#75 Nature nurtures

Greetings from an Airbus A320 from Madrid to London.

It’s a pretty cool flight. As I boarded, I saw for the first time a duo of a female pilot and co-pilot in the cockpit. It’s a great scene to inspire young females. My father is also sitting in the row behind me. Flying with a family member is a good reflection of the past week, which has been very family-oriented.

I’ve spent most of this week starting my days with long walks and runs in the sunshine in very beautiful and expansive parks, wandering without destination amidst lakes, greenery and flowers. I’ve taken them in utilising all five senses, and felt very connected to nature. It’s greatly improved my sense of well-being.

Why do we feel great in this kind of environment? Why should we ensure we do so as much as possible?

To do so, let’s look into the brain at a small almond-shaped cluster of nuclei called the amygdala. It plays a crucial role in emotion processing, memory, and behaviour. It’s involved in the formation and storage of emotional memories, and it is particularly associated with fear and pleasure responses.

A team of neuroscientists sought to understand how exposure to urban and natural environments affects mental health and the brain and found that just a one-hour walk in nature could significantly benefit brain health.

Amygdala activation decreases after a walk in nature, whereas it remains stable after a walk in an urban environment. These results suggest that walking in nature can positively affect stress-related brain regions and consequently may act as a preventive measure against mental strain and potential disease.

Implementation idea

Spend as much time as possible in nature. It’s not just great physically but also mentally and emotionally.

It can improve working memory capacity, restore directed attention as well as reduce negative emotions and stress

Best, AJ.

You can now listen to me narrate Plane Thoughts each week: link

On my bedside table:

• Paper: How nature nurtures: Amygdala activity decreases as the result of a one-hour walk in nature (link)

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