Thursday, March 17, 2016

Greenery (or Even Photos of Trees) Can Make Us Happier

Greenery (or Even Photos of Trees) Can Make Us Happier
by Gretchen Reynolds, March 17, 2016

This article discusses the benefits of exposure to the outdoors. It is commonly known that people generally feel less stress and are more engaged and alert when outside, but this author cites research that suggests that simply looking at pictures of the outdoors can have a similar effect. The author cites a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public health that sorts interactions from physical activity and sunlight exposure by focusing on pictures of outdoors rather than the real thing. The researchers focused on the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which respond to stress by triggering fight-or-flight reactions and counters those responses, bringing physical calm. For this study, nearly four dozen university students were outfitted with sensors to monitor electrical activity in the heart and then shown photos on a computer screen that either were of urban spaces or green places. The data suggested that “short durations or viewing green pictures may help people to recover from stress.”
This article brings awareness of the benefits of outdoor experiences (regardless of actual outdoor exposure or just pictures). This is especially important in today’s society, where almost everything we do is technologically oriented. If we are able to de-stress and relax by either experiencing the outdoors for real or looking at a nature screensaver, “it is possible that the general health of the population can be improved.”
I thought this article was well-written and informative, and taught me about a topic that I previously had little knowledge about. Although the author conveys the main message of the article clearly, I thought that she could have dug deeper into some of the referenced studies; this would have furthered my understanding of the testing used to validate the use of pictures of nature rather than real nature, and would have strengthened the article as a whole. Also, the article would have been more interesting and unique if the author had included a more personal perspective on the topic. Overall, I liked reading about this topic and will definitely try to look at more pictures of trees when I’m stressed.

Reynolds, Gretchen. "Greenery (or Even Photos of Trees) Can Make Us Happier." Well Greenery or Even Photos of Trees Can Make Us Happier Comments. NYT, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. <http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/17/the-picture-of-health/?_r=0>.

5 comments:

  1. Liv, this was a really good choice for an article! I thought it was really interesting that just looking at pictures of trees can make people happier. I think you did a very good job of incorporating quotes and you summarized the article very well!

    I would have liked to see you put some statistics, more mathematical data, in the summary. I also think you could have expanded on the importance paragraph.

    Overall, I think this was very informative and I will definitely think about this article next time I go outside!

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  2. Liv,
    I thought your article was really interesting; it was inciteful with enough details that we understood what was happening. Also, the topic that you chose in itself was quite intriguing and kept me interested throughout. I liked how you explained how “researchers focused on the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which respond to stress by triggering fight-or-flight reactions and counters those responses, bringing physical calm” because it explains how they were able to make sense of this phenomenon. Lastly, I thought you did a great job in discussing the importance of this article and what you specifically will take away from this article.

    However, I thought you could have included more quotes from the article to make it more reliable. Also, I’m wondering how this phenomenon came to be; how is just exposure to nature scenery, rather artificial or not, able to destress us? I know that the author probably didn’t include it, but it’s something that would have added to the article itself.

    I was first drawn to this article by the title, especially since kids these days are stressing out so much, so it is nice to know that something as simple as looking at a picture (you don’t even have to go outside) can help destress them. Of course, it is good to know this, but at the same time, I wish I hadn’t read this because it is motivating me less to go outside (as if I don’t go out enough as it already is). Overall, you did a wonderful job, and I did enjoy reading.

    Reynolds, Gretchen. "Greenery (or Even Photos of Trees) Can Make Us Happier." Well Greenery or Even Photos of Trees Can Make Us Happier Comments. NYT, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. .

