"Outdoors and Out of Reach, Studying the Brain" By Matt Richtel
This article in The New York Times recaps the journey of five neuroscientists into the remote southern Utah wilderness for a week without technology and the affect they found it had on their brains and overall wellbeing. The goal of the trip was "to understand how heavy use of digital devices and other technology changes how we think and behave, and how a retreat into nature might reverse those effects." Two scientists on the trip, Strayer and Atchley, believe that "heavy technology use can inhibit deep thought and cause anxiety, and that getting out into nature can help." The other three scientists were more skeptical of this claim. But in accordance with Strayer and Atchley's beliefs, as the week went on, the scientists slept better, unwound, generated clearer thoughts, became more reflective, and forgot about any stress they had. Their submersion in nature proved to to provide a better environment for the brain to function in than society ever could be.
This trip into Utah's wilderness makes it obvious just how suffocating technology is to our cognitive potential. Today's society is completely dependent on new gadgets and electronics to perform everyday tasks yet we don't seem to realize quite how damaging that is to our ability to focus and really think for ourselves. Yes, technology can be helpful, but what it really is, is a distraction. The brain can't focus on the task at hand when there is the constant lure of a cellphone or laptop next to you. But in nature, as one of the scientists on the trip said, "Our senses change. They kind of recalibrate — you notice sounds, like these crickets chirping; you hear the river, the sounds, the smells, you become more connected to the physical environment, the earth, rather than the artificial environment.” This connection to the physical environment grounds you in clarity. Society leaves you in a constant haze of dulled thoughts and senses but once you are immersed in the wild, everything becomes sharper and your most creative thoughts are allowed to break free of the box technology had forced them into.
This trip into Utah's wilderness makes it obvious just how suffocating technology is to our cognitive potential. Today's society is completely dependent on new gadgets and electronics to perform everyday tasks yet we don't seem to realize quite how damaging that is to our ability to focus and really think for ourselves. Yes, technology can be helpful, but what it really is, is a distraction. The brain can't focus on the task at hand when there is the constant lure of a cellphone or laptop next to you. But in nature, as one of the scientists on the trip said, "Our senses change. They kind of recalibrate — you notice sounds, like these crickets chirping; you hear the river, the sounds, the smells, you become more connected to the physical environment, the earth, rather than the artificial environment.” This connection to the physical environment grounds you in clarity. Society leaves you in a constant haze of dulled thoughts and senses but once you are immersed in the wild, everything becomes sharper and your most creative thoughts are allowed to break free of the box technology had forced them into.