wellness by nature
WELCOME TO LIFE ENVIRONMENTS
Until recently, there was little research being performed relating to the influence of exposure to nature on humans. The good news is that research is not only being performed more today, but is yielding unexpected results. In a nutshell, scientists are coming around to the idea that we are linked genetically to nature’s experience in terms of health, wellness, and life quality. Here's a few research studies you may find interesting.
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Mental Wellness
1 / Improves Depression
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Less time spent outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with higher depression and anxiety in a large Kaiser Permanente cohort (over 20,000 adults participated).
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People with depression who walk in nature have improved mood.
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The prevalence of depression was decreased in neighborhoods with vegetation cover and bird abundance.
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A survey found that higher levels of greenspace is associated with low levels symptoms of depression.
2 / Decreases Stress and Anxiety
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Time in nature significantly decreases anxiety and stress in children.
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Nature can significantly reduce cortisol levels, a physiologic measure of stress, as shown in individuals who participated in forest bathing sessions.
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Exercising in natural environments relieves stress better than exercising indoors.
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A survey done in Wisconsin found that higher levels of greenspace was associated with low levels of symptomatology for anxiety and stress.
3 / Improved ADHD Symptoms
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Time in nature has been shown to significantly reduce ADHD symptoms.
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Natural schoolyards have shown to decrease behavioral problems.
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Children with ADHD concentrate better after walking in a park than another setting.
4 / Increased Focus
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Exercising in natural environments restores attentional level better than exercising indoors.
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Recess in a natural environment has shown to improve restorativeness and tests of cognitive performance.
5 / Increased Well-Being, Self-Esteem and Less Rumination
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Marginalized students with emotional and social difficulties who participated in an outdoor education program had significantly greater improvements in self concept than a control group.
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The availability and quality of neighborhood green space is associated with a greater sense of well-being in adults and children.
physical Wellness
1 / Increased Activity Improves Obesity
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Increasing outdoor play in preschoolers decreases BMI. In this study, the more children played outside, the more their BMI decreased over the school year
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Exercising in natural environments has greater physical and mental health benefits than exercising indoors.
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Access to nature lowers rates of obesity and depression.
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Spending more time outside leads to increased physical activity. In this study, Canadian researchers found that, in a nationally-representative sample of 594 children, for each additional hour 5-6 year olds spent outdoors, they had 10 more minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity.
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Increased outdoor play in preschools leads to decreased risk of obesity. In this study, researchers found that the more children from Head Start programs played outdoors, the more their BMI decreased over the preschool year and the less likely they were to be obese. Sixty minutes was the tipping point for the association between outdoor play time and improvement in BMI. These associations were stronger among children who were obese at the start of the year, less active at home, and living in unsafe neighborhoods.
2 / Decreases Diabetes
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Higher residential greenness appears to be associated with a lower prevalence of diabetes
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There is a significant association between neighborhood greenness and reduced odds of having type 2 diabetes.
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Neighborhood greenness is associated with improved insulin resistance in adolescents.
3 / Decreased Hypertension
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Multiple studies have shown that forest bathing sessions decrease blood pressure. In one study, blood pressure measurements were taken in subjects who participated in a 1 day forest therapy session. The authors found that systolic and diastolic blood pressure significantly decreased during the forest therapy program relative to the value from 3 days before the program, and this decrease was maintained 3 and 5 days after the forest therapy program.
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Children engaging in green exercise have lower blood pressure than when engaging in standard exercise.
4 / Improved Cardiovascular Health
5 / Improved Sleep
6 / Improved Immunity
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Forest bathing/Shinrin Yoku significantly improved immune function, evidenced by an increase in activity and number of Natural Killer (NK) cells after a 3 day trip ; and decreased stress, shown by lower concentrations of adrenaline in urine. In addition, the increase in NK activity lasted for more than 7 days after the excursion.
7 / Improved Childbirth Outcomes
8 / Decreased Myopia
9 / Decreased Asthma
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Children who live in greener neighborhoods have decreased risk of asthma. Researchers followed 49,956 children born in 1998 in New Zealand through age 18 years and found that those who live in greener neighborhoods had a 6% less likely chance of developing asthma.