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  3. Liv,

    I thoroughly enjoyed your review for a number of reasons. First of all, you had an intriguing hook to start off your review. By saying, “This article discusses the benefits of exposure to the outdoors,” you really caught my attention, making me want to find out more about what benefits can come from something as simple as exposure to the outdoors. Another area I thought you did really well in was keeping your review clear and concise. One specific spot that I thought you presented especially clearly was the part in which you discussed the effect of nature imagery on the human mind. Here, you said, “It is commonly known that people generally feel less stress and are more engaged and alert when outside, but this author cites research that suggests that simply looking at pictures of the outdoors can have a similar effect.” This is very clear, and it also provides a nice summary of your article review as a whole. One last thing I liked about your article was the way you incorporated so many different studies and viewpoints in your review. For instance, at one point in your review, you wrote, “The author cites a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public health that sorts interactions from physical activity and sunlight exposure by focusing on pictures of outdoors rather than the real thing.” By citing a professional organization and its experiments, you made your article more credible. Overall, your review was fantastic.
    While there were numerous things I liked about your review, you also had some room for improvement. One thing I didn’t like about your review was that you didn’t go into the actual process by which the outdoors and outdoor imagery relieves stress, and this is something I would have been interested in reading about. Instead, you simply said, “The data suggested that ‘short durations or viewing green pictures may help people to recover from stress.’” I think you should have added some comment on how this stress is actually relieved in the brain. Another reason I didn’t like your review was because you used some vocabulary that only neurologists would understand. For instance, at one point in your review, you used the phrase “sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.” I, and most other people, do not understand what sympathetic or parasympathetic means. To fix this, I would have thrown a definition of the words in there for clarification. Other than these two reasons, your review was perfect.
    This review was extremely informative, and it did a great job presenting the environmental concept behind stress-relief in a clear way. Because of this, I am now able to understand looking at outdoor imagery or the outdoors themselves can relieve stress. The reason I chose this article review out of all the others is because of its catchy title. When I saw the title “Greenery (or Even Photos of Trees) Can Make Us Happier,” I was immediately hooked. I had to learn more about this mysterious how I could be happier because of greenery or pictures of it. This review also made me consider my own life and stress. I consider my life to be full of stress, and, now that I know this about greenery, I may begin to look at it more often to reduce my stress levels before a test, for example.
    Citation:
    Reynolds, Gretchen. "Greenery (or Even Photos of Trees) Can Make Us Happier." Well
    Greenery or Even Photos of Trees Can Make Us Happier Comments. NYT, n.d. Web. 17
    Mar. 2016.

    Hyperlink:
    .

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  4. Reynolds, Gretchen. "Greenery (or Even Photos of Trees) Can Make Us Happier." Well Greenery or Even Photos of Trees Can Make Us Happier Comments. NYT, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. .

    Liv,

    I really liked your article review. Your summary was compact with information, yet concise. Your information on the impact of the great outdoors or simply an image of it was straightforward and easy to digest as a reader. Also great quote integration, your quotes were nicely woven into your review and made it stronger. Also another good component of your article was explaining terms significance to the audience such as sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

    Although your article was good overall, a component that may enhance your piece would be to expand on the whole process of the electrical activity monitoring. Although you want to be brief in your summary, adding a little more information like how a specific fluctuation indicates less stress or more stress and how scientists determined this. It would have been interesting to emphasize more on the scientific background on this piece. Another minor improvement might be elaborating on the data.

    As I said earlier, good article. I think it was amazing to hear how not only looking at nature but simply looking at a picture of nature will relieve stress from a person. It’s also interesting how electrical activity has a connection with stress to allow us to understand the impact that being surrounded by the image of nature can have. I think this article was inciteful. Because like you said, this generation we are surrounded by technology. We often don’t take the time to enjoy the nature around us. I know many of us know that a breath of fresh air can do us all good, but what your article states is so interesting. I find it slightly odd how our body would respond the same way to simply a picture. Maybe this fact will make people give greater significance to nature. It maybe will help scientists investigate the greater importance of visual stimulation. Personally I’ll make use of this article and whenever I’m stressed I’ll take a walk or even try looking at pictures online of nature.

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  5. I read Liv’s review of the article “Greenery (or Even Photos of Trees) Can Make Us Happier.” In a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health scientists found that if you look at pictures of nature you will be less stressed. It has been known that exercising, or just being outside will reduce stress levels. Liv did a good job of simply, and concisely summarizing the article, and the study. She explained the way that the pictures are able to calm people, and what the people tested when they did the study. She also did a good job of connect how we can use the new information to benefit society.
    I would have liked to know more about how exactly monitoring the heart of students was able to accurately show how stressed the students were. I would have thought that they would have wanted to monitor the brain as well. Another thing that could be improved would be how being outside versus looking at a picture effect your stress. Whether actually going outdoors reduces your stress more or less than photos.
    I chose this article because I enjoy being outdoors a lot, and thought that the article would discuss more about the effect being outdoors can have on your mood. I think that knowing this will have a larger effect on people who do not go outside often. I will always prefer going outside to destress instead on looking at a picture.

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