Benefits of Nature
Schertz et al., 2021:
The is a plethora of evidence demonstrating exposure to nature to create a more positive affective state (Schertz et al., 2021).
Schertz et al. (2021) unpack the different effects of nature based upon the mode in which it is delivered. For instance walking in nature, natural imagery and videos, or virtual reality. This aspect of the work is highly beneficial to my project, as these are methods I have and will utilise in the future. They identify aesthetic preferences for natural environments to be particularly important in impacting affective states.
The work of Schertz et al. (2021) also unpacks the use of nature in treating mood disorders, which again highlights the astonishing benefits and impacts nature-based experiences can have upon emotional states.
It is stated that people spend a disproportionate amount of time away from nature, by being indoors (Kahn et al. 2010).
Schertz et al. (2021) found that longer, more immersive natural experiences had the largest effects on mood, however, these interactions are not always possible. This also sits in line with my findings from my Herb Intervention, as participants left the interactions with nature needed to be longer to be improved, but the circumstances of the event didn’t allow for this.
It was also discovered that people often underestimate the benefits to their mood they will feel after interacting with nature (Nisbet and Zelenski, 2011). This further demonstrates the necessity for a community to share knowledge on the power and value of nature in spaces.
Another fascinating idea highlighted in the work of Schertz et al. (2021) comes from the work of Openlands who created ‘Get Outside’. This is an interactive map showcasing natural locations around Chicago, encouraging people to visit them. This is a riveting concept and one I will look to apply within my community as a starting activity, perhaps in the form of a map of natural spaces around London using Jauntly. Keep a lookout for future blog posts expanding and implementing this idea.
Houlden et al., 2018:
Houlden et al. (2018) state that nature improving mental wellbeing is undeniable and well researched. They go on to explore the evidence of greenspaces in association with mental health through quantitative research. They discovered greenspaces to have positive associations to mental wellbeing, this being strongest for hedonic wellbeing (see blog post: ‘Defining the measures to utilise in my project’).
(Critique)- The work of Houlden et al. (2018) looks at the power of green space on mental health through the lens of planning to look to including increased green spaces in planning development. Although this is very interesting to read, especially with my past work in urban planning for my geography degree, the planning framework isn’t relevant to my current project. The results showcasing the power of nature do however support my case for why nature needs to be brought into city spaces.
Kasap et al., 2021:
Kasap et al. (2021) explore the social and mental benefits of interacting with nature. They note nature to provide peaceful, supportive, and emotional pockets of solace.
They state that having connections with nature extends cognitive abilities through recharging attention learning capacities, memory, executive functioning, and improving creativity (Kasap et al., 2021).
Nature is also found to create a positive mood, boost psychological well-being and relaxation by reducing anxiety and stress (Kasap et al., 2021).
In social contexts, nature can aid social cohesion via improving behavior, perspective taking and creating social value orientation (Kasap et al., 2021).
Well-being can be improved through reduced stress, negative moods, depression, and anxiety via building connections to nature (Kasap et al., 2021).
It is shown that virtual reality experiences of nature are effective in aiding mental health (Scates et al., 2020; Reese et al., 2021; Yin et al., 2020)
Subsequently, utilising nature in spaces to promote and develop connections to nature can instill improved learning and cognition, mental health benefits and even aid the construction of more cohesive societies or neighborhoods (Kasap et al., 2021).
Shanahan et al., 2015:
Shanahan et al. (2015) explore the type and quantity of nature that is required to provide health benefits.
(Critique) – This research is again conducted under a city planning framework and so its conclusions around the dosage of nature aren’t suitable for the context of my work,as they relate to time spent in nature to the amount of green space/ nature that needs to be included in urban planning. However, my work focuses upon how to bring nature into city spaces through addressing existing spaces and structures.
Dosage of nature was defined by Barton and Pretty (2010) as a measure of time spent exercising in green environments. However other measures of dosage of nature have been utilised in ecological and health studies (Shanahan et al., 2015).
They discovered that urban nature can be utilsied to provide an impactful and cost-effective tool to reduce health risks. However, in order to activate this change, further research into the specific types and amount of nature required for each possible health outcome is required (Shanahan et al., 2015).
The work also provides the highly interesting and relevant fact that in 30 years’ time, 70% of the global population will live in cities (World Health Organization, 2013). I found a slightly more updated statistic form the United Nations (2018) stating it is predicted that 68% of the global population will live in cities by 2050.
