Spending time in nature has countless health benefits to offer. Numerous studies have sought to prove that and some have successfully done so over the years.
In fact in a study published just last year on Scientific Reports, researchers have found that spending 120 minutes per week in nature can be “associated with good health and well-being.”
Although the authors of the study don’t claim their findings conclusive, they’ve established enough ‘epidemiological evidence” to say that “greater exposure to natural environments” has its perks.
In an interview with Psychology Today, the lead author of the study, Environmental Psychologist Matthew White, shared “When we’ve put people in [natural] environments, it decreases heart rate, decreases blood pressure, decreases stress cortisol, [and] improves psychological well-being.”
It would be great if the same can be said for the next generations to come but, apparently, some children today experience anxiety and despair when they’re exposed to nature. And this claim isn’t groundless.
In a study published this month on People and Nature, University of Colombia researchers have found that children experience emotions of “worry, sadness, frustration, and anger” about environmental problems.
In an interview with a foreign media outfit, Environmental Psychologist Louise Chawla who authored the said study shared “Many children know they are inheriting a changing world that is likely to get worse and this leads them to feelings of anxiety and despair.”
In the same interview, the team behind the extensive research that involved review of other literature and articles shared “Children and teenagers were triggered by the natural world and their inability to control what was happening to the ‘unravelling biosphere’.”
“More often than worry about consequences for themselves, children express concern about impacts on animals,” wrote the researchers in the study.
But a lot of things can be done to cultivate hope in the younger generation.
The study suggests that, for one, academic institutions play an important role not just in educating young people about what they can do for the environment but also in encouraging healthy discussions about climate change that can help the young ones voice their thoughts and feelings on the matter.
The research also pointed out that young people “felt encouraged when they believed that others could do similar small things and together they could make a difference.”
Photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels
Although it may seem like exposure to natural environments doesn’t work positively for these children, on the contrary the strong emotions they feel about climate change indicate that they have a connection with nature. And that’s more than enough starting point to work with.