, the soft fascination of
nature, according to the Kaplans, is
a mental state produced by full engagement in the pleasurable context
of nature. When you enter a green
space of natural light and shadows
containing the colors of nature, you
can also enter a particularly reflective mode at the same time in which

you are able to comprehend more
than one thing at a time, a state in
which stresses and pressures are reduced. You are able to enjoy multiple stimuli and perceptions even
while thinking about other things.
All in all, being in nature produces
a fully restorative experience.
The Kaplans' research was largely based on observations of people and stimuli, similar to other
research since then. Other studies,
as mentioned in a recent New York
Times article about the Herriot-Watt
University study (http://well.blogs.
nytimes.com/2013/03/27/easingbrain-fatigue-with-a-walk-in-thepark) have shown the measurable
and provable benefits of living near
parks and green spaces. They have
also chronicled how kids do better
on cognitive tests after spending
time in nature, and how certain
biochemical changes occur in a person's saliva after they spend time
outdoors. However, this new study
is one of the first to make real-time
measurements of brain activity that
occurs while people are being bombarded by the stimuli of a busy commercial street or a shopping district,
and the very different brain-activity
patterns that result from the restorative effects of walking outdoors in
nature.
It is extremely interesting to note
that this new research from Herriot-Watt University, which used advanced technology to measure brain
waves through mobile EEGs, shows
what we have intuitively known for
generations-that a walk in the park
may be the most beneficial thing you
can do for your mental and physical
health.
Richard J. Dolesh is NRPA's Vice President of
Conservation (rdolesh@nrpa.org).

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April 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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