According to research, we should bring nature back into our cities as it benefits the health of everyone who lives there. With more people moving into cities, diseases spreading from overcrowding become more frequent and severe. What’s more? Not only does the risk of more disease impact people’s physical health, but their mental health as well.
Specifically, these spaces are mostly found in urban areas such as reserves, parks, and the wilderness. Overall, people experience improved mental and physical health the more they engage in a greenspace, which proves why we must protect them.
Green Spaces and Mental Health
Currently, mental health issues are a worldwide problem, costing around 1.6 trillion dollars a year to treat, and they affect millions of people. Unfortunately, global healthcare systems have done an inadequate job of addressing the crisis of mental illnesses and disorders. Despite its prevalence, efforts at lowering or even containing the devastating crisis are either lacking or superficial. So maybe, by adding green back into our cities, we may truly make a difference in mitigating these health issues.
Due to global urbanization, however, people are struggling with accessibility to green spaces. Specifically, people who live in urban areas with these spaces tend to have less anxiety and depression than those living in urban areas without them. Likewise, the disease prevalence between both groups is impacted as greener settings have more residents with better health.
Although studies have shown that adding green to our surroundings can hinder burnout from life stresses, determining causality is challenging. For instance, self-selection can influence the relationship between green spaces and good mental health as more people move into or stay in greener environments. Nonetheless, people who moved from less green to greener areas show significant health improvements over time.
How Nature Affects Human Behavior
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Ultimately, adding more green to our surroundings can impact human behavior as it pushes people to adapt or avoid certain behavioral characteristics. Consequently, people gain more knowledge to address their issues more positively and are in better shape as they find more opportunities to engage in physical activities.
Indeed, these physical activities, known as green exercise, can keep you in shape. After all, research has shown a positive relationship between one’s well-being and their neighborhood’s greenspace. For instance, people who do physical activities outside risk of developing mental and physical health issues are reduced by half, compared to their counterparts.
Nature is the Best Remedy for Mental Issues
By spending time outdoors, further research shows that acute psychological outcomes increase, resulting in more support for nature-based therapeutic practices. Simply put, spending time outside influences people’s emotions and allows them to strengthen their ability to self-reflect in order to solve their problems. Additionally, research has shown that simply being outside increases people’s desire to pursue more physical activities to improve their well-being and health.
Who Benefits Most From Green Spaces
Regarding vulnerable people, the outdoors may provide the most effective therapeutic solutions to help someone’s health and wellness. In fact, these therapeutic interventions target groups like troubled youth and stressed workers to give them the help they need. In addition to these groups, people with mental illnesses and disorders can benefit from being in these spaces as well.
Moreover, people can seek out various interventions such as wilderness therapy and ecotherapy to manage their symptoms. To explain further, youth who struggle with behavioral issues may benefit from these spaces as they can escape their problems for a while. As a result of escapism, these groups can get better treatments and a much-needed break from the stress of their daily lives.
Likewise, people living with mental illnesses who stay in these spaces tend to develop better sleeping and eating habits. Besides these groups, anyone can benefit from being outside as its serene environment can elevate people’s emotional states and provide better fitness and mobility.
Green Spaces for Mental Health Needs More Work
Although research proves the importance of green spaces, we must be cautious of their overall use in improving our overall health. Regardless of its merits, research surrounding greenspace therapeutic intervention should still be tested and must live up to the standards reached by all other pharmaceutical treatments.
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