Yesterday’s article addressed the cognitive advantages to spending time working in the garden, preventing or slowing mental impairment. Another post covered the natural pain relief that time in nature or even viewing it through a window provides. Let’s now take a look at the numerous studies showing that nature-based interventions (NBI) also benefit mental health.
For years—decades—I’ve thought that urban dwellers were bonkers. Maybe it wasn’t a fair assessment; maybe I just attracted that type whenever I found myself in a concrete jungle. So it was kind of a relief to come across some studies that revealed the truth of the matter. City slickers really are more likely to be nuts. (City slickers, don’t take offense. The studies only show that you’re more likely to be nuts. Not that you are nuts. However, taking offense and posting about it in the comments will suggest to the other readers here that you actually do belong in the latter group.)
A British study in 2013 found that people who lived in greener, less urban areas have better mental health.[1] A Dutch study revealed that those who had green areas within 1 km of their home experienced fewer mental health issues. The effects were most pronounced in children under the age of 12 years and among those in lower socioeconomic groups. And, as found in so many other studies, mental health issues like depression and anxiety were far less common among those with greater exposure to green space.[2]
Furthermore, a Danish study identified the importance of regular time in nature for children. Those raised in the most urban environments are nearly 50% more likely to develop anxiety and mood disorders than their rural counterparts. They’re 200% more likely to develop schizophrenia.[3] Researchers in Scotland found that children with private yards to play in were far less likely to be hyperactive. The benefit was greatest for children from lower socioeconomic classes and/or whose parents had lower education levels.[4] Children need more time playing in nature to develop their brains for the education that comes from books in the future.
For teens and older adults, meta-analysis of numerous studies revealed that the effects of gardening and being in nature affect wellbeing (which covers issues like depression, anxiety, quality of life, and life satisfaction) much more quickly than they affect health issues like weight, which will be covered in another post. For many of us, unfortunately, gardening is seasonal. We can’t dig in the dirt and get those beneficial bacteria on our skin when the ground is frozen. We can, however, go for walks, chop wood, or play in the snow, especially when the sun is shining.
Not mentioned in the articles I read for this post, but covered elsewhere in research and on the blog, are the medicinal benefits of sunshine. And one of them involves the serotonin uptake that occurs through the eyes and skin.[5] Even if we can’t reap the benefits of garden work in the winter, getting into nature is essential to good mental health.
[1] https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es403688w
[2] https://jech.bmj.com/content/63/12/967#T1
[3] https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1807504116
[4] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935117313907
[5] Randy A Sansone, et al., Sunshine, serotonin, and skin: a partial explanation for seasonal patterns in psychopathology? Innovations in clinical neuroscience, Vol 10 No 7-8, 2013, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3779905/ (accessed 24 January 2022).
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