A new Channel 4 reality show has launched based on the principles of the Amish community - with the help of a Bristol-based expert. The Simpler Life sees 24 Brits leave ditch their modern comforts for a much simpler life off the grid, without technology, heating or electricity.
Led by a mental health researcher at the University of Bristol, Dr Myles-Jay Linton, the series will examine whether there are any benefits to their health and wellbeing by living this way of life. Guided by a Pennsylvania Amish family from Ohio, the volunteers on the 40-acre Devon farm will be taught how to grow crops, milk goats and cows, and how to live an almost pre-industrial existence.
The reality show will discern the impact of simpler living on life satisfaction, health and wellbeing, away from the trappings of modern society. The group’s journey was assessed by Linton alongside a team of environmental human health and psychology researchers from the Universities of Bath, Exeter and California. The researchers developed an analytical approach to examine the group using a sequence of psychological assessments completed by the participants before and during the six-month experiment.
