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👋 Hey everyone,

Here are a few popular posts you may have missed:

• Never skip brain day.

• Harold Bloom on the consequences of not reading books.

• Niccolò Machiavelli's reading routine was something else.

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📚 Books Summary:

In last week’s newsletter, I asked you to vote on which book I should summarize.

And the winner is…

“Nature & The Mind” by Marc Berman.

Here are 3 lessons from the book:

📖

1) The Benefits of Being In Nature

Growing up, your parents probably told you to spend time outside because it was “good for you.”

Well it’s true.

Scientists call it ART (Attention Restoration Therapy):

• Exposure to natural environments can help restore depleted cognitive resources, like attention. Key benefits include improved focus, reduced mental fatigue, and enhanced overall well-being.

For instance, one study found that spending time in nature (such as a park, farm, or green backyard) significantly reduced ADHD symptoms compared to being in a mostly human-made environment (downtown, parking lot, or city street).

Another study found that kids with ADHD who took a short stroll in a mostly natural environment significantly improved their attention performance.

The results were “comparable to a dose of Ritalin, the multibillion-dollar prescription drug.”

A separate study found that walking in the park boosted participants’ working-memory and attention performance by 20%.

But it gets even more interesting…

The season didn’t matter–the effects were the same on a warm summer day as on a snowy winter day (as long as the person was appropriately dressed and not freezing).

Lastly, people benefited from the walk in nature even if they didn’t like walking in nature.

“They didn’t need to improve their moods or even like the walks to get the cognitive benefits from the nature walk,” writes Dr. Berman.

So the next time you’re feeling tired, instead of plopping on the couch and scrolling your phone, go for a walk in nature instead.

📖

2) The Benefits of Seeing & Hearing Nature 

If you don’t have access to nature near where you live, don’t stress…

Dr. Berman conducted a follow-up experiment in which participants viewed pictures of nature.

Although the results weren’t as strong as being in nature, they were the second-best thing and had a positive benefit on the participants.

A 2023 study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that even a 5-minute virtual reality nature experience led to a 23% improvement in sustained attention tasks among office workers.

Additionally, listening to the sounds of nature also had a positive effect on people’s attention and memory.

So if you’re someone who doesn’t live near nature or doesn’t have time to go outside, try listening to a soundtrack of nature or looking at photos of nature (or do both by watching a video like this one).

Or if you don’t have internet access, you can still get some partial benefits by closing your eyes and imagining yourself walking through a forest where you feel safe and at peace.

📖

3) Always Pick The Window View

If you ever get the option of choosing an office or a bedroom with a window, do it.

In his famous 1984 study, Dr. Roger Ulrich looked at patient recovery records from a hospital in Pennsylvania.

Incredibly, he saw that surgical patients assigned to rooms with nature views were released by doctors earlier than patients in rooms that faced brick walls.

Patients with views of nature also felt less pain, used less pain medication, and recovered faster.

The rooms were exactly the same, and patients were randomly assigned to the rooms, so the only factor at play was the view they had.

Other studies over the years have had similar results.

A 2015 study found that workers with views of nature reported 15% fewer headaches, 14% less eyestrain, and 6% higher productivity compared to those without such views.

A 2018 study found that patients admitted to rooms with a view of a garden reported lower pain and anxiety scores than patients admitted to rooms with a street view.

A 2019 study surveyed 296 post-C-section patients and found that those who had a view of nature reported decreased frequency and severity of pain.

So the next time you have an option of picking between a room with a view of nature and one without, pick the nature view.

As Hippocrates, the father of medicine, said, “Nature is the best medication.”

✅ Actionable Advice

1) If you want to relax and recharge, don’t scroll on your phone or watch TV.

• Instead go for a 20-minute walk in nature (to get maximum benefits, avoid listening to music/podcasts and avoid scrolling on your phone during your walk).

2) The hierarchy of nature benefits:

• Good: Imagining yourself walking through nature.

• Better: Watching a video of nature or listening to the sounds of nature.

• Best: Going for a walk in nature.

3) Pick the room with a view of nature:

• Whether it’s a hospital room, dorm room, or office room, pick the room that has a view of nature, and you’ll get more health benefits from it.

💎 Weekly Gem:

If you want to write a book or have already written one, consider joining this book-writing & marketing workshop on October 2nd.

You’ll learn:

• How to write and edit your book using AI.

• How to pick the right book cover and title.

• How to create book content that goes viral on social media.

You’ll also get 3 BONUSES:

• 2 Hardcover copies of “Unhinged Habits”

• PDF with The 10 Best Books About Writing Books

• The 100 Best Book Writing & Marketing Resources for Authors

So if you want to learn how to write an amazing book or sell more copies of your book, this workshop is for you.

50+ authors have already signed up.

There’s also a 100% money-back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Click here to save your spot.

Your opinion matters!

Thank you for your support,

Alex W.