Technology is no stress-reliever

[The Feedster]

While TechRadar’s collective heart was beating far too fast waiting for the news of the impending iPhone 3G launch, we had no idea the stress it was putting on our office-bound bodies.

If we were clued up, we would have read the latest report by the Human Interaction with Nature and Technological Systems Lab at the University of Washington, and gone out scrumping for apples rather than waiting for Apple - see what we did there?

Window v Plasma

The study suggests that nature beats tech when it comes relieving stress. For proof, the Uni of Washington bods did a little experiment: they measured peoples' heart rates after some minor stress and found that viewing a natural scene – in this case out of a window – was the best way to reduce heart rate.

When the participants viewed a ‘natural’ scene on a Plasma TV, stress levels reduced much more slowly.

Technology is good

Speaking about the findings, Peter Kahn, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Washington, said: "Technology is good and it can help our lives, but let's not be fooled into thinking we can live without nature.

"We are losing direct experiences with nature. Instead, more and more we are experiencing nature represented technologically through television and other media."

We’re sorry, all we read there is: ‘technology is good’. And that little statement is enough to make our hearts go all a-flutter.



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