Nature is good for the soul

Yesterday we talked about some of the health reasons for cleaning up our act environmentally. Yet another reason to preserve nature is we benefit from spending time in the outdoors.

In modern society we have become increasingly disconnected from nature as more and more of us live in cities. By some estimates we spend up to 90% of our time indoors and a 2017 study even found that references to nature in popular culture - in fiction books, film storylines and song lyrics - had decreased steadily since the 1950s.

The simple truth is spending time in nature, even as little as 15 minutes, is good for us. An article in The Guardian summarises the growing body of research as follows:

“As early as the 1990s, researchers found that going for a walk in a natural environment as opposed to an urban landscape brought about improvements in people’s ability to concentrate, feelings of wellbeing and even in blood pressure, he says.

Being in nature, studies tell us, has significant positive effects on our mental and physical health. Living close to green or blue spaces – rural or coastal environments – has been linked time and time again to reductions in the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Access to green space has also been linked to a reduced risk of loneliness and some have even suggested that interacting with microbes in the environment may be beneficial for our immune systems.”

Researchers in Finland also found that visiting urban green spaces three or four times a week cut people’s chances of turning to drugs for mental health problems like anxiety, insomnia or depression by up to a third. And a study reported in the Washington Post found that exercise done in nature improved working memory and concentration substantially more than exercise done inside.

All in all, more excellent reasons for us to preserve nature!