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Nature is Nurture - Green Spaces Improve Health - study
more evidence that living near a 'green space' has health benefits.
Date: 10/15/2009 7:05:55 PM ( 15 y ) ... viewed 2466 times This link to a BBC article about how green spaces improve health> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8307024.stm
----------Karlin>
I like to see any confirmation that nature is nurture.
This BBC article basically shows that living near a green space improves both mental and physical health. "This relation was strongest for children younger than 12 - they were 21% less likely to suffer from depression in the greener areas" it says.
"Green spaces help recovery from stress and offer greater opportunities for social contacts; the free physical exercise and better air quality could also contribute"
"The biggest impact was on anxiety disorders and depression"
Could we create a society that has more access to natural areas? It might mean making some changes, but all the evidence suggests it would be worth it on every level, even economic [since economics tends to be the bottom line in everything we do as a society].
One example is that of Venezuela, where up until recently there were a few "elite" landowners sitting on millions of acres of unused land. Pres. Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's part-time goofball and part-time hero, decreed that those landowners had to give up much of their unused land and hand it over to the peasants and poor people of Venezuela. The new caretakers of the land have put it to good use, increasing the production of produce and making a decent living for themselves for the first time and even contributing tax revenue to the government.
Maybe America, and others, could break up some of the huge corporate owned farms and let more citizens work the land. Small organic farms are the next best thing to nature!!
Anyhow, on a personal level, I have a strong connection to green spaces, if you don't mind me telling you about it.
I grew up in a small town with a "100 acre forest" at the end of my block. Within a 30 minute bike ride, we could be in a rabbit thicket, swimming with frogs and salamanders and garter snakes in the Red Deer River, or fishing in the little lake that was stocked with rainbow trout. All those things are gone now, even the river has been damned up and the amphibians are long gone due to the acidic conditions created by the oil industry. The golf course drained into the fishing pond, and that caused the weeds to choke off all the life in it. The rabbit thicket was plowed down for crop land.
I just went further afield to the mountains and climbed those peaks. It was wonderfully desolate and lonely up there, with a view that literally takes your breath away, as did the aerobic demands of the climb itself.
Being in nature often means getting a physical workout. I think that contributes to the wellness factor. It takes a certain kind of determination to force one'self to keep going and going on those long walks, and in doing that, in meeting that challenge, there is a 'getting-to-know-yourself' thing that helps keep us sane.
I have to admit that all that exposure to nature didn't save me from my Fibro illness, but I did spend time in the cities too, and that is where I got smashed up on a motorbike, which is what I think started all this fibromyalgia stuff. I should have stayed away, being a simple country bumpkin, lol :)
But even now, as much as I can, I get out into the wide open spaces and try to get a workout before my muscles cramp up. Those are my best days for sure, and I feel sorry for other Fibros, and anyone, who cannot do things like that. It is just a shame that healthy people do not make use of their bodies more...
This BBC article is at least acknowledging the fact that people are tuned into nature, and that the natural green and blue colors, and sometimes the browns and grays, helps us relax and feel positive. The sound of wind and water, and the absence of machinery noises, is good for us. The smells of grass and trees, along with the oxygen and without the toxins, means we will be healthier.
Enjoy and preserve nature!
and remember, when you are out there in the elements:
"there is no bad weather, only bad clothing"
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