nature is natural therapy

Here are 10 scientific proofs that nature is natural therapy. Put down those pills and get outside.

1. In a study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, researchers found that people experienced more deaths from heart disease and respiratory disease when they lived in areas where trees had disappeared.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/21/trees-linked-with-human-h_n_2505267.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003&ir=Green

2. Those who live in the areas with the most amount of green space have lower levels of cortisol (known as the stress-hormone), and their self-reported feeling of stress were lower than those who spent more time in urban settings.http://www.prevention.com/mind-body/emotional-health/spending-time-outside-relieves-stress

3. Spending days in nature, away from electronic devices, is linked with 50 percent higher scores on a test for creativity. The findings provide “a rationale for trying to understand what is a healthy way to interact in the world, and that burying yourself in front of a computer 24/7 may have costs that can be remediated by taking a hike in nature,” study researcher David Strayer, a psychology professor at the University of Utah.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/creativity-nature-unplug-recharge-_n_2286735.html

4. Walking through nature evidence of lower frustration, engagement and arousal, and higher concentration and positive emotions. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23467965

5. ADHD symptoms within children are greatly reduced when in the presence of nature and after doing activities in nature. Findings were consistent across age, gender, and income groups; community types; geographic regions; and diagnoses.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1448497/

6. Two hours of forest walking improves the following sleep characteristics; impacting actual sleep time, immobile minutes, self-rated depth of sleep, and sleep quality.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3216244/

7. Living in a green environment with plants in your home is linked to lower stress reduction and improve stress moderation and management.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204611003665

8. Walking through nature decreases brain fatigue. When volunteers walked through urbanized areas with heavy traffic, their brain wave patterns consistently showed that they were more aroused, attentive and frustrated than when they walked through the parkland, where brain-wave readings became more meditative. This study encourages “taking a break from work,” Dr. Roe said, and “going for a walk in a green space or just sitting, or even viewing green spaces from your office window.”http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/easing-brain-fatigue-with-a-walk-in-the-park/

9. Juyoung Lee of Chiba University found that leisurely forest walks, compared with urban walks, yield a 12.4 percent decrease in the stress hormone cortisol, a seven percent decrease in sympathetic nerve activity, a 1.4 percent decrease in blood pressure, and a 5.8 percent decrease in heart rate. On subjective tests, study participants also report better moods and lower anxiety. http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/wellness/Take-Two-Hours-of-Pine-Forest-and-Call-Me-in-the-Morning.html?page=all

10. Nature walks can even fight disease and cancer by increasing your NK (natural killer) cells that are essentially to the innate immune system. When participants agreed to go on morning and afternoon nature hikes, blood tests showed that their NK cells had increased 40 percent. A month later, their NK count was still 15 percent higher than when they started. By contrast, during urban walking trips, NK levels didn’t change.http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/wellness/Take-Two-Hours-of-Pine-Forest-and-Call-Me-in-the-Morning.html?page=all

If you’re reading this right now, it means you’re on a screen. Promise yourself youll make it outside soon;)