Nature Improves Stress and Mental Health

I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines.

~Henry David Thoreau

Thoreau may have had it right all along: getting back to nature, in forests and other green settings, is good for your mental health.

Says Dr. Eeva Karjalainen, a researcher from the Finnish Forest Research Institute, “Many people feel relaxed and good when they are out in nature. But not many of us know that there is also scientific evidence about the healing effects of nature.”

According to research, most natural green settings, including forests, not only help reduce stress, improve overall feelings of well-being and happiness, but also can reduce anger and aggressiveness. Even children with ADD and ADHD see a reduction of symptoms when spending time in nature.

According to Karjalainen’s research, blood pressure and heart rate are both lowered by being in nature, as well as tension levels in muscles and the production of stress hormones like cortisol. Karjalainen theorizes that visiting a forest or other nature setting may actually increase the strength of the body’s immune system, even increasing the number of natural cancer fighting cells the body produces.

Dr. Karjalainen is using evidence of the benefits forests and other natural settings offer, as well as the fact that may medicines we rely on, including many cancer treatment drugs, come from nature, to help encourage nature preservation.

“Preserving green areas and trees in cities is very important to help people recover from stress, maintain health and cure diseases. There is also monetary value in improving people’s working ability and reducing health care costs,” Karjalainen says.