Friday, August 20, 2010
Need time in nature?
My daughter just gave me a very insightful article about those of us who love spending time in nature. I tend to need a lot of time in nature to recover from city-time or time with a lot of social activity. In the past, people just called us shy but somehow it was always more complicated than that. This is the article:
Introverts are re-energized from spending time alone while extroverts derive it from spending time with others. While science knows the two personalities are hardwired differently, it's come up short on the why in the past. Now a new study found introverts and extroverts respond differently to human faces.
When extroverts look at a human face, there's an increase in a specific type of electrical activity in the brain, but there's no change when they look at an inanimate object, even something as pretty as flowers. However, there's an equal rise in introverts' electrical activity when they look at flowers and human faces, showing their brains do not distinguish between inanimate objects and people.
So while extroverts get a physiological lift from being around people, an introvert can have the same experience looking out a window. Score for introverts?
Here is the link: http://www.tressugar.com/Why-Introverts-Like-Alone-10346907
It got me wondering so did a little digging and discovered this article on Nature Deficiency and how it can be harmful to your health Here's the article: http://www.naturalnews.com/028203_nature_deficiency_self_healing.html
There is also this book by: Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.
So now I'm trying to figure out if the person who needs nature, learned that through exposure or if it's possible for a city - raised person to ever get to the place where they find nature necessary - relaxing - re-energizing? I've met people who just find time in nature boring.
If this article is confused, it's because I am. If a person is hardwired this way then exposure wouldn't help but if exposure would help then we need to teach the children.
Whoever did the study needs to ask a few more question.
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That's really interesting! Thank you! I sometimes wonder whether there are more introverts amongst those of us who practise our art. If so, it would account for our difficulties with 'selling', according to Dr Robert Winston's TV programme about 'personality'. All the best salespeople were extroverts.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've read here I must be an introvert. Very interesting. I agree though that perhaps a little more research may be needed here.
ReplyDeleteI need my nature just to make me feel whole, I get anxious sitting inside. There is a friendship I find when I am out in nature and it makes me very calm and relaxed.today I pulled the tent down just in time,I have had 3 days of hot, but a major storm cascaded me with water.Not always as peaceful out on the prairie in a storm. One year I lost 2 tents to high winds.Today I had 1 inch in my gauge in 20 minutes.Not the pitter patter you want in a tent.
ReplyDeleteMy answer,just get out and enjoy the beauty which God has created for our enjoyment.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,Ruth
Carole, You raise many great questions. I am an introvert and am proud of it!
ReplyDeleteGreat links and I had to order the "Lost Child in the Woods". Thanks!