The 3 Day Effect: Escaping The City and Spending Time In Nature

I have been feeling overwhelmed and burden by life. Looking through audiobook suggestions, I stumbled upon The 3 Day Effect. After listening to the first episode, I knew I had to escape the city and spend time in nature.

I had been searching for perspective and peace but had no clue where to look.

Motivation and inspiration were quickly disappearing and I felt like I was just going through the motions but was not pleased with the work I was putting out.

Something had to change.

The 3 Day Effect

The 3 Day Effect is an Audible Original written and narrated by Florence Williams. It shares the experience of many different groups of people and the effect of spending time outside on your nervous system.

The 3-Day Effect is a look at the science behind why being in the wild for a minimum of three days can make us happier, healthier and more creative. Whether it’s rafting down Utah’s Green River, backpacking in Colorado wilderness or strolling through Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C., scientists are finding that immersions in nature can reduce anxiety, enhance creativity and boost overall well-being.  

The 3 Day Effect is inspired by the work of David Strayer. In 2012, David Strayer and his colleges, Paul Atchley and Ruth Ann Atchley from the University of Kansas, published a study called Creativity in the Wild: Improving Creative Reasoning through Immersion in Natural Settings. Florence William and a team of scientists wanted to observe this process out in nature and experience the 3 Day Effect themselves.

The interesting thing was that on day 3 or 4, I noticed this shift. For weeks before this trip, I was lacking ideas and felt so disconnected from my creativity. Then, all of a sudden, I felt ideas slowly creeping back in. By day 7, my brain was overflowing with ideas.

It was like my creativity was waking up again.

Getting Outside

Growing up, I spent most of my summers outside. We had a family cottage on a lake and 80% of my work experience until the age of 22 was outdoors. I love being outside.

When we moved across the country, we bought a 1980s tent trailer (The Silver Bullet) to be able to go camping and explore nature. It wasn’t quite the same as the family cottage but it was our little nature escape.

2 years ago, we rehomed the Silver Bullet.

We loved that thing but the pully system broke and we had no space to fix it nor the money to do so. With the kids getting older, we decided that we could simply use our tent. We had the best intentions, but camping never happened.

Around this same time, we also moved into a townhome. We gave up a large backyard for better interior living conditions.

Then the pandemic hit.

Playgrounds closed for way too long. The local green spaces were packed full of people who also wanted to get into nature. It was hard to secure a good camping spot before the pandemic but now it’s next to impossible.

We haven’t been camping in 2 years.

I love being outside and would plan 3-5 day camping trips at least twice a month while the weather allowed it. We would love to get a hard sized trailer to be able to extend the camping season but that is still a dream for the future. It is hard to plan for the future with the current global circumstances.

All I know is that I miss having extended periods of time outdoors. My body, mind, and soul all need time outdoors. Upon reflection, after my trip, I have realized that the reason I want to move to acreage in a warmer climate is because I have this need to be outside.

After listening to The 3 Day Effect, I knew I needed to make an extended outdoor stay a priority.