Being outdoors helps sharpen the mind

It turns out children aren't the only ones suffering from nature-deficit disorder.

That's what Richard Louv discovered in 2005 when he introduced the concept in his book "Last Child in the Woods." As Louv writes in the June issue of Outside Magazine, "by its broadest interpretation, nature-deficit disorder is an atrophied awareness, a diminished ability to find meaning in the life that surrounds us."

Soon after the book's publication, Louv realized he'd tapped into something larger. . Adults came up to him at speaking engagements to tell him that many of them suffered from the same malady.

Now Louv is back with what he hopes is the cure. In the recently published "The Nature Principle," he lays the blueprint for, as the book's subtitle says, "Human Restoration and the End of Nature Deficit Disorder."

Again writing in Outside, Louv says "The Nature Principle" is "about conservation but also about restoring ourselves while we restore nature; about bringing back natural habitats where they once existed or creating them where they never were — in our homes, workplaces, cities and suburbs. It's about the power of living in nature — not with it, but in it."

Louv's aims are bold, but he builds his case by presenting mountains of research on humans' capabilities and what we've lost by seeking to conquer nature and live apart from it.

Focusing on the senses, he finds humans are able to mimic scent-tracking patterns of other mammals and sense when a natural disaster like a tsunami is imminent. He refers to a study by the U.S. military that suggests that "the best bomb spotters were rural people — those who'd grown up in the woods hunting turkey or deer — as well as those from tough urban neighborhoods, where it's equally important to be alert."

In addition, research in Australia has linked a spike in nearsightedness to young people spending less time outdoors, where their eyes must focus at longer distances.

"Good vision, acute hearing, an attuned sense of smell, spatial awareness ..." these "natural advantages offer practical applications. One is an increased ability to learn; another is an enhanced capability to avoid danger. Still another, perhaps the most important, is the measurement-defying ability to more fully engage in life."

Louv's ideas aren't groundbreaking. He's not the first person to warn us about our alienation from the natural world, but he presents them eloquently with a personal touch. Maybe most important, his goal isn't to browbeat everyone into throwing away their iPads and Blackberrys; he knows that's not going to happen.

But, he writes, "electronic immersion without a force to balance it creates a hole in the boat, draining our ability to pay attention, think clearly, be productive and creative."

Louv suggests an approach that he calls "the hybrid mind."

"The ultimate multitasking is to live simultaneously in both the digital and physical worlds, using computers to maximize our powers to process intellectual data and natural environments to ignite our senses and accelerate our ability to learn and feel — combining the resurfaced 'primitive' powers of our ancestors with the digital speed of our teenagers."

It's a compelling premise, and Louv believes it can be applied to communities as well as individuals. Societies more understanding of the value nature provides us will want to build communities that seek to harness that value — that are in tune with it.

If this all sounds a bit crunchy, well, it is, but it's not pie in the sky. Louv's conclusions are grounded in research. From where this reviewer sits, it's common sense. We ignore this book and what it can teach us at our peril.