LAWRENCE – Getting away from it all may get people get back on it. A Kansas University researcher said that people who spend a few days in the wild may see huge increases in creativity and brain power. KU’s Ruth Ann Atchley said being in the natural world appears to refresh the human mind and offering refuge from the cacophony of modern life. Humans have been so busy dodging the barrage of information from social media, electronics and cell phones, they don’t have time for things like creativity, being kind and generous, or being in a positive mood, she said. “Nature is a place where our mind can rest, relax and let down those threat responses,” Atchley said. “Therefore, we have resources left over — to be creative, to be imaginative, to problem solve — that allow us to be better, happier people who engage in a more productive way with others.” Atchley led a team that conducted initial research on a backpacking trip in Utah with the Remote Associates Test, a word-association exercise used for decades by psychologists to gauge creative intelligence. Her fellow researchers included Paul Atchley, associate professor of psychology at KU, and David Strayer, professor of cognition and neural science at the University of Utah. Intrigued by positive results, the researchers partnered with Outward Bound, the Golden, Colo.-based nonprofit that leads educational expeditions into nature for people of many backgrounds. About 120 participants on outings in places like Alaska, Colorado and California completed the “rat” test. “The data across age groups —regular folks from age 18 into their 60s — showed an almost 50 percent increase in creativity,” she said. “It really worked in the sense that it was a well-used measure and we could see such a big difference in these two environments.” Best of all, she said that the benefits of nature belong to anyone who delves completely into wilderness for an amount of time equivalent to a long weekend, she said.
Friday, April 27, 10 p.m.
