Why should we use GPS less?

Ready for a fun GPS ride? However, it does not exactly say that dependence on a navigator is a good habit, because by moving independently we make our brain’s navigation system more efficient.

In other words, the use of GPS serves less to train our sense of direction and to improve spatial memory, ie. the ability to organize information about the environment and create a mental map of space.

This theory is confirmed by a study by McMaster University (Canada) which compared people aged 18 to 87 with different degrees of skill in orienteering: a sport in which one moves through a forest or a city without a predetermined path , but passing through a series of points until you reach the arrival point, using only a compass and a map.

It turned out that more experienced participants could rely on a better mental representation of space and a more developed spatial memory.

So, to be oriented, training is needed. A study by the University of Lyon and University College London also confirms it: growing up in the countryside or in a city that has a complex map develops a sense of direction rather than being born in urban centers where roads form a simple grid, with branches at right angles.