Nature’s Restorative Power on People and Places

Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.

Hal Borland

Greener Countries, Happier Citizens

Material prosperity contributes to happiness and well-being, but only up to a certain level. This is a fact true for both individuals and countries. When researchers sampled 1.7 million individuals from the Gallup World Poll, they found that income has diminishing returns on happiness. After an individual earns $95,000 a year, their overall life evaluation levels off, while their emotional well-being plateaus after they earn $60,000 to $75,000 [1]. Over the past 10 years, there has been a concerted global effort focusing on sustainable economic development. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was first adopted by United Nations Member states in 2015 to elevate “peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.” Guiding environmental conservation efforts as part of a list of 17 sustainable goals are climate action, affordable and clean energy, and responsible consumption and production [2].

Researchers studying the intersection of environment and well-being have also developed new measures that better capture sustainable well-being. One such measure is The Happy Planet Index (https://happyplanetindex.org/). Developed by the Hot or Cool Institute, a public interest think tank, the index is “a measure of sustainable wellbeing, evaluating countries by how efficiently they deliver long, happy lives for their residents using our limited environmental resources.” Topping the rankings on the 2021 Happy Planet Index are Vanuatu, Sweden, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua [3]. The three Latin American countries – El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua also ranked favourably – at 33rd, 12th, and 43rd respectively on the popular 2024 World Happiness Report [4]. And not only are people happier –they live longer too when countries care for their natural environments. A recent study conducted by the International Longevity Centre in the UK ranking 121 countries showed that how well a country preserves its natural environment is strongly linked to citizens’ health, happiness, and longevity [5]. Clean air, an abundance of food and water and other natural resources all contribute to happier, healthier lives. Nature is essential for our survival and well-functioning.

Our Ancestral Connection to Nature Nurtures our Well-Being

Our connection with nature is rooted in our ancestral past. The psychologist Yoshifumi Miyazaki says, “It is clear that our bodies still recognize nature as home.” Our minds and bodies’ preferences are shaped by what helped our savannah-roaming forefathers as they sought to explore their surroundings many generations ago. Research on evolutionary aesthetics, for instance, shows that we prefer trees with a ‘canopy’ like shape – where the trunks branch upward and open to an umbrella-like configuration. Canopic-shaped trees are aesthetically appealing since such trees confer us, as they did our ancestors, safety. Our brains are wired, from the time of our primate ancestors, to prefer trees with such designs, which would allow us safety (we can climb the tree to escape predators), and a habitat (we can rest under its shade or on its elevated branches [6]. It is also perhaps no coincidence that the world’s favourite colour is blue – hues associated with clear skies and clean water, as evolutionary adaptions that help us seek out environments supportive of life [7]. It is the reason many artists have tried to capture the beauty of natural phenomena – of the sun’s light and shadow, landscapes and oceans in their works [8].

Nature nurtures our health. More than 40 years ago, a study by Roger Ulrich showed that when post-surgery patients were assigned to rooms with a window view of natural settings, they had shorter postoperative hospital stays and took fewer potent analgesics than patients in rooms where their windows faced a brick building wall [9]. In a comparable study, patients in hospital rooms with plants and flowers were shown to have more positive physiological responses, exhibiting lower blood pressure, lower ratings of pain, anxiety, and fatigue, and higher levels of positive emotions following an appendectomy relative to patients in a comparison group [10]. Ulrich’s hypothesis – that natural environments can speed recovery has also informed part of why some modern hospitals are designing gardens to help with patient recovery and well-being [11]. Psychological research on the innate connection and our instinctive preference for nature – the biophilia hypothesis, is supportive of the restorative effects of nature. Biophilia is the psychological orientation of being attracted to all that is alive and vital [12]. This orientation to nature makes us happier too. A recent review of 49 studies comprising more than 3,000 individuals showed that when exposed to natural environments, people report considerably higher levels of positive emotions and lower levels of unpleasant emotions [13].

