Importance of Nature for Human Well-being

Research has revealed that our environment has an incredibly significant role on the physical, mental and even physiological well beings of humans.

A displeasing environment can lead to stress, anxiety or even depression. These in turn cause increased blood pressure and muscle tension which can suppress the performance of our immune system. However, a pleasant environment can directly reverse these effects – relieving stress and depression. Interestingly, research has found that even adding a single plant in the room of hospital patients lead to lower levels of stress and anxiety.

Being outside in the pleasant nature has also been found to soothe pains, by distracting our senses with pleasant smells, images and most importantly, the feeling sensation on our bodies. This idea is evidenced in the literature, with a study done on patients who had undergone gallbladder surgery. Half of the patients were exposed to the view of trees and the other half only had a view of a wall. The study found that patients with the view of trees tolerated the pain better and were able to leave the hospital sooner than their counterparts.

Furthermore, spending time in nature has also been found to improve our focus and attention span. This is believed to be due to the fact that humans find nature inherently captivating. This captivation allows the mind to break from the anxiety of focusing on a source stress, essentially acting as a “refresh” button for our minds. A study has found that putting children who have ADHD into nature leads to an increase attention span later on in life.

Finally, it must be stated that not getting enough time in nature, and instead spending large amounts of hours in front of a screen, has been repeatedly demonstrated in literature to lead to higher probabilities of depression and overall lower quality of life. This could be due to the impact that screen time has on our personality, causing us to decrease in both empathy and altruism – important personality traits for developing healthy connections with others. In fact, a study on the residents of Chicago public housing revealed that residents who lived in environments with more nature, reported to have stronger feelings of unity with neighbours, stronger feelings of belonging and to experience lower levels of violence and aggression in domestic relationships.

In conclusion, we should all be seeking to make an effort to add quality time in nature to our daily routines. We should also make an effort to decorate our homes and workplaces with some ferns or flowers – which would provide our minds with a natural and pretty view, something it appears to crave dearly. And finally, we should all make a very great effort to protect the cleanliness and beauty of nature – by not engaging in littering and by taking all reasonable steps to help prevent the harming of the environment.

References

https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/how-does-nature-impact-our-wellbeing