We all know that it does us good to get outdoors - to see the sky and plants, to scan the horizon, to traverse different surfaces and views. But we probably don't have the opportunity to get a good does of the outdoors every day. 

What is a second best option? Bringing images of the outdoors into our spaces. 

It turns out there is a large amount of research that has been done on photographs of nature and their impact on us. 

As David Webb summarizes in his All About Psychology substack,

"Controlled experiments indicate that photographic scenes of nature can: reduce physiological stress reactions, improve mood (increasing positive emotions and reducing anxiety), and restore cognitive capacities like attention. These benefits have been observed with exposures ranging from just a few minutes of slideshow viewing up to longer immersive experiences. Laboratory science gives us confidence that the effects are real and not merely due to placebo or getting a break – It would appear that there’s something uniquely restorative about nature’s imagery."

Did you catch that last line? "... It would appear that there's something uniquely restorative about nature's imagery." 

Uniquely Restorative. Now that is pretty cool.