Nature restores our mental resources. Attention restoration theory states that natural environments can have a restorative, replenishing effect on our cognitive abilities [14]. In one study, when researchers grouped participants into two groups – one working on a cognitively demanding proofreading task in a room with plants, while the other did the same task without plants, those working alongside plants showed better performance [15]. In another study, participants who walked for 10 minutes in a simulated natural environment did better on cognitively demanding tasks relative to those who walked on a typical treadmill, suggesting that even simulation of nature can provide beneficial effects for cognitive functioning [16]. Reviews of studies on attention restoration overall show that brief exposure to nature improves working memory, cognitive flexibility and attentional control [17]. Nature walks have also been shown to be an effective, low-cost stress-reduction intervention. One such brief intervention, aptly called RESET (Release Everyday Stress and Enjoy Trails) is an example of a ‘green space,’ ecotherapy intervention that has been shown to benefit mental health by encouraging participants to be more mindful of how their minds and bodies respond to natural environments [18].

Reconnecting with Nature

Cultures and communities around the world have taken to encouraging its citizens to engage more with nature. In Norway, there is the practice of friluftsliv (literally, free/open, air, life) – to bond with nature by spending time outdoors, no matter the weather or season [19]. In Japan, there is growing interest in shinrin-yoku – forest bathing, where participants are guided through meditative walks on nature trails and national parks as a way to reconnect with nature. However you choose to reconnect with nature – from a weekend hike to simply having lunch at a nearby park instead of at your office desk, find some time to be with nature for your health and well-being. Our species may have traversed and settled all over the world, but its true home is still within the house of nature.

References

[1] Jebb, A. T., Tay, L., Diener, E., & Oishi, S. (2018). Happiness, income satiation and turning points around the world. Nature Human Behaviour, 2(1), 33-38. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0277-0

[2] The 17 goals (2024). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/goals [Accessed 24th August 2024]

[3] The Happy Planet Index 2021 Results. Happy Planet Index. Available at: https://happyplanetindex.org/hpi/ [Accessed 24th August 2024]

[4] World Happiness Report 2024. Available at: https://happiness-report.s3.amazonaws.com/2024/WHR+24.pdf [Accessed 24th August 2024]

[5] International Longevity Centre UK (2023). Environmentally sustainable countries are happier and have healthier populations. Available at: https://ilcuk.org.uk/environmentally-sustainable-countries-are-happier-and-have-healthier-populations/ [Accessed 24th August 2024]

[6] Townsend, J. B., & Barton, S. (2018). The impact of ancient tree form on modern landscape preferences. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 34, 205-216. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866718301146

[7] Palmer, S. E., & Schloss, K. B. (2010). An ecological valence theory of human color preference. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(19), 8877-8882.

[8] Davies, S. (2012). The artful species: Aesthetics, art, and evolution. OUP Oxford.

[9] Ulrich, R. S. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science, 224(4647), 420-421. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.6143402

[10] Park, S. H., & Mattson, R. H. (2008). Effects of flowering and foliage plants in hospital rooms on patients recovering from abdominal surgery. HortTechnology, 18(4), 563-568. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTTECH.18.4.563

[11] Franklin, D. (2012). How hospital gardens help patients heal. Scientific American. Available at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nature-that-nurtures/ [Accessed 24th August 2024]

[12] Barbiero, G., & Berto, R. (2021). Biophilia as evolutionary adaptation: An onto-and phylogenetic framework for biophilic design. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 700709. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.700709

[13] Gaekwad, J. S., Sal Moslehian, A., Roös, P. B., & Walker, A. (2022). A meta-analysis of emotional evidence for the biophilia hypothesis and implications for biophilic design. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 750245. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.750245

[14] Kaplan, S. (1995). The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15(3), 169-182. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0272494495900012

[15] Raanaas, R. K., Evensen, K. H., Rich, D., Sjøstrøm, G., & Patil, G. (2011). Benefits of indoor plants on attention capacity in an office setting. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 31(1), 99-105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2010.11.005

[16] Crossan, C., & Salmoni, A. (2021). A simulated walk in nature: Testing predictions from the attention restoration theory. Environment and Behavior, 53(3), 277-295. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916519882775

[17] Stevenson, M. P., Schilhab, T., & Bentsen, P. (2018). Attention Restoration Theory II: A systematic review to clarify attention processes affected by exposure to natural environments. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B, 21(4), 227-268. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10937404.2018.1505571

[18] Ibes, D., Hirama, I., & Schuyler, C. (2018). Greenspace ecotherapy interventions: The stress-reduction potential of green micro-breaks integrating nature connection and mind-body skills. Ecopsychology, 10(3), 137-150. https://doi.org/10.1089/eco.2018.0024

[19] Henderson, B., & Vikander, N. (Eds.). (2007). Nature first: Outdoor life the friluftsliv way. Dundurn.

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