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Go Outside! (Why Contact with Nature Is Crucial for Health.)

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When addressing our health, many of us tend to focus on the quality of our diet and exercise as the primary methods of improving our overall wellness. We often believe that if we perfectly “dial in” our diet and exercise routine, then optimal health will surely follow. This concentration on perfecting both food and fitness in the quest for well-being can often lead to the neglecting of certain important relationships in our lives, particularly relationships with others.

But what about your relationship with nature?

You may not have considered the possibility of fostering a “relationship” with nature – after all, how can you have a relationship with a non-human entity?

From an anecdotal perspective, how many of us have taken a long walk in the woods, and felt soothed by the sound of the wind in the trees and the crisp smell of leaves? Or have been moved by the beauty of a snow-capped mountain range? Who wouldn’t enjoy an evening watching the sunset at the beach, sand between the toes, with the rhythmic ocean waves lapping at the shore?

Experiencing these profound moments of peace, happiness, or wellness in the context of nature is a universal event, and demonstrates that contact with nature is an integral part of our well-being as humans. In a public health context, exposure to nature has been used as therapy for short-term recovery from stress or mental fatigue, faster physical recovery from illness, and long-term overall improvement on people’s health and well being (1).

Research supports the theory that our relationship with nature is a fundamental component of maintaining good health. This “biophilia hypothesis” suggests that there is an innate affiliation of human beings to other living organisms, both flora and fauna, and perhaps even an innate bond with nature more generally.

The biophilia theory is supported by both common sense and clinical evidence. Many controlled trials and observational studies have demonstrated the positive therapeutic value of both the physical and visual exposure to nature, with benefits shown for a diverse range of diagnoses spanning from schizophrenia to obesity.

This biophilia theory makes sense in an evolutionary context as well.

Many species of animals use habitat selection as a criteria for successful survival, focusing mainly on patterns of tree density and openness of view. Early humans were no different; a preference for living near water and an abundance of green plants would have indicated greater food availability, with both edible vegetation and herbivorous animals in plentitude (2).

The ability to identify relaxing, restorative natural settings would have also allowed paleolithic humans the opportunity to recover from stress or fatigue, and would have been adaptive to survival. Those individuals who were able to settle in these types of environments would have gained a survival advantage, which may explain human beings’ preference for certain landscapes.

While we evolved outdoors and amongst nature for most of the last two million years of our species’ existence, the movement to a largely indoor environment has been a recent development for humans. Much like our diet, our physical environment has changed drastically in a comparatively short amount of time.

We have broken our strong connection with the natural environment very recently, and have not had the chance to adapt to our new life of shelter and confinement. The advent of electricity has been even more recent, allowing our world to be inundated with artificial light at any time of day (or night).

A lack of sunlight and/or excessive amounts of artificial light can have a variety of negative health consequences. (Diane Sanfilippo of Balanced Bites has written an excellent post regarding the problems with artificial light and the different ways you can reduce your exposure.)

Our relationship with nature has been overcome by our relationship with technology.

Recent news stories have focused on the idea of “nature deficit disorder”, suggesting that children who spend too much time staring at screens may develop attention deficits, hyperactivity, or depression (3). While our children may be bearing the brunt of this nature deficit, it stands to reason that those of us that spend forty hours a week or more with our eyes glued to a computer screen may have similar negative health consequences.

While we may not be able to quit our jobs, sell our houses, and move out into the wilderness (or can we?), there are many ways to alleviate our growing nature deficit:

  1. Take your exercise outsideResearch shows that exercising outside confers even greater physical and mental benefits compared to the same exercise indoors. Take a long walk at your local park (bundle up if it’s cold) rather than plugging away on the treadmill in your fluorescent-lit gym. Take advantage of warmer, sunny days and move your workout into the wilderness. It may take some creativity or extra planning, but the mental and physical benefits will be worth the effort. You may even find yourself enjoying your workout more than usual!
  2. Invest in a pet – Companion animal relationships have been essential to the survival of primitive humans, and pet-keeping was common in hunter-gatherer societies. Pet ownership not only gives people a sense of companionship and nurturance, but also provides a connection to nature in a more tangible sense. Contact with animals has been shown to decrease risk of heart disease, lessen anxiety, and reduce depression. Not to mention, there’s nothing more motivating to get outside than a hyperactive dog!
  3. Grow an indoor garden – If getting outside on a regular basis is too challenging, consider the addition of indoor foliage to your home’s interior design. Studies show that indoor plants can boost mood, improve air quality, and reduce anxiety and fatigue. Even if you live in an urban environment, bringing green foliage into your living space can greatly benefit your connection with the natural world.

