Picture this: Haiku, Hawaii. Open nature. Lush, green rainforest. The sound of mynabirds singing. Flowering hibiscus and plumeria trees. Palm trees too. The splash of your bare feet over streams of rainwater. The sight of a large waterfall gushing into a pond.
This is Maui at its best. And as my Facebook readers know, I just returned from visiting my parents there. I had the pleasure of hiking by myself along the road to Hana. It was muddy to be sure – this is a rainforest after all – but miraculously tranquil.
More than 50 percent of people live in urban areas according to a recent study from Stanford University. By 2050, it will be 70 percent.
“Urbanization has many benefits, but it also is associated with increased levels of mental illness, including depression,” a study says. “It has been suggested that decreased nature experience may help to explain the link between urbanization and mental illness.”
Subjects in the study were randomly assigned to go on a 90-minute walk through nature in a quiet, leafy area of the Stanford campus. Or on the flipside, next to a noisy highway in Palo Alto, California. They were not allowed to listen to music or walk with companions.
“One [factor] might be the impact of nature exposure on rumination, a maladaptive pattern of self-referential thought that is associated with heightened risk for depression and other mental illnesses,” the study says.
Upon returning, the walkers were given a questionnaire and a brain scan.
The nature walkers experienced lower levels of rumination and showed reduced activity in an area of the brain linked to risk for mental illness.
“This study reveals a pathway by which nature experience may improve mental well-being and suggests that accessible natural areas within urban contexts may be a critical resource for mental health in our rapidly urbanizing world,” according to the study.
For me, being alone in nature on Maui was refreshing and therapeutic. Not a person around for periods of ten minutes. It calmed my nerves and invigorated my body. It was soothing to the soul.
Other cultures around the world have a deeper appreciation for nature than the US.
In Japan, there is one word — hanami — that means literally “flower viewing.” The sakura – or cherry blossom trees – bloom for a period of about only two weeks. Every year, the Japanese weather bureau announces the “cherry blossom front” or sakura-zensen. People hold special picnics or parties underneath the trees to commemorate the blooming of the cherry blossoms.
The Japanese also have a term — Shinrin-yoku – that means “forest bathing.” It’s an activity naturalists have said can be stress reducing.
In Norway, there is the concept of friluftsliv. The word means “free air life” and obviously doesn’t translate well into English. It is the concept that being in the outdoors is good for human beings’ mind, body, and spirit. It can include hiking, photography, sleeping out under the stars, or dancing outside. If I didn’t live so far away from nature (I don’t have a car) — friluftsliv sounds like a concept I would like to practice.
What about you?
How does a walk in nature alter your mood? What benefits do you see?
