Simply looking at nature, or even just digital pictures of it, can relieve pain. That is the finding of new research that scanned the brains of people receiving electrical shocks.
Decades of research have documented nature’s many health benefits. More than 40 years ago, a pioneering study showed that hospitalised patients needed fewer painkillers and recovered quicker. These patients looked out of a window onto green space rather than a brick wall.
“Yet until now, the underlying reasons for this effect were unclear,” said Maximilian Steininger, a neuroscientist at the University of Vienna. He is lead author of a study published in Nature Communications on Thursday.
How the study worked
The problem is that both nature and pain can be subjective. Because people like nature, it could have a placebo effect. Or what if nature does not reduce pain, but city life increases it?
To find out more, the researchers recorded the brain activity of 49 volunteers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The subjects looked at different images while receiving a series of electric shocks on the back of their left hand. Some shocks were more painful than others.
The first scene depicted a lake surrounded by trees blowing in the wind. The sounds of rustling leaves and birdsong played in the background. In the second scene, some urban elements such as buildings, benches and alleyways appeared, while city noise intruded. Finally, the third scene showed an office, with drab furniture and the whir of work.
Important practical implications
Not only did the participants report feeling less pain when they looked at the natural landscapes, but the fMRI scans also showed a difference in their brains.
“Our study is the first to provide evidence from brain scans that this isn’t just a placebo effect,” Steininger said in a statement.
The nature scenes decreased activity in a part of the brain involved in perceiving pain, called nociception. However, other areas linked to regulating pain were not significantly affected.
The researchers said the results could be because natural environments capture people’s attention. This diverts them away from the sensation of pain. Psychology knows this as the “attention restoration theory“.
“The fact that this pain-relieving effect can be achieved through a virtual nature exposure, which is easy to administer, has important practical implications,” said study co-author Alex Smalley from the UK’s Exeter University. It also “opens new avenues for research to better understand how nature impacts our minds,” he added.
