People are happier and healthier in well-planned neighborhoods. By that, I mean that people are happier when they have green spaces, community gathering spaces, and strollable neighborhoods.
The Journal Health Promotion International published a study that promotes loss of contact with nature as one reason behind the sky-high rates of depression plaguing the developed world. The study authors also push forth the idea that nature should be incorporated into public health plans.
Key Points:
"People with access to nearby natural settings have been found to be healthier overall than other individuals. The longer-term, indirect impacts (of ‘nearby nature’) also include increased levels of satisfaction with one's home, one's job and with life in general’ [Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989
(p. 173)]."Studies have found that people with views of nature in hospital rooms recovered faster with less pain and fewer complications than people with views of city scenes. Inmates were less stressed and sick when they had a view of nature. University students with a view of nature had better scores on tests than those without. (Paraphrased from the article)
One study found that "an experience of nature can help strengthen the activities of the right hemisphere of the brain, and restore harmony to the functions of the brain as a whole (Furnass, 1979
)"The scientific evidence is mounting, and it is on the side of nature. Is it surprising that the world that God created is where our heart longs to be? Where did Jesus take his walks of solitude when he needed recharging? In nature.
No comments:
Post a Comment