Be calm, to stay active.

This might sound confusing or even like a contradiction, but let’s dig into what it means as we age, to be healthy and able to be active.

When we’re calm, we are in a healthy frame of mind, which is also ideal for our bodies to restore, renew and even heal faster and reduce the damage stress can instigate on our systems. Being calm, with this focus on the definition, means we aren’t ruminating on problems, anxiously waiting for what’s next on our growing to-do lists or being lost in thinking about past problems.

Anticipating future problems means we’re taking time from being in the moment. And, yes, anticipating a future problem can be reframed by calling that “solving a future situation I see facing me.” That’s more constructive and a topic for future research!

What’s in our immediate environment can hold the answer on how find a calming influence – which will have positive effects such as reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure and allow more clear thinking. This type of calming influence is called “soft fascination.” Soft fascination is finding something that holds our attention but allows us to replenish our body and its own healing mechanisms.

Taking a walk surrounded by nature is an example of where you can find soft fascination, while watching a television show (whether a streaming feature you are wrapped up in or a trusty standby on a standard broadcast channel) is an example of an activity which requires more processing by our brains, distracting from the input of the calming effects of being absorbed in the natural world.

Your question at this point can rightfully be, “I have no access to a trail to make a nature hike,” or, “It’s too cold outside, and I don’t have clothing adequate to be outdoors for long.” You might be surprised to learn that research has shown the calming, restorative effects of the natural world can be infused in your daily routine even through observing indoor plants or even faux flowers!

The work of Karen Hugg is geared toward this research, and her explanations are readily understood. Her book, “Leaf Your Troubles Behind: How to Destress and Grow Happiness Through Plants,” is a must-read for people interested in how plants can be beneficial in our lives. From the viewpoints of avid gardeners in New Hampshire, this is an obvious notion, while those who don’t garden might see plants as creating drudgery.

But consider the research indicating how the color green is calming because its shorter wavelengths don’t need our eyes to use any energy to adjust to seeing it. The color green, for most people, makes us think of the natural world – so we center and focus on less external stimulation. Herbal concoctions have long been known to help heal and cure certain maladies or disorders, indicating even more that plants can offer.

For one more angle to understand the research about the connections between a calm frame of mind and restorative benefits, consider the research of Avik Basu and Jason Duvall. In their article (along with other co-authors) “Attention Restoration Theory: Exploring the Role of Soft Fascination and Mental Bandwidth,” in the Environmental Psychology journal from May 16, 2018, Attention Restoration Theory is outlined and defined.

This article, along with other publications by those authors, helped set the stage for many medical practitioners who now prescribe – yes prescribe – connection time for their patients to dedicate to absorbing nature! They acknowledge how many of us have precious little connection with elements of nature and how plants and the sounds of nature can calm us down and allow us to renew and recharge, with what is known about soft fascination.

Bringing up the sounds of nature, along with benefits of seeing plants or being outdoors, is another angle to consider about how being calm allows us to stay more active. The current trend about nature connections to our health includes understanding songbirds’ ability to help us. Whether in real life in your own backyard or surrounded by nature in an environment you can visit, hearing songbirds has been shown to lower anxiety and reduce innate paranoia. Traffic noise has the opposite effect in several research projects.

The bird songs tap an ancient reaction, where we sensed if birds were calm and chirping happily, there was no imminent danger or predators.

Just as it’s been proven that seeing plants and flowers, whether indoors, outdoors or even “fake” triggers calm sensations, hearing recordings of bird songs can have the same positive reactions on our mindsets. When we hear recordings of the songs, breath becomes more regular and we have liberated parts of our minds for relaxation and minimizing cortisol release.

So how do these ideas, facts and research weave in to our daily lives to help us stay calm and therefore be able to be more active? By reducing inflammation and the aches and pains we may have ascribed to “just getting older,” we can feel more limber and enjoy walks outside or tasks in our gardens or learning firsthand what the pickleball craze is all about!

It can take practice, but take some time to sit in a lawn chair or set yourself up comfortably and look out a window for a few minutes each day. Work your way up to making this a habit, and try 10 minutes a day as a prescription for what you need to accomplish that day or think back on what you did accomplish or enjoy that day.

When you see or hear a bird on a branch or in a bush you may have zeroed in on, make that the center of your thoughts. Chances are good that once you hear one bird, you will hear another – of the same type or of a different type in response to the first.

If you can’t access the natural environment so easily, then we do have an ability in our hands, with our smartphones. Check out the world-renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s website, birds.cornell.edu, or explore its app. There you can hear bird songs to practice with and see how you feel with this type of practical therapy.

Once you find yourself getting involved with Attention Restoration Therapy or soft fascination, you might enjoy the ability you’ll have to record bird songs you hear with the app’s ability to identify the bird by its song.

Research indicates that over time, your day will have a better flow to it, your body’s own healing mechanisms will kick in and you will feel more calm and able to accomplish more with more energy than you may have had in the recent past. Being calm will lead to a more active lifestyle!

Cris Blackstone is a New Hampshire-certified landscape professional and a UNH Cooperative Extension Natural Resources Steward.