Feeling Good In Nature

Last weekend, I took my kids to the movies, a 3D production that was absolutely not my taste, but they were dying to see it. It’s not something I do often, because I feel that it’s a rather anti-social way to socialise, sitting together, but not interacting at all. However, they were really excited, so off we went.

I was a bit tired going in, I must admit, but I came out feeling absolutely shattered. The combination of incredible volume, hyper colour, special effects and 3D, left my senses totally overloaded. The kids loved it, but looked the same as me as we left and were scratchy and irritable until bed time.

Talking about this with a friend, he shared the opposite experience, where his daughter (11) had woken up cranky, and was provoking her sisters, until she went for a run with a friend and sat on the beach. Apparently she came back transformed – calm, happy, eager to please – a mood which lasted all day. He said he was going to encourage her to run every day, if that was the emotional result.

Then, I came upon some research about what happens to the brain in nature – it’s common sense as well, but it serves to highlight the importance to all of us of getting outside every day and enjoying the benefits of nature.

Frederick Law Olmsted designed Central Park in New York City – he was convinced that beautiful green spaces should exist for all people to enjoy. He said, “the contemplation of natural scenes of an impressive character is favourable to the health and vigour of men, and especially to the health and vigour of their intellect.”

He is not alone in this view. 2500 year ago, Cyrus the Great built gardens for relaxation in the capital of Persia and 16th-century German-Swiss physician Paracelsus wrote, “the art of healing comes from nature, not from the physician.”

Research into “the nature effect” on all aspects of health continues. The University of Exeter Medical School recently analysed mental health data, collected over an 18 year period from 10,000 subjects.

They found that people living near more green space reported less mental distress, even after adjusting for income, education, and employment (all of which are correlated with health).

This was backed up by findings from Dutch researchers, who found a lower incidence of depression, anxiety, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and migraines among 15 other conditions—in people who lived within about a half mile of green space.

Lower mortality and fewer stress hormones circulating in the blood have also been connected to living close to green space.

We are blessed with many beautiful parks and outdoor areas in New Zealand. It’s easy to drive past them and almost forget that they are there, but make the effort to connect with nature for your health’s sake. Take a walk, read a book or just spend some time sitting quietly. If you are lucky enough to live close to the beach, take your shoes off and walk on the sand at the water’s edge.

Pottering in your own garden is also beneficial, there’s something incredibly grounding about working with the earth.

The same goes for the children in your family. If they seem tired and irritable, it’s easy to default to letting them curl up and watch tv, but if you make a little extra effort and take them puddle jumping or nature rambling, the rewards will be tenfold. They will be calmer, happier and more creative.

Environmental psychologists Stephen and Rachel Kaplan say that it’s the visual elements in natural environments—sunsets, streams, butterflies—that reduce stress and mental fatigue. Fascinating but not too demanding, such stimuli promote a gentle, soft focus that allows our brains to wander, rest, and recover. “Soft fascination … permits a more reflective mode,” they write, “and the benefit seems to carry over when we head back indoors.

“Imagine a therapy that had no known side effects, was readily available, and could improve your cognitive functioning at zero cost.

“It exists, they continued, and it’s called “interacting with nature.”