Nature’s Impact on Health and Well-being
- Kaylee Mak-lin
- Oct 19
- 3 min read
With the increase in technological use, a lot of us – adults, teens, and others alike, are always if not almost always on some form of technology. Whether this be our phones, computers or ipads, we spend much of our time looking at screens and staying indoors. The high usage of technology leads us to become highly reliant on it and many people come to spend less and less time outdoors. The take away message from this post should be to encourage you to go outside when you can, go reap the simple benefits of being outdoors! Nature has always been there, it's all around us, so why should we not enhance our relationship with her and improve our health in the meantime?
How can nature affect your well being?
Being in nature has been shown in many studies and through research to benefit us in many ways. Nature has many cognitive, physical, and emotional benefits to us and we have much to offer to nature as well. Well-being falls under the cognitive and emotional benefits, where one of the best benefits nature has to offer to us is improving our well-being, it does so by decreasing mental stress and allowing our busy brains to appreciate our environment and take a breather to calm down
How does this then impact your health?
Being in nature has many health benefits - mainly affecting our mental health. Nature is seen to soothe the soul, reduce anxiety and stress by reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones. Based on research done in hospitals, schools and offices, even just a simple plant in the room can contribute to this calming feeling. This may be accounted for by the biophilia hypothesis that argues that because our ancestors were much more in touch with Earth and their environment because of survival needs, the modern society today will have an innate drive to connect back with nature. There are many more examples of hypotheses as to why nature impacts our health and it is most likely a combination of multiple factors.
Does this in turn benefit nature itself?
Yes! The more time we spend exposed to nature increases our need to care for it. Our connection to nature grows and we are more inclined to pick up trash being littered, water the trees and flowers, and to be more environmentally friendly overall.
How can you incorporate nature in your everyday life?
We are almost all always at a screen, for a lot of us this is for a large portion of the day. The most simple and effective way to incorporate nature into your everyday life is to take a break every once in a while, look outside or better yet take a 10 minute stroll outside. Relax from the stress of the day and give yourself a mood reset. Studies found that a few minutes (1-10) of exposure to nature can allow us to experience the benefits of better mood, better attention span and reduced feelings of stress and anxiety. There has also been a link found between two hours per week of exposure to better health and well-being.
Other ways to increase exposure to nature is to increase healthy behavior performed outdoors. This can be things like engaging with social connections such as a friend or colleague at a park, eating your lunch near the water listening to the sounds or water and the surrounding environment, adding plants to indoor spaces in which you spend the most time, opening the curtains to let in natural light, or exercising outside for a run or walk.
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