Let nature heal your mental health ; Only if you allow it to ....
"The Earth has music for those who listen" - Shakespeare
Urbanization is a potential threat to mental health and well-being. Cross-sectional evidence suggests that living closer to urban green spaces, such as parks, is associated with lower mental distress. Nature has the tendency to heal only if you take the first step towards it. It could be a walk in the park, bathing in a forest or gardening at home. Now with series of lockdown happening due to the global pandemic, covid-19, how about taking a step forward by gardening in the backyard? Gardening is a rewarding activity that can improve both physical and mental health... and its backed by science...
In 2018, a review is published in Clinical Medicine, the journal of the Royal College of Physicians, researchers note that gardening improves human health and thanks to its combination of physical activity with social interaction to nature and exposure to sunlight.
However, knowing is one thing, taking action is another. Making the routine stick.
Mental Benefits: Nature and adults
Even before the global pandemic. Five years ago, Shiyamala, a mother of three kids allowed her to self-heal by growing her own mini herbs garden at her backyard. She was diagnosed with autoimmune disorder and attempted her own research to reserve it and decided to make her own soaps to protect her skin.
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| Daily dose of roses even after Valentine's Day if you plant it at your garden. |
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| Mini herbs garden by the Founder of Mypure herbs @ Shiyamala |
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| Homegrown grapes |
She didn't only heal her physical body, even in that journey, she healed her mental health by coming in terms with the autoimmune disease and improving her lifestyle. She saw tremendous improvement in it that, she decided to share the cumulative wisdom she had that she enquired with the community. She educates school children and the community at her education center in this less green urban era.
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| Chilies at the backyard! |
We tend to focus on physical health, but mental health (which isn’t really separate from physical health) is arguably more reliant on regular exposure to nature. In a study, among both rural and urban Wisconsin residents, high levels of neighborhood green space were consistently linked to lower levels of anxiety, depression, and stress. And in case you’re thinking of moving, consider to move to “greener” urban neighborhoods to enjoy improved mental health in the subsequent years.
Mental benefits: Nature & kids
Kids already know it. You set one down in a forest or park and they know exactly what to do. They’re running, jumping, climbing trees, digging for bugs, getting dirty, collecting leaves, inventing games, and sporting the biggest smiles you’ll ever see. So that’s reason enough to give children ample and regular (daily) access to nature or green space. But there are also proven, measurable physiological and mental benefits for them, including: increased test scores in “nature-smart” kids; enhanced learning when curriculum is nature-based; reduced impact of ADHD; enhancement of self-discipline and self-control; improved cognitive function and concentration; and stress amelioration in highly-stressed kids. Kids with poor access to outdoor space are also more likely to have behavior problems.
References: https://www.marksdailyapple.com/16-ways-green-space-improves-your-life/
Photo credits : MyPure Herbs
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