How nature is good for mental health

Effects of nature on the physical health 

People often feel more alive when they are outside in nature. Being in natural environments, whether walking in woods or sitting in an urban garden with pets has many physiological effects. Natural settings such as parks and gardens provide spaces for people to do beneficial physical activity (Nieman, 2003). So drug rehabilitation centres, prisons and hospitals can use this method to help the patients recover. Rothert (2007) states the benefit to physical health in nature including “the lifting and reaching motions of gardening can strengthen weak muscles and increase limited joint flexibility ranges. Physical stamina and skills such as balance and coordination can be improved”. Studies also stated that if people take daily exercise in natural environments like gardens could decrease the probability to suffer from dementia (Simons et al., 2006). Woods or gardens in urban environment just like natural gymnasiums and pleased views for urban people. 

The positive effects of nature on the mental health 

Most people know the benefits from sports and relaxation in nature, but the mental health and well-being benefits appear from the contact with nature are little cared about. People often choose to take a walk in natural scenes when they deal with stress, hesitation, or anxiety. Studies found contemplating nature can strengthen the activities of the brain and harmonize the functions of the brain overall (Furnass, 1979). This is the technical explanation of the answer that people like taking a walk when they want their brains clear. Living in cities always means facing many environmental problems, such as noise, crowds, and pollution. All these problems can cause negative affects on people. But the natural settings have the opposite effect. It has been demonstrated that the natural environments have a restorative quality for people who live in urban environments. Martin (1996) insisted that taking a recreation in a park with trees or flowers could make people have a clear understanding of the relationship with nature and then affected the lives and preferences of people.

Nature can generate positive emotions

Research reveals that environments can increase or reduce our stress, which in turn impacts our bodies. What you are seeing, hearing, experiencing at any moment is changing not only your mood, but how your nervous, endocrine, and immune systems are working.

 

The stress of an unpleasant environment can cause you to feel anxious, or sad, or helpless. This in turn elevates your blood pressure, heart rate, and muscle tension and suppresses your immune system. A pleasing environment reverses that.

 

And regardless of age or culture, humans find nature pleasing. 

IMPROVED SHORT-TERM MEMORY.

Being in nature can help improve your short-term and working memory. It doesn't matter if you're a beginner fishing for the first time or if you're taking a bike ride through a state park, nature has a way of working wonders when it comes to your memory.Studies show that people who spend more time outdoors have better moods, expanded thinking, and find more meaning in life than individuals who often stay indoors. Learn how to tie a fly with a friend outdoors or rent a canoe and go for a paddle on a nearby lake.

 

 

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