The Surprising Side Effect of a Winter Hike

Why you really need to spend more time outside, no matter how cold it gets

Go hiking, then come home and write the Great American Novel? Spending two days hiking in the Tetons might not turn you into William Faulkner, but research published in PLoS Onesuggests that a few days in a national park may make you more creative in other ways.

The study followed 56 hikers on a four-day hike, without their laptops, cellphones, or any other technology, and the authors found that spending time communing with nature boosted the hikers' creativity by 50 percent, based on the results of a creativity test they took either before they left or toward the end of their journey.

It's all about giving your brain a break from the daily grind of technology and stress, says the study's lead author David Strayer, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Utah. "The human mind is heavily influenced by the environment we're in," he says. "It's not useful to become a slave to technology." Disconnecting from social media, cellphones, computers, and stress allows your prefrontal brain circuits, which are associated with creativity and higher-level thinking, to get restored.

Read more: http://www.organicgardening.com/living/the-surprising-side-effect-of-a-winter-hike

Admiral issues winter warning for pedestrians

Admiral has revealed more pedestrians are killed or injured in November than any other month*, but worryingly, children in particular aren't doing enough to make themselves safer and more visible on the roads.

The poll of 1,000 children by the car insurance specialist asked them about their road safety habits and found that less than half (48%) cross the road in well-lit places when it's dark, just a third (33%) wear reflective clothing and only a quarter (25%) wear anything brightly coloured. Even more worryingly, one in ten (10%) say they do not do anything differently when it's dark to make themselves more noticeable when it comes to road safety and awareness.

And to potentially put themselves at even more risk, nearly one in ten children (8%) admit to crossing the road while talking on their phones, texting or listening to an iPod/MP3 player and almost a fifth (18%) never follow the Green Cross Code when crossing the road.

Admiral Managing Director, Sue Longthorn, said: "As we move into the winter months it's paramount to be more aware on the roads as a pedestrian. With fewer hours of daylight, it's harder for motorists to see pedestrians as it is, but even more so if the pedestrians don't take precautions to make themselves more visible.

"Children need to switch off their electronic devices, follow the Green Cross Code and make sure that motorists can easily see them when they are crossing the road."

So, to highlight the importance of the Green Cross Code for the 21st Century, Admiral has put together a video with presenter Angellica Bell, highlighting what dangers exist for children on the roads and how to avert them. It also features Kevin Clinton from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. The video can be viewed at www.admiral.com/GreenCrossCode.

Admiral, (a trading name of EUI Ltd) launched in 1993, and is part of Admiral Group plc. It was set up to target those motorists who traditionally pay higher than average premiums, including those under-35, living in cities or driving hot hatches. It now offers its unique Admiral MultiCar policy for households with two or more cars.

Admiral writes its motor insurance business to a consortium of insurers, these being Admiral Insurance Company Ltd, Admiral Insurance (Gibraltar) Limited and Great Lakes Reinsurance (UK) plc.

The Admiral Group employs over 4,500 people in the UK and has 3 million customers in the UK.

*Reported road casualty statistics from the Department for Transport. In 2010 2,631 pedestrians were killed or injured on British roads in November, around 500 more than the average across the other 11 months of the year.

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