![]() Taylor is now working on getting fractals onto solar panels and new buildings - using these huge blank surfaces to weave fractals into urban life, and hopefully, lower the stress levels of passers-by. “Some of this is related to the fact we’re no longer engaging in this symbiotic relationship with nature’s fractals.” “America spends billions of dollars a year on stress-related illnesses,” says Taylor. The problem is, people now spend too much time in artificial, built environments, and not enough time in nature. “We’re in our comfort zone, and that puts us into a relaxed state.” “There’s nothing too demanding visually when we look at a fractal,” says Taylor. The bottom line: Humans evolved looking at fractal patterns in nature, so they’re wired to process this visual information very quickly. “Passive viewing works too - you could just put these fractals on the wall and that would be enough.” Why are fractals so soothing? “It’s almost as quick as it is to just say the words, the effect unfolds in seconds,” says Taylor. The amazing thing is, the calming effect is almost instantaneous, and you don’t even have to focus on the fractal to experience its benefits. They all lowered stress in a similar way. Usually you have to pop a pill to get people that relaxed.”Īs part of his studies, Taylor had people look at computer-generated fractals, scenes from nature, and Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings (which studies show are as fractal as nature’s patterns ). ![]() “That’s a huge physiological change to just have glanced at something. “We’ve looked at EEG and MRI scans, and we found that stress levels decrease by up to 60% just by looking at fractals,” says Taylor. Taylor has done study after study examining the effect of fractals on stress. “That’s what’s needed to transfer all of the oxygen through the blood.” Fractals and stress relief “If we take your lungs, all of those branches are repeating, and they generate an enormous service area within a small volume,” says Taylor. Your veins are fractal, your nerves are fractal, even your bronchial tree is fractal.įractals are nature’s strategy to be more efficient and get the job done. Get this - your body is full of fractals. “Nature has chosen fractals to be its basic building block.” ![]() “It’s spectacularly simple,” says Richard Taylor, a University of Oregon physicist and a leading researcher on fractals. The leaves, too, have veins that mirror the shape of the branches. Go even closer, and you see still smaller branches, and then tiny twigs. When you zoom in on those branches, you see smaller branches split off from them. Picture a tree - the big branches of a tree create a large pattern. RELATED: Get free guides, ebooks, recipes and more to supercharge your health What are fractals?Ī fractal is a pattern that’s repeated over and over in increasingly fine magnification. Find out how these patterns work, then watch this fractal video and feel your stress melt away. Artificial fractals, like those created by computers, have the same soothing effect. Do you know that sense of calm and wellbeing that you feel after gazing at clouds or watching the branches of a tree sway in the breeze? It’s not just the fresh air that’s relaxing you, it’s something else called fractals - the repeating patterns found throughout nature, in trees, clouds, rivers, and coastlines.
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