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Mental Vitality: Assessing the Impact of a Walk in the Woods

In this article, Mark Bowen presents an abridged version of his 2016 doctoral thesis entitled, “Mental Vitality: Assessing the Impact of a Walk in the Woods”.

The thesis attends to a gap in literature pertaining to studying nature and late adolescence.  In particular, Dr. Bowen mentioned that “this study measured one aspect of mental vitality, that of mental acuity in 16-18 year old students at an international school. Using the d2 Test of Attention to measure the impact of regular nature walks, this study found a significant improvement in participants’ mental acuity after a regular, twice weekly, 40 to 60 minute duration nature walk intervention.”

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A Research Request

A research request from Eric Windhorst, PhD candidate and Faculty of Applied Health Sciences at Brock University:

Are you a gifted adult who loves nature? Eric Windhorst is recruiting participants to his PhD research study which is exploring how gifted adults experience ecological self (nature connection)—and how this experience relates to mental health and environmental behaviour. Eric is currently seeking out gifted men in particular.

Contributing to the study will involve participating in two, one-on-one interviews with Eric. Each of the two interviews will be approximately one hour in length and can be conducted over Skype.

Study participation is open to all individuals over the age of 25 that self-identify as gifted.

If you’re interested in contributing to the study, or want to learn more about it, feel free to reach out to Eric directly (ew14ft@brocku.ca).

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Positive effects of nature imagery on inmates

In a year-long study of 500 male prison inmates placed in restrictive housing, researchers found that watching videos of nature imagery were linked to lowered stress levels and a significant decrease in the number of disciplinary referrals due to violent infractions.

Inmates’ self-report on their emotional responses agree with the study’s overall findings.  A great majority of the participants reported feeling calmer and felt better for sustained periods.  They also stated that they enjoyed more positive relationships with prison staff.

This study adds to the growing literature on nature-based interventions and on nature exposure within urban spaces.

For details about this research, click here.

REFERENCE

Nadkarni, N, Schnacker, L, Hasbach, P., Thys, T., & Crockett, E. (2017). From Orange to Blue How Nature Imagery Affects Inmates in the Blue Room,  Corrections Today, Jan/Feb 2017, 36-40.

 

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A New Psychology for Sustainability Leadership

Exploring themes in the personal development of sustainability leaders
A book review by Mary A. Hernandez

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A New Psychology of Sustainability Leadership:  The Hidden Power of Ecological Worldviews

by Steven Schein 2015 Greenleaf Publishing

Steven Shein is both a professor and a highly experienced entrepreneur with a Ph.D. in human development and organization systems.  Drawing on his own experiences with nature and his companionship with others who are likewise nature-oriented, his personal stories of communion and revelation in nature draws us into his own motivation to becoming curious about other leaders equally concerned about the environmental crisis.  His interests are inclusive and extend to eastern, aboriginal, and depth psychologies.  The author’s educational and occupational backgrounds and interests position him well to make recommendations related to the topics presented in the book.
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Home Life Could Be Simpler

Home Life Could Be Simpler:  
Perceptions of Home Among Married Couples While Staying at an Eco-lodge

Dr. Tal Litvak Hirsch, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Dr. Alon Lazar, Independent scholar

Eco Lodge NegevAbstract
Individuals relate to their homes in a myriad of ways. The current study suggests that in order to expand our understanding of people’s perceptions of “home” it would be beneficial to also consider these perceptions when individuals are on vacation, and especially in locations in which living arrangements are very different from their homes. Inspection of the perceptions of married Jewish-Israeli couples who holidayed at an eco-lodge in the Israeli desert revealed that the disparity between the two abodes was generally positive and similar. The wives were more prone to point out that the stay at the eco-lodge, led them to consider the possibility of conducting their homes in a simpler manner. The results are discussed in light of social behavior , connectivity to nature and consumerism.

FOR MORE
Download a PDF of the full article – Home life could be simpler
Download a PDF of Tables – Home life could be simpler – Tables

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