Stephen Kaplan from the University of Michigan has proved that taking a walk in the midst of a park can do wonders to your memory. The study shows a marked improvement in your memory and attentive skills. The study proves that walking in parks among greenery benefits memory and increases attentiveness compared to walks in urban environments.
The group of psychologists conducted two experiments with the help of a group of volunteers to test how interactions with nature and urban environments affected memory and attention processes.
The group of volunteers were asked to take a walk in a park or in downtown Ann Arbor after they completed a task designed to challenge memory and attention skills as part of the first experiment. After the walk, volunteers returned to the lab for rest.
As part of the second experiment, the same group of volunteers were made to undergo the same task to test their memory and attention after which instead of the walk they were asked to view nature photographs or photographs of urban environments and then rested in the lab.
The tests results of both the experiments showed amazing results. While there was a marked improvement in memory and attention processes after the completion of the first experiment among volunteers who went for a walk in the park when compared to those who walked in the down town area among buildings.
The second experiment results showed those volunteers who viewed nature photographs showed a better improvement, those who viewed photographs of buildings and structures showed no improvement.
