Feeling uptight and stressed? Then have a peek at the pines or ogle a few oaks. A Texas researcher says looking at trees can reduce stress [1] and help us work [2] more efficiently.

Professor Roger Ulrich of the University of Texas [3] says his research has found that within three to five minutes of glimpsing a tree, people begin to shed the effects of stress [1]. It works particularly well for auto drivers whose route to work [2] takes them along leafy tree-lined streets.

"The effects when we look at trees goes well beyond aesthetics to include a stress-reducing or relaxation effect," Ulrich says. "Our feelings are improved, our blood pressure can be reduced and our muscles [4] relax."

He used video simulators to mimic test subjects' journeys to work [2] -- some down country roads, others in built-up urban areas. He says those who drove with trees and countryside in their peripheral vision [5] were "much less stressed and better equipped to deal with the stressful arrival at work [2]."

Deal with the pressures. Read ThirdAge's Stop Stress From Burning You Out. [6]