Staying in the Nature versus Psychological well-being

Where would you prefer to spend time in nature?

Connect + Feel = Happiness

Nature has everything that you can celebrate everyday; go in the green or make your space green wherever you are,.... click here to buy beautiful indoor plants

For spending time in nature you do not need to plan anything, it can be your day to day routine but the point is spending quality time with consciousness where you really have a feeling of joy, wonder and gratitude for each creation of nature.

Staying close to nature improves physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. It makes us feel alive from the inside, and we should not compromise it for recent developments like urbanization, technology, or social media (Louv, 2015).  

Nature helps in emotional regulation and improves memory functions. A study on the cognitive benefits of nature found that subjects who took a nature walk did better on a memory test than the subjects who walked down the urban streets (Berman, Jonides, & Kaplan, 2008). Further more, environmental psychologists have argued that there is a value component added to the human-nature relationship. By staying close to nature, we feel more grateful and appreciative of what it has to offer to us (Proshansky, 1976).

Nature walks benefit people suffering from depression. Studies had shown that people suffering from mild to major depressive disorders showed significant mood upliftments when exposed to nature. Not only that, but they also felt more motivated and energized to recover and get back to normalcy (Berman et al., 2012). Recent investigations revealed that being outdoor reduces stress by lowering the stress hormone cortisol (Gidlow et al., 2016; Li, 2010).

Nature walks and other outdoor activities build attention and focus (Hartig, Mang, & Evans, 1991). There are pieces of evidence that indicate strong environmental connections to be related to better performance, heightened concentration, and reduced chances of developing Attention Deficit Disorder (Faber Taylor & Kuo, 2009).

A study at the University of Kansas found that spending more time outdoors and less time with our electronic devices can increase our problem-solving skills and improve creative abilities (Atchley, Strayer, & Atchley, 2012)

Environment Minister Rory Stewart said: Mental health is one of the most serious and complex issues that we face in Britain today and it is great that we now have clearer scientific evidence that nature is so beneficial for our minds and our sense of self.(www.gov.uk)

References and further reading:   

Connecting with nature offers a new approach to mental health care - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Positive Effects Of Nature On Your Mental Wellbeing (positivepsychology.com)(2022)

Nature and the Brain - alive magazine