When you’ve felt depressed or stressed out, have you ever decided to go for a walk among the trees or visit a beach to watch the waves roll in? How did you feel after you spent time in nature? Experience has shown us that nature is one of the best natural healers we have available to us. Now science is giving us proof of what we’ve already felt to be true.
In this paper from Susan E. Mazer, Ph.D., Dr. Mazer explores the use of nature in providing therapeutic benefits to patients in a hospital environment. She tells us that even Florence Nightingale herself said that patients needed fresh air and natural sunlight to facilitate their recovery and healing. But it’s not only in a hospital setting that nature can be used to heal. In this recent article from Huffington Post, we learn that new scientific research shows exposure to nature increases our overall well-being and may even be able to prevent us from getting sick. Going on a long walk and taking time to experience the awe of nature has shown that it can lower levels of cytokines; according to the article, “chronically high levels of cytokines have been linked to a number of health problems, including heart disease, Alzheimer’s, depression and autoimmune conditions.”
Moving Art is fighting to increase awareness of both the mental and physical health benefits of nature. We hope to end Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD) and hope you’ll join us by spreading the word about the importance of nature. Together we can encourage everyone to take advantage of our most free and accessible medicine — our natural world.