Category Archives: nature

November 21, 2020 · 12:13 am

Regular dose of nature may improve mental health during COVID-19 pandemic

I have to confess that as much as I enjoy riding my bike everyday, the fact that I live on the Chicago Lakefront and have beautiful Lake Michigan is no small consideration. There are also trees and various wildlife available, too.

A study published in Ecological Applications suggests that nature around one’s home may help mitigate some of the negative mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

**I shot this earlier in the week.** **You can see the Navy Pier ferris wheel in the background.**

An online questionnaire survey completed by 3,000 adults in in Tokyo, Japan, quantified the link between five mental-health outcomes (depression, life satisfaction, subjective happiness, self-esteem, and loneliness) and two measures of nature experiences (frequency of green space use and green view through windows from home).

More frequent green space use and the existence of green window views from the home were associated with increased levels of self-esteem, life satisfaction, and subjective happiness, as well as decreased levels of depression and loneliness.

“Our results suggest that nearby nature can serve as a buffer in decreasing the adverse impacts of a very stressful event on humans,” said lead author Masashi Soga, PhD, of The University of Tokyo. “Protecting natural environments in urban areas is important not only for the conservation of biodiversity, but also for the protection of human health.”

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Filed under COVID-19, mental health, nature, nature walking

Tagged as nature, outdoor exercise, outdoors

September 18, 2019 · 12:09 am

Time Outside May Benefit Health – Study

According to a recent British study published in the journal Scientific Reports, spending at least two hours a week outside may be good for one’s health. Nearly 20,000 English people were asked how many hours they spent in natural environments like parks, forests, and beaches in the last seven days; whether they considered their health to be good or poor; and if they felt their well-being was high or low. Those reporting nature contact of at least two hours per week were significantly more likely to report ‘good’ health and ‘high’ well-being compared to those reporting zero. (No additional benefit was seen from spending over 3.5 to 5 hours in nature.)

I shot this on a bike ride earlier this week. I love the reflections of the lights on Lake Michigan

While this association was seen even in people who did not meet current physical activity guidelines, the authors were unable to fully untangle time spent outside from time spent being active. It is possible that healthier, happier people are simply more likely to spend more time in nature or live in areas with more open space, but the association was seen even for those with long-term illness or disability. In this study, even people who needed to travel outside of their neighborhoods to reach a park or other natural area benefited from regularly spending time in nature.

As regular readers know, I am a nature lover. Here are a couple of my posts on being outside:

Urban greenspace boosts mental health

Tips on enjoying the outdoors safely

Benefits of exercising outdoors

Tony

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Filed under exercise outdoors, good health, happiness, nature, outdoors, Uncategorized

Tagged as good health, happiness, nature, outdoor exercise, outdoors

July 27, 2019 · 5:43 pm

Urban green space boosts mental health – Study

For the record, I pretty much live in downtown Chicago. I am a city guy and love the fact that I have access to everything a great city has to offer. Within a mile of my apartment, I have dozens of restaurants of every kind, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Public Library for starters. In the evening, there is the Chicago Symphony, the Lyric Opera and tons of smaller, but very professional theater groups. Those are some of the high points of living in a major metropolitan area. Nonetheless, despite this uber-urban environment, my favorite aspects of where I live are Lake Michigan over which I get sunrises every morning, along this lakefront lie a bike path stretching for miles. In addition, there is also the wonderful nature scene along the shore where rabbits, squirrels, ducks, geese and other wild life flourish. I carry nuts and seeds on the bike when I ride so I can feed the sparrows, ducks and squirrels.

I truly believe I have the best of both worlds – an urban environment as well as the beauty of nature – here.

Photo by Ian Turnell on Pexels.com

So, I was very happy to read about how urban green space relates positively to mental health in a study from Australia. Continue reading →

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Filed under Exercise, exercise benefits, exercise outdoors, green space, nature, outdoors

Tagged as blood pressure, Exercise, exercise outdoors, green space, nature, outdoors

July 28, 2018 · 2:01 am

Enjoying the outdoors safely …

I have written time and again about the benefits of exercising and doing it outdoors. When I visit a a health club I feel like a prisoner. Of course, I live on the shores of Lake Michigan with the wonderful Chicago lakefront outside my door. So, in that regard, the outdoors is an integral part of my life. But, for those of you who are in town, or in the burbs, there is some preparation necessary to enjoy nature in a safe way.

If you’re heading for the great outdoors, be sure to bring along some common sense.

That’s the best way to reduce the chances that a bite, sting, cut, scrape, burn, blister, rash, sprain, strain, more serious injury or other mishap will spoil your outdoor adventure.

“Knowing your limits, not trying to do too much, knowing where you’re going and what you might encounter there and being aware of the environment you’re in are the best ways to avoid problems outdoors,” said Henderson McGinnis, M.D., an associate professor of emergency medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, medical director of its AirCare emergency transport service, a recognized expert in wilderness medicine and an experienced outdoorsman.

I shot this on a recent bike ride.

“Doing a little preparation before you go and being sensible while you’re out there can make all the difference.”

That advice applies to veteran hikers, bikers, campers, climbers and paddlers, but it’s essential for people with no or limited outdoors experience. And there are lots of them these days.

That’s because Americans in general and children in particular simply don’t spend as much time outside as they once did. Consequently, overall familiarity with nature just ain’t what it used to be.

This byproduct of our high-tech, indoor-oriented society even has a name: nature-deficit disorder. Continue reading →

Sounds of nature help us to relax – Study

I am a great believer in enjoying the outdoors. I ride my bike outdoors instead of opting for the exercise bike at the health club. Ditto, walking. I walk a lot outside rather than on the treadmill. So, I was very happy to run across this study from the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS).

The gentle burbling of a brook, or the sound of the wind in the trees can physically change our mind and bodily systems, helping us to relax. New research explains how, for the first time.

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Researchers at BSMS found that playing ‘natural sounds’ affected the bodily systems that control the flight-or-fright and rest-digest autonomic nervous systems, with associated effects in the resting activity of the brain. While naturalistic sounds and ‘green’ environments have frequently been linked with promoting relaxation and well being, until now there has been no scientific consensus as to how these effects come about. The study has been published in Scientific Reports. Continue reading →

The Best TV Show To Feel Joy, Amazement And Awe

This is so nice to learn, both on its own and in connection with nature itself for me. As I have written more than once one of my great pleasures riding my bike on the Chicago Lakefront is being out in nature.

This was a sunrise I witnessed not long ago.

Tony

Our Better Health

The study compared TV show genres to see which makes people happiest.

Watching nature documentaries — like being out in nature itself — can help you feel happier.

The survey of 7,500 people around the world found they felt happier after viewing clips from BBC nature documentaries.

The study compared watching the documentary to the news or a popular drama show.

People reported that after viewing the nature documentary they felt more:

joy,
amazement,
awe,
and curiosity.

At the same time it reduced feelings of anger, tiredness and stress.

Professor Dacher Keltner, who teamed up with the BBC for the study, said:

“I have long believed that nature and viewing sublime and beautiful nature in painting, film and video shifts how we look at the world, and humbles us, brings into focus our core goals, diminishes the petty voice of the self and strengthens our nervous system.
When the BBC…

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