By: Sharon Brodin Are you a nature lover?
If you’re not yet, here are some reasons why it’s a love you may want to cultivate…
From Blue to Green
Many years ago I discovered the 2010 study Beyond Blue to Green: The benefits of contact with nature for mental health and well-being published by Deakin University in Australia (you can download the PDF version here).
In a nutshell, this study found:
“Close proximity to green spaces is clearly associated with reduced prevalence of depression, anxiety and other health problems…The take home message is that there is a significant relationship between mental health and greenness.”
The study cites other research done in Holland. Those researchers found that 63% of those who lived within a kilometer of a green space had lower rates of anxiety disorders and depression then those who didn’t.
Green spaces are simply those spaces that have grass, trees, bushes, flowers, water—spaces not completely taken over by buildings and concrete. It can be a local park or trail, and even your own backyard.
PsychiatryAdvisor.com refers to Mardie Townsend, PhD, one of the authors of the Australian study, in their article Mental Health Benefits of Nature Exposure:
The article describes her belief that, “the growing disconnection with our natural environment is exacerbating the escalating rates of mental illness. Mental health professionals should be prescribing time in nature as often as possible.”
“The researchers found that participants who had viewed nature scenes had higher activity of the parasympathetic nervous system—the “rest and digest” branch of the autonomic nervous system, which helps balance the activity of the sympathetic, or “fight or flight,” branch—than the other participants.
These studies show that nature’s benefits aren’t limited to being in nature physically. Even viewing pictures of nature provides mental health benefits. And these benefits increase when the natural scene viewed is on a grand scale:
“Newer research suggests that the more awe-inspiring the scene, the better…In a 2015 study, people who looked at scenes of awe-inspiring nature (grand mountain ranges and giant waterfalls, for example) had an even greater increase in mood than those who viewed “mundane” nature scenes such as parks and gardens.”
What Are These Mental Health Benefits?
Just what are these mental health benefits nature gives us? Here are some of the findings:
– Nature helps us deal with stress at home, at work or school.
– It helps relax and calm us.
– It enhances our emotional well-being.
– It helps trigger new solutions to current problems we deal with.
– Being in nature gives us a chance to reflect and think deeply.
– It helps us recover from mental fatigue.
– Nature helps enhance our curiosity and creativity.
– Multiple studies show it lowers our levels of anxiety, stress and depression.
Combine Nature with Exercise for a One-Two Punch
The mental health benefits of exercise are also well-documented. I won’t go into that here. Simply do an online search for “mental health benefits of exercise” and you’ll have more reading material than you can handle.
When you exercise in nature—whether it’s a local park or a wilderness area—you receive the combined mental health benefits of both nature and physical activity.
Here’s a real-life example:
William is a Scotsman now living in Norway. I met him over email last year while interviewing him for a client of mine. Now in his 50s, William has struggled with depression all his life, and was eventually diagnosed with bipolar.
In this article for the European magazine, Ocean Paddler, William testifies how sea kayaking has enabled him to not only live with his mental (and physical) health issues, but to keep them at bay to the point where they don’t disrupt his life anymore.
He says, “The label on my new medicine bottle: take one kayak with one paddle and add water—it’s that simple.”
Even Playing in the Dirt Boosts Our Mental Health
This is something I learned from a doctor in a webinar a few weeks ago: there’s bacteria in soil that benefits people’s health. An article on GardeningKnowHow.com confirms that:
“Prozac may not be the only way to get rid of your serious blues. Soil microbes have been found to have similar effects on the brain and are without side effects and chemical dependency potential.”
No wonder kids love playing in the dirt! No wonder so many people find gardening therapeutic.
How You Can Use Nature to Boost Your Own Mental Health
Are you getting your ‘daily dose of nature’? If you’re not, here are some suggestions to add it into your life:
– Include a dose of nature into your life as regularly as you do your prescription medications—daily.
– Discover and use local parks and trails.
– Listen to the sounds of nature all around you when you’re outside: birds singing, wind in the trees, rain, river rapids, waves on a beach, a waterfall.
– Take up an outdoor activity you can do regularly like hiking, biking, kayaking, rock climbing, snowshoeing or cross country skiing. You don’t have to be athletic to do these, and you’ll get the additional mental health benefits that come with being physically active.
– Don’t look at the weather as your enemy. Gear up for outdoor activity all year-round.
– When you must be inside, sit so you can look out a window to green spaces, if possible.
– Place pictures of the natural world on your walls, on your computer screen.
I’ve noticed an underlying but prevailing theme in all these studies: no one disputes the benefits of nature on our mental health…but no one knows why it’s true. At least no one who relies on purely “evolutionary” or “natural world” reasons. But as Christians, we have a simple explanation. Our loving, wise and creative God designed a wonderfully-integrated world. When we work, play, sit and just be in the environments He created, we benefit from them in extraordinary ways.
reprinted from: https://offigtreesandmustardseeds.com/
For more articles by Sharon, go to Twin Cities Outdoors and Active Outdoor Women.
Originally found on page: https://offigtreesandmustardseeds.com/god-designed-nature-to-boost-our-mental-health/
