Take a Hike

Every year or so, a friend and I go on a writing retreat. We like to be near the water in a peaceful, reflective setting. This year we found a quaint house on a small part of the bay where osprey and heron regularly do flybys and the water serves as a mirror for tall leafy trees in the morning.

Prior to setting out, I attempted to re-read the most recent version of my work-in-progress, so I could hit the ground running. A hundred pages in, it was clear that there was a reason I’d stayed away from my child for so long. He was rambling and incoherent! And I felt powerless to help. My brain was in the deep freeze.

At lunch on about the third day, I told my friend I couldn’t figure out the fix. I thought I should abandon ship. She thought for a minute and then offered a suggestion that would never have occurred to me, one that provided near instant brain thaw. But was it instant?

When I shared this experience later with another friend, she told me about the three-day effect, a term coined by cognitive neuroscientist David Strayer to describe what happens to the brain after we’re immersed in nature for three days. It rests and reboots, increasing creativity and boosting problem-solving capability by as much as 40 percent.

While three days may be the Cadillac reboot experience, as little as 15 minutes in the woods can have profound effects on us, reducing cortisol and increasing overall well-being. Increasing the time in nature to 45 minutes can improve cognitive performance. But the effects go even further than that. Florence Williams traveled the world working with nature neuroscientists to find out the reasons why. She details those findings in her book, The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative. Wallace J. Nichols explores similar effects of water in his book, Blue Mind: The Surprising Science that Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do.

How lovely to be tended to by Mother Nature in this way. In fact, taking in nature in any way available can bring powerful restorative benefits to our brains. So yes, take a hike, or find a seat with a view.