Category: Multimedia

Does Where You Live Impact Your Health?

Andrea Blood

With such variation in climate and altitude across our planet, it is interesting to see how these variations can impact our overall health and wellbeing. To find out more about how where you live can impact your health, check out the video below!

References:

Ezzati M, Horwitz MEM, Thomas DSK, et alAltitude, life expectancy and mortality from ischaemic heart disease, stroke, COPD and cancers: national population-based analysis of US countiesJ Epidemiol Community Health 2012;66:e17.

Khan, A. A., Banwell, P. E., Bakker, M. C., Gillespie, P. G., McGrouther, D. A., & Roberts, A. H. (2004). Topical radiant heating in wound healing: an experimental study in a donor site wound model*. International wound journal, 1(4), 233–240. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-4801.2004.00065.x

Huber, R. S., Kim, T.-S., Kim, N., Kuykendall, M. D., Sherwood, S. N., Renshaw, P. F., & Kondo, D. G. (2018). Association Between Altitude and Regional Variation of ADHD in Youth. Journal of Attention Disorders, 22(14), 1299–1306. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054715577137

https://www.verywellhealth.com/best-climate-for-arthritis-5094272

Nature Sounds to Calm Your Mind

Nature Sounds to Calm Your Mind

Sophie Schaffer

At one point or another, most of us have experienced the annoyance of hearing a distracting sound that impeded our ability to do something. Maybe you live near a railroad track, where trains bustle and shake late at night, hindering your ability to sleep. Maybe you’ve known the stress of trying to concentrate on a task while construction work beeps and whirs outside. In our modern industrialized world, it is not uncommon to encounter distracting noises. Hearing disruptive sounds is related to increased stress, elevated risk for heart disease, and difficulty processing information (Schell, 2003). While we can’t always choose when we hear these nuisance noises, we can choose to reinvigorate our senses and connect with nature by listening to sounds from our natural environment. As you listen to these sounds sampled from nature, observe how they make you feel. If you find the sounds to be relaxing or pleasant, consider exposing yourself to more nature sounds, either by spending time in immersive natural environments or listening to more sampled sounds. Now, I invite you to sit back and enjoy.

References

Schell, L. M., & Denham, M. (2003). Environmental Pollution in Urban Environments and Human Biology. Annual Review of Anthropology, 32, 111–134. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25064823

Sampled Sounds and Nature Videos Provided by Storyblocks

Movies in Nature: Captain Fantastic

Movies in Nature: Captain Fantastic

Aaron T Ebata, Ph.D.

Can “Philosopher Kings” make it in the “real world”?

What if you could live in an idyllic setting far from other people and raise kids without technology or the typical pressures and influences of the “civilized world”? What knowledge and skills should they develop to survive and thrive? How would you teach them? In this 2016 movie written and directed by Matt Ross, Viggo Mortenson plays a devoted father raising six children “off the grid”. A tragedy forces the family to journey into the outside world and tests the values and bonds the family has worked to create. The movie weaves drama and humor into a story of a parent facing judgement for their choices, but facing the inevitable: children growing up and having to make their own choices.

Warning: while the movie features the beauty and wonders of nature, the opening scene is filled with tension and brief violence that is not present for the rest of the movie.