Are we taking in too much information?
Jordan’s weekend camping trip
When the world gets noisy, we can get still. I am not sure humans were ever meant to take on as much input as we submerge ourselves in. One of the key pillars for cultivating wellness and joy in my life is nature time and intentionally spacing input time.
We are no longer in an era of “social” media. We are in an attention and entertainment economy. There is a statement that says, “if you are consuming something and don't have a physical product to show, you are the product.” And algorithms don’t care about what information is doing to you, your health, or your nervous system. It’s just about keeping you locked in as long as possible.
I just got back from camping, and it is amazing to feel the palpable difference in my body's relaxation even just from less visual and sound stimuli in comparison to the city. Coupled with little to no screen time, I felt reset. Now, maybe we can’t go to the woods to camp every few days (I try to, haha), but we can be intentional about moments of pause, less screen time, and reconnection with forest bathing.
We just have to step out of the noise for a moment to see its value.
And for my data nerds…
Scientific studies show that forest bathing reduces stress hormones, lowers blood pressure, and boosts the immune system; for example, a single two-hour session can significantly decrease systolic and diastolic blood pressure and improve mood states. Research also finds that participants experience reduced anxiety and depression, improved sleep quality, and increased levels of anti-cancer proteins after regular forest bathing.
Reducing daily screen time to less than two hours per day led to measurable improvements in depressive symptoms, sleep quality, and stress levels within just three weeks, with a 155-minute daily reduction resulting in small to medium effect size improvements in mental health indicators. About one in four teens with four or more hours of daily screen time experience anxiety (27.1%) or depression symptoms (25.9%), and higher screen time is consistently linked to lower well-being and increased behavioral problems.
Now go get out in nature!
