The benefits that nature provides for your mental health
Looking at trees through the window, having plants in the house or listening to birdsong can alleviate the tension of everyday life
As hard as it is to believe due to the circumstances in which human beings live today, especially in big cities, the human race has spent 99% of its existence in direct contact with nature. Taking this into account, it is not so complicated to understand that contact with the green of trees, with the song of a bird and with a beautiful sunset, can relieve stress, improve performance and mood, and ease and decrease chances of development of mental illnesses.
More and more studies analyze these benefits that nature provides, whether through vitamins, heat or the simple feeling of freedom that contact brings us, the fact is that the benefits of nature for health are many.
In 1984, Robert Ulrich reported that patients at a hospital in Pennsylvania, in the United States, who were admitted to rooms overlooking trees, showed a faster improvement, in addition to having a better mood and needing lower doses of medicine. Meanwhile, patients in rooms with windows facing a brick wall had complications, longer hospital stays and more complaints about hospital staff. Almost 100 years before that, in 1889, Van Gogh was already reporting the benefits that contact with nature, and portraying it in paintings, brought to his mental health, while he was voluntarily hospitalized to treat his bipolar disorder.
Among the advantages that nature provides, it is easy to mention:
- The influence of nature helps to recover the brain from fatigue caused by work, study, etc., improving performance and satisfaction;
- When incorporated in the design of buildings, provides calm, inspires environments and stimulates learning and curiosity;
- Provides a great space for physical activities, which improve learning, memory and cognitive functions;
- Outdoor activities can relieve symptoms of Alzheimer's, dementia, stress and depression;
- Contact with nature helps children's development, encouraging imagination, creativity and social interaction;
- It reduces symptoms of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) in children, and may also reduce the use of medications.
In the city, our brain is constantly stimulated. Traffic, lighthouses, pedestrians, vendors, all of this "screaming" to our brains, in a competition for attention. Before long, he is tired and may begin to experience memory loss. A small glimmer of green already brings brain relief, giving the brain a break from all the urban madness.
Studies show that, in environments with a minimum presence of nature, not only performance, but the focus on the task at hand is greater. Whether this presence is natural or artificial, it causes an automatic reaction in our brain, recognizing and accepting this relief. In offices without windows, people are more dissatisfied with their work, get sick more often and miss more, with a high level of anxiety and tension, characterizing the sick building syndrome, recognized by the World Health Organization. green element, workers are more satisfied with their work, more patient and less sick. And, in schools, students and I take classes in classrooms with a view of nature, they have better grades and more focus.
For children, playing outdoors, in addition to stimulating imagination and creativity, causes a feeling of freedom, freeing their brains, momentarily, from the constant stimuli of the city. The same is true for people with ADD, who, in a more natural and open environment, feel less pressure and stimulation. In patients with Alzheimer's, open places with diversity of plants, colors, smells and disposition cause positive situations. The same goes for patients with dementia and depression, providing a peaceful distraction.
With all this data, the question arises, can technology replace nature? Does a monitor transmitting a landscape have the same effects? And a good plastic plant, can it replace the real one?
Apparently, in terms of effects on the brain, the answer is yes. The monitor will provide a feeling of well-being, but at a lower intensity. The ideal is direct contact with nature, whether outdoors or through a window, whether in fields and forests or in parks, squares and gardens. It's best to leave to use plant-imitation technology in environments far removed from nature, such as submarines and spacecraft.
