There is a certain exhilaration which accompanies spending time outdoors among trees, animals and natural elements. Unfortunately, we so often chose to sit stifled in a box of air conditioning, carpet and drywall when the open sky is right outside our window. Research shows that our mental and physical health would improve if only we ventured beyond buildings more often.

For over 90% of human history, hunter-gatherers lived most hours of their day outdoors. Now we spend the majority of our time inside buildings and may only get outside for 10 minutes or so on our commute to work or school.

As college students, we should make an effort to increase the amount of time we spend outdoors because it's scientifically proven that nature can improve our well-being as well as our cognitive functions and attention.

An experiment by psychological science proved that walking outdoors or even just looking at a picture of nature can refresh and restore the directed attention function in your brain, improving cognitive functions and short term memory.

One experiment performed at the University of Michigan asked a group of random participants to take a walk through a city while another group took a walk of the same distance in an outdoor Arboretum. After the walk, the directed attention and short term memory of both groups were tested. Amazingly, the group who walked outdoors in the Arboretum had a 20% improvement in memory and attention!

Refreshing your mind is only one benefit out of a myriad of reasons to immerse yourself in the great outdoors. Taking a nature walk can reduce stress, improve your vision, reduce your risk of cancer, relieve depression, and give you a much-needed boost of vitamin D!

Nature has long been known to inspire artists and great thinkers alike, perhaps it was because the naturally awe-inspiring scenery gave their minds a break from everyday distractions and allowed them to focus on their thoughts!

Famous artists who used nature to ignite their creativity include Oscar Claude-Monet, Pierre-August Renoir, Henry David Thoreau, John Keats, Vincent Van Gogh, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Muir and countless others.

Henry Thoreau once said, "We need the tonic of wilderness." Those golden words ring especially true today. The tonic of wilderness spreads itself out for us, waiting on our door step everyday. It's about time we take advantage of this natural medicine. No other treatment is as costless, bountiful and open to every seeker as the great outdoors.

So maybe before your next test, take a walk at a local greenway or nature trail. Spend as much time as possible away from traffic, noise and crowds before an exam and your brain will thank you!