While you’re stuck inside going stir crazy, take some time out of your for a mental vacation by looking at travel images.
Everywhere you turn right now, you cannot escape news about the Coronavirus and how devastating it is. While it’s important to keep up with what’s happening in regard to this, at some point we must switch off the news and back away from sources that cause stress in our daily lives. Normally, we would do this by heading outside to a park to be surrounded by flowers, birds, cute little puppies, and more, but the reality is we can’t do that right now. So, how can we help relieve some stress from our lives? According to some research, just looking at travel images, and images that include fractals can help you shed a ton of stress in just a few minutes. Let’s talk about this after the break.
An article posted by CNBC in their Global Travel section recently discussed how looking at travel images and pictures of fractals for just five minutes per day can help relieve stress. Let’s face it; we are under enormous amounts of stress right now with all the crazy that is happening in the world, so if something as simple as looking at photos for just five minutes can help, we’re all for it.
As photographers, we know that the images we take and share elicit many different feelings and emotions in the people who view them. There is no doubt in our minds that one could quickly feel much calmer after looking at travel images of gorgeous places. As we look at a photograph of stunning mountains, we can imagine the quiet, the fresh air, and the sounds of nature. We can look at images of a beautiful beach, and we can imagine the feeling of the warm sun hitting our skin, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, the sound of people enjoying each others company. These are things we all sorely miss at the moment.
Studies have also shown that pictures of fractals can increase brain waves and blood flow to parts of the brain that control our emotions. Fractals can be found in nature easily, and they provide the stimulus we need to feel. Fractals are objects in which the same shapes and patterns repeat themselves over and over again. They can be found in leaves, flowers, clouds, and anything else that we perceive as having endless patterns. A quick search on Instagram for the keyword fractals brings up over 300,000 images that you can look at during some quiet time.
Pictures are powerful; there are no two ways about it. So, if you find yourself feeling flustered or stressed during this tough period, take some time for yourself, meditate, and look at travel images and fractals for five minutes per day. The mental vacation could help you overcome the stresses of our current reality. Be sure to check out the full article at CNBC and look at some images that will help soothe the soul.