A double dose of brain benefits
We’ve reached the final week of our summer challenge! Over the last month, we’ve asked readers to try device-free nature walks (congratulations if you’re still at it), scroll-free bedtimes, and a ’90s-style hangout without phones. Our final week is inspired by Andy Goldsworthy, a British artist and environmentalist. He is known for creating ephemeral land art using found natural materials like stones and twigs. Goldsworthy has said that he uses art to explore our intimate connection to the natural world — as he once put it, “art that actually opens your eyes and mind to what’s there.” This week, you’ll gather materials from nature to make temporary land art, which stays outside and, by design, eventually breaks down. This exercise immerses you in the outdoors and encourages you to appreciate even the smallest patches of green. Making land art is accessible and easy, said Girija Kaimal, founder of the Health, Arts, Learning and Evaluation research lab at Drexel University. If you’ve ever built a sand castle or a snowman, you’ve done it. Research suggests that making art increases well-being and confidence, and reduces stress. If you make art outside, said Megan Delaney, a professor of psychology at Monmouth University and principal investigator of the university’s Ecopsychology “Touch Grass” Lab, you can double those benefits. Here’s how to do it. (And join me in the comments when you’re ready.)
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