Tranquil scenes helps the brain work harmoniously

LONDON - Gazing at a tranquil sea or a secluded beach can positively impact the human brain.

Scenes comprising natural features cause distinct brain areas to become “connected” with one another while man-made monstrosities, such as motorways, disrupt the connections.

The research, by a team from Britain’s Universities of Sheffield and Braddford and the Institute of Medicine and Neuroscience in Julich, Germany could have implications for the design of more tranquil public spaces and buildings, like hospitals, reports the Daily Mail.

The research, published in the journal NeuroImage, uses functional brain imaging to assess how the environment impacts upon our brain functions.

The team carried out functional brain scanning at the University of Sheffield to examine brain activity when people were presented with images of beaches and motorway scenes.

Waves breaking on a beach and traffic on a motorway produce a similar yet constant roar, and presented the participants with both images while they listened to the same sound.

Using scans that measures brain activity, the team showed the tranquil scenes caused different brain areas to become “connected” with one another or work in sync while the noisy motorway scenes disrupted connections within the brain.

Michael Hunter, from Sheffield Cognition and Neuroimaging Laboratory (SCANLab) based at the University of Sheffield, said: “People experience tranquillity as a state of calmness and reflection, which is restorative compared with the stressful effects of sustained attention in day-to-day life.”