Forest Walk

Robert Frost famously wrote: " The woods are lovely, dark and [deep:wide] ." But such natural settings may offer more than just beauty. They might also foster creativity. A recent study suggests that a backpacking trip can substantially [increase:decrease] just how [inventive:creative] your brain can be. The finding is in the journal PLoS ONE. Researchers sent 56 subjects out on four-to-six day wilderness hiking trips without access to electronic devices - no cell phones, no iPads, no game boys, nothing. Upon their return, the hikers took tests [designed:assigned] to measure [creativity:diversity] . A control group that hadn't been in the woods scored a 4.14 out of 10 on the test. But the woods wanderers scored a 6.08.