Nature hacks for life

Nature deficit disorder is an experiential hypothesis for behavioral ecology. It proposes that humans spending too little time outdoors are more likely to experience behavioral challenges and reductions in cognition and mental well-being. Richard Louv first developed these ideas formally in the book entitled ‘Last child in the woods’ in 2008. A more recent and expansive book was published in 2012 entitled ‘The nature principle’ and another in 2019 entitled ‘Our wild calling’. These works precipitated a movement to better support programs for outdoor activities for children and stimulated incredible (but not without controversy) scientific evidence that reconnecting with nature can enhance many performance measures in people - adult and children alike. Here, we can take a sensible perspective that tracking and enhancing simple interactions in natural systems, outdoors, like provides an opportunity to explore personal performance and develop new mental and emotional skills.