The Great Outdoors: Part 2 - A Slow Experiment

We’re one week into the Great Outdoors experiment, and it’s off to an enjoyable start. In today’s episode, Brooke and Ben talk about how they’ve spent the last week getting out in nature, what they’ve noticed, as well as diving into some research around the emotional benefits of spending time outside.

This week the guys have spent time outdoors both as a family and solo. It’s been active, but also contemplative, as Brooke shares how she spent one session just sitting by the river watching the water flow - a perfect reminder that sometimes being in nature can just be about being rather than doing.

Ben noticed a marked difference in himself between the time spent outside in nature versus the the time spent outside in an urban environment. He shared some research he found that looked at a range of studies where this distinction was made between urban and natural outdoor environments, and the different impacts they had on stress, happiness, creativity, generosity, kindness, attention and the feeling of being alive. No surprises, nature came out ahead.

Brooke focused on the sensation of awe that she feels when she spends time in the great outdoors, and was surprised by the amount of research that backed this up scientifically. Studies have found that awe is more important than happiness when it comes to unlocking all the emotional benefits of time spent outside, as it forces us to slow down and be immersed in the thing we are in awe of. Pretty magical stuff, right? 

So try to keep that sense of awe and childlike curiosity with you this week as you spend time with nature big and small, and stay tuned for the experiment episodes for the rest of the month, where Brooke and Ben will look at the mental (especially performance) and physical benefits of spending time in nature. If you’re playing along, don’t forget to share how you’re going over on Instagram using the hashtag #slowexperiment, or comment on Facebook. We’d love to know what you’ve found challenging or easy so far, and if you’ve noticed any emotional benefits at all!

To read more, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/228/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post.

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