Our relationship with nature is a vital component of our wellbeing, and one often neglected due to the concerns of modern life. In order to more fully address our health and wellness as humans, we must consider the biological appropriateness of our environment to be just as important as that of our diet and exercise choices.

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65 Comments

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  1. The “or can we?” felt like a secret message to me lol. I think about that all the time – how could I actually do that?? I guess by just doing it

  2. When my daughter was very sick, and after she died two things helped to keep me sane: yoga and hiking in the North Shore mountains of Vancouver. Just being within the trees and on the trails allowed the silence I sorely needed. Hungry for fresh air I recall filling my lungs with deep inhalations, as if to remind myself that I was still alive when so much of me felt numb.

  3. Hello Chris,

    Kudos to you for drawing attention to the relationship between nature and well-being.

    I run hiking retreats in British Columbia, Canada. I use the power of poetry and the natural world to help people explore the changing terrain of their inner psychological landscapes. Nature is an especially wise teacher in this regard. It contain all the metaphors and the lessons we need for understanding where we are on the ‘curve of our own transformation.

    Keep up the good work!

    Adrian Juric
    http://www.innerlandscapes.org
    ‘Hiking Retreats for Inner Explorers’

  4. This totally makes sense to me. Before reading this, I thought about this intuitively and realized the difference in my mental function when I went outside as opposed to didn’t.

  5. I have always loved spending time outdoors. When we were about 5 or 6 my sister and I tamed the ground squirrels to eat food from our hands as we sat on a huge rock in the woods behind our house. My family used to sleep out under the stars in our backyard and my dad would teach us about the stars. We always went camping and slept in a tent and went exploring in the woods. My dad taught us to look for birds nests and to be respectful of nature. Now I love to wildcraft plants that I use for teas or tinctures or other herbal products. I feel most alive when I am sitting on a rock out in the forest just listening to the wind in the trees and trying to determine what the different sounds I hear belong to. I only wish I lived closer so I could spend time there every day, in each of the seasons of the year.
    I also love to garden. It is my stress relief.

  6. This is so true and I’ve always sub-consciously know it. I can always tell that when I’m feeling overall more stressed and burnt out it coincides with me being indoors more than usual. I like to meditate during a sunset, that’s my favorite activity for communing with nature. But fishing, hunting, and hiking are great as well.

  7. Big believer in this. I’ve structured my life to enable me to get out into the wilderness most weekends. Fortunately my partner has too. Last year, we managed to spend 116 days there and we work full-time. 7 days so far this year and I’m aiming for 120 days – my usual target. I read a book written by a woman who believed it is inherent for human mental health to be out there last year but couldn’t google it as I couldn’t remember what it was called. Apparently a walk in the woods equates to a dose of Prozac (not that I believe in promoting SSRI ‘s that may not work).

  8. One of the reasons I love living on a farm near the Mendocino coast is the natural beauty and the daily contact with nature. I took a barefoot walk on a gorgeous beach on Friday, a conscious effort to practice earthing. On the farm, there is gravel in the driveway and prickly stuff out in the pastures, so I’m not yet sure how to manage that. I guess my feet need to toughen up. I do hug my animals a lot, though. Most chickens don’t like that, so I sit in their fenced run and let them hop up on my lap or shoulders (or head, occasionally). Now that’s contact with nature!

    I feel sure that a longing for nature is inherent in our human DNA, and probably many people don’t realize what that longing is. For sure, pets help us to reconnect with the rest of the nonhuman world, and being able to interact with my chickens and goats as well as cats and dogs is very meaningful to me. The animals are also models of healthful living. They don’t “consciously” choose a nutritious, species-appropriate diet, perhaps (it’s my job to provide that), but they respond beautifully to it, and that serves as a potent reminder that I, too, must choose a biologically appropriate diet, hence my (gradual) shift to paleo over time. Thanks for the information and inspiration, Chris!

  9. makes total sense. From another angle, plenty of studies have shown nature improves mindfulness and focus. there is something not right about living amidst concrete and brick constantly, and we all need to refresh periodically.