(Critique)- Shanahan et al. (2015) are unable to provide precise answers in their work as to the quantities or types of nature needed to initiative certain health benefits, making it very difficult to action their work without further studies on this topic being completed.
What I Learned:
- Achieving aesthetics of natural environment is particularly important to impacting affective states and imporving emotional wellbeing (Schertz et al., 2021).
- Longer, more immerisve natural experiences had the largest effects on mood, however these intercations are not always possible (Schertz et al., 2021).
- Greenspaces have proven beenfits to mental wellbeing, especially hedonic wellbeing (Houlden et al., 2018)
- 70% of the worlds population will live in cities in 22 years time (accurate figure taking the date the statistic was created into account) (World Health Organization, 2013).
- People often underestaimate the benefits to their mood they will feel after interacting with nature (Nisbet and Zelenski, 2011)
- People spend a disproportionate amount of time away from nature, by being indoors (Kahn et al. 2010).
- Having connections with nature extends cognitive abilities through recharging attention learning capacities, memory, executive functioning, and improving creativity.Nature is also found to create a positive mood, boost psychological well-being and relaxation by reducing anxiety and stress (Kasap et al., 2021).
- Nature can aid social cohesion via improving behavior, perspective taking and creating social value orientation (Kasap et al., 2021).
- Well-being can be improved through reduced stress, negative moods, depression, and anxiety via building connections to nature (Kasap et al., 2021).
- Utilising nature in spaces to promote and develop connections to nature can instill improved learning and cognition, mental health benefits and even aid the construction of more cohesive societies or neighborhoods (Kasap et al., 2021).
- It is shown that virtual reality experiences of nature are effective in aiding mental health (Scates et al., 2020; Reese et al., 2021; Yin et al., 2020).
Reflections
Through this lit review around the benefits of nature, I have uncovered some incredibly compelling and intriguing information that I am going to implement in creating content for my community to inform around the power of biophilic design. For example, that 70% of the world’s population will soon live in cities, or that people underestimate the power nature can have upon their mood, or how Openlands was utilised to create interactive maps of nature.
Bibliography
Houlden, V., Weich, S., Porto de Albuquerque, J., Jarvis, S. and Rees, K., (2018). ‘The relationship between greenspace and the mental wellbeing of adults: A systematic review.’ PloS one, 13(9), p.e0203000.
Kahn Jr, P.H., Ruckert, J.H., Severson, R.L., Reichert, A.L. and Fowler, E., (2010) ‘A nature language: An agenda to catalog, save, and recover patterns of human–nature interaction.’ Ecopsychology, 2(2), pp.59-66.
Kasap, E.Z., Ağzıtemiz, F. and Ünal, G., (2021). ‘Cognitive, mental and social benefits of interacting with nature: A systematic review.’ Journal of Happiness and Health, 1(1), pp.16-27.
Nisbet, E.K., Zelenski, J.M. and Murphy, S.A., (2011). ‘Happiness is in our nature: Exploring nature relatedness as a contributor to subjective well-being.’ Journal of Happiness Studies, 12(2), pp.303-322.
Reese, G., Kohler, E., & Menzel, C. (2021). Restore or get restored: The effect of control on stress reduction and restoration in virtual nature settings. Sustainability, 13(4), 1995.
Scates, D., Dickinson, J. I., Sullivan, K., Cline, H., & Balaraman, R. (2020). Using nature-inspired virtual reality as a distraction to reduce stress and pain among cancer patients. Environment and Behavior, 52(8), 895–918.
Schertz, K.E., Meidenbauer, K.L. and Berman, M.G., (2021). ‘Understanding the Affective Benefits of Interacting with Nature.’ In Nature and Health (pp. 7-22). Routledge.
Shanahan, D.F., Fuller, R.A., Bush, R., Lin, B.B. and Gaston, K.J., (2015). ‘The health benefits of urban nature: how much do we need?.’ BioScience, 65(5), pp.476-485.
United Nations (2018) “68% of the world population projected to live in urban areas by 2050, says UN” United Nations [Online] https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018-revision-of-world-urbanization-prospects.html Accessed 25/10/21
World Health Organization. , Urban Population Growth, Global Health Observatory Database, (2013) World Health Organization, Accessed 25/10/21 www.who.int/gho/urban_health/situation_trends/urban_population_growth_text/en/index.html
Yin, J., Yuan, J., Arfaei, N., Catalano, P. J., Allen,J. G., & Spengler, J. D. (2020). Effects of biophilic indoor environment on stress and anxiety recovery: A between-subjects experiment in virtual reality. Environment International, 136, 105427.