Hearth and Campfire Influences on Arterial Blood Pressure: Defraying the Costs of the Social Brain through Fireside Relaxation

Abstract

The importance of fire in human evolutionary history is widely acknowledged but the extent not fully explored. Fires involve flickering light, crackling sounds, warmth, and a distinctive smell. For early humans, fire likely extended the day, provided heat, helped with hunting, warded off predators and insects, illuminated dark places, and facilitated cooking. Campfires also may have provided social nexus and relaxation effects that could have enhanced prosocial behavior. According to this hypothesis, calmer, more tolerant people would have benefited in the social milieu via fireside interactions relative to individuals less susceptible to relaxation response. Using a randomized crossover design that disaggregated fire's sensory properties, pre-posttest blood pressure measures were compared among 226 adults across three studies with respect to viewing simulated muted-fire, fire-with-sound, and control conditions, in addition to tests for interactions with hypnotizability, absorption, and prosociality. Results indicated consistent blood pressure decreases in the fire-with-sound condition, particularly with a longer duration of stimulus, and enhancing effects of absorption and prosociality. Findings confirm that hearth and campfires induce relaxation as part of a multisensory, absorptive, and social experience. Enhancements to relaxation capacities in the human social brain likely took place via feedback involving these and other variables.

Environmental Support and Strain of Emotional Experiences During a Challenging Task

“…Restorative interior design elements often integrate nature (Huntsman & Bulaj, 2022). Hearths and fireplaces have been shown to lower blood pressure (Lynn, 2014), and fireplace owners report building and sitting by the fire to support their wellbeing (Karlsson et al, 2020). We note that older adults are more likely than their younger counterparts to identify home as their chosen restorative environment (Scopelliti & Vittoria Giuliani, 2004).…”

“…The sample size was determined via power analysis. Assuming an effect size of 0.34 (Lynn, 2014), autocorrelation of .50, a sample size of 60 was determined necessary to achieve a power of 0.90 (alpha = .05).…”

The development of an interdisciplinary theoretical framework for Forest School in the United Kingdom

“…They are storytellers (Cree & Gersie, 2014) and use a range of creative skills and practices to support participants' engagement (Harding, 2021). This includes offering opportunities for participants to undertake creative endeavour, like creating wild art and bush craft (Coates & Pimlott‐Wilson, 2019; Harris, 2018), role play and drama (Craft et al., 2014), campfire cooking (Lynn, 2014) and singing/music (Brady, 2011; Ward, 2018). Through this, Forest School offers opportunities for creative and spiritual growth (Knight, 2017), allowing participants to connect with their inner selves through a connection with the wilder world.…”

A Personalised Emotion-Based Model for Relaxation in Virtual Reality

“…The fourth adaptation is the fire (py). It has been shown that a source of fire, such as a fireplace or an outdoor campfire, can be relaxing for some users [38], while at the same time fire can distress people with pyrophobia. The intensity of the fire scales linearly between 0 and 1, where 0 is no fire and 1 is a large fire.…”