Many people know the feeling of not having enough hours in the day to complete all the necessary tasks. And at the same time, outside the city, time seems to stretch, changing the speed of the flow. And this statement is true for most people, like showed recent study.
The experiment was carried out by scientists from the University of Turku in Finland. People’s perception of time was studied while they performed different types of tasks in urban and natural environments. The results consistently showed that in rural areas people feel like they have more time.
For example, people were more likely to say that their walk outside the city was longer than in an urban environment. Although in reality they were the same in time. The same applies to performing other tasks. Let’s say it seemed to a person that he could accomplish more per unit of time in nature than in the city.
The authors of the work suggest that this difference in perception is due to distracting factors characteristic of the urban environment. They are created by work, everyday tasks, family. Digital technologies are exacerbating the differences. Constant access to the Internet increases working time and does not allow you to disconnect from continuous communication: not only at work, but also with friends and loved ones.
Other research showedthat nature changes not only the perception of the passage of time, but also the idea of the past and the future. Experiments by psychologists have revealed that outside the city a person is more inclined to pay attention to future tasks, goals and needs rather than to the current flow of affairs. Nature, as it were, allows you to see the picture of life as a whole, and not get hung up on the stresses of today.
Getting rid of the urban environment makes a person less impulsive. This allows you to plan the future more clearly and prefer long-term goals to immediate satisfaction of needs. Being in nature reduces stress and anxiety levels and normalizes sleep. This is also associated with differences in the perception of time.
From the study, a logical conclusion can be drawn that it is necessary to be in nature as often as possible. However, some recommendations can be identified from the experiments, following which can help people in an urban environment improve their well-being. First of all, you need to clearly plan the completion of certain tasks in time, and also leave yourself for some period without online communication and constant access to the Internet.
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