Exploring Nature's Positive Effects on Physio-Mental Health - Essay Sample

Introduction

Nature has positive effects on the physical and mental health of people. In a similar approach, it is nature that provides an environment for human beings to engage in physiological activities, which are beneficial especially in reducing stress. For example, parks and gardens provide fresh air something, which gives human beings the ability to strengthen their physical and mental. In contemporary society, however, people like to be exposed to nature but they live in an urbanized world dominated by man-made environments. At many times, people walk or sometimes relax in natural scenes to deal with anxiety, stress, or hesitation. It is through nature that these activities strengthen and harmonizes brain activities an overall benefit to our brains and bodies. The paper will analyze and demonstrate the benefits of nature to human brains and bodies.

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However, before I get into support for my position, some background information is necessary. The origins of the benefits of nature began in western societies particularly from traditional Chinese medicine and at the same time India's Ayurvedic medicine (Selhub and Logan 59). The benefits of nature affect organizations and individuals with an interest in physical and mental health. Similarly, the issue involves the benefits that do exist when human beings and environmental conservation agencies invest in resources and development of strategies that help improve the natural environment. The aim of these individuals and agencies is to create a public health environment, which can accommodate various activities that are meant to benefit all human beings. The literature of the context covers a wide range of issues, which draws evidence and conclusions on the importance of natural environment to human brains and bodies. By understanding the role nature plays in physical and mental health, it will be easy to design effective interventions in an efficient manner.

A research done by Selhub and Logan highlights that nature has a positive influence on psychological wellbeing. Similarly, when individuals walk in nature scenes, they develop feelings of contentment and happiness as compared to when they are in urban areas (Ulrich 17-23). In chapter one, Selhub and Logan give their experience while growing up as children. They point out that the fragrance of pine trees and flowers, sounds of rushing creeks, waterfalls, and ocean waves reinvigorated their psychological well-being. Today, nature affects how people think, act and even how they feel. Psychological health encompasses emotional, social, and physical aspects, which are important in the mental health of an individual in every stage. At the same time, scholars denote that healers have found numerous benefits of nature particularly to our brains and bodies (Selhub and Logan 59). For instance, through the development of various medical systems in the world today. Examples of the benefits are explicit from the traditional Chinese medicine, and India's Ayurvedic medicine, which has numerous health benefits to many people. The advancement of technology in western societies has created the science of seeing green.

On the same approach, studies have found that nature can strengthen activities in the brain and at the same time harmonize the functions of the brain (Bowler 9). This explanation is based on the fact that when people take a walk in natural scenery, they develop feelings of affection, elation, playfulness, and even friendliness (Song 229). They improve there moods, hence elevating their level of happiness. The brain also gets influence on nature's natural nutrients. When people eat natural fruits they improve the conditions of their mental health and also increase their cognitive skills. Also eating traditional brain meals such as fish, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds improves memory. Similarly, according to Selhub and Logan in their book, they explain how the science of nature affects the health, happiness, and vitality of individuals. For example, taking recreations in parks especially where there are trees and flowers makes people have a clear understanding of what affects their lives and their relationships. It helps to mitigate their stress and anxieties and at the same time gives them fresh air, which is a necessary component that invigorates human brains and bodies.

Nature has a number of benefits to human mental and physical health. However, other people opposing this argument warn that building a human-nature relationship will result in the exploitation of the natural environment (Schroter 514-523). The environment conservation agencies culminate that activities such as gardening in the forest ruin the ecosystem and at the same time threatens the survival of trees. The belief is legitimate because there is always a demand from the society who instead of maintaining and restoring the natural environment, use it for economic benefits. Nevertheless, in order to respond to the opposing forces, I plat to develop intervention, which environmental conservation agencies can use to enlighten people on the importance of conserving and maintaining the natural environment so that humans can continue enjoying its benefits.

Finally, I plan to conclude my paper by doing a recap of the thesis and main points. Nature has proven positive impacts on human's brains and bodies. Walking or relaxing in parks reduces stress hence enriching an individual's mood. There is a need, therefore, to preserve the natural environment since it enhances mental and physical health. There is also need for further research on the benefits of nature on psychological health. At the same time, readers believing in practice of conserving natural environment particularly the forest will experience positive impact of nature on physical and mental health.

Selhub, M. Eva and Logan, C. Alan. "Nature Really Does Make Us Happy." (2016). pp 59-63.

Selhub and Logan's article accentuates that the time spent in nature kindles human brains and bodies. The idea that trees and flowers can reinvigorate our psychological well-being was examined by behavioral scientist Roger S. Ulrich. Selhub and Logan on page 59 use the experiment done by Ulrich to examine the mental impacts of nature scenes on stressed students. Ulrich's psychological examination highlighted changes in mental states, and outlooks after the learners viewed different environmental scenes. Once he was encouraged by his outcomes, Ulrich established a similar experiment to measure brain activity in unstressed, healthy adults, his team later found out that seeing natural landscapes caused increased secretion of serotonin. Serotonin is a chemical compound that functions within the nerve system to regulating mood balance and social behavior. Selhub, and Logan on page 60 state that the mental aspects that forests offer humans supersede all other reasons that would necessitate the need to preserve trees, and flowers. According to research done by Dr. Miyazaki, spending time in a forest scenery can help reduce mental stress, depressive symptoms, and hostility, and also improve vigor, and feeling of happiness. The reason is that forest basking can reduce the secretion of the stress hormone, and elevate mood. In a nutshell, Selhub, and Logan are trying to explain that time spends in nature can indeed help to elevate mood and also reduce mental stress.

Ulrich, Roger S. "Visual landscapes and psychological wellbeing." Landscape Research 4.1 (1979): 17-23.

The author offers an overview of research findings which suggest that stressed people feel reinvigorated after being in natural scenes or forest landscapes rather than those in American urban places. The urban centers do not help in enhancing the emotional health of an individual. He states that unlike the effects of the urban scenes, the salient effect of nature exposures helps to stimulate the secretion of serotonin which regulates mood balance and social behavior. In reference to psychological theories, a decrease in arousal stimulates pleasurable feelings if a person is having stress. Ulrich also states that visual landscapes, and aesthetics either on forest or urban centers can also spur up feelings of vigor, and good behavior. However, the results here suggest that the significance of visual landscapes is by no means restricted to aesthetics, but also incorporates a variety of influences on emotional states of individuals. The outcomes have a number of inferences for ecological preparation, and design. For example, the outcomes infer that outside painterly settings can impact personal mental health, and hence should be given unambiguous devotion when formulating, and implementing planning, and design decisions. Most planners have some sensitivity for aesthetics features of milieu, and in actual sense, there exists some direct pragmatic indication displaying that aesthetic advantages can be of considerable significance. A connected implication is that location, and design actions for high-stress workplaces and hospitals ought to contemplate the significance of offering "through the window" contact with nature for patients.

Song, Chorong, et al. "Effects of walking in a forest on young women." International journal of environmental research and public health 16.2 (2019): 229.

People experience different stressors in life, in response, they try to seek effective alternatives to cope with stress, and to relax. The authors in this article explain that increased focus on using forest settings as places for enhancing mental health through a nan approach known as "forest bathing" or "shinrin-yoku" would be the best method of coping up with stress. The main aim of this article is to try and explain "forest therapy" which refers to the scientifically proven forest bathing with the motive of accomplishing a preventive therapeutic outcome by encouraging mental relaxation, and immune system recovery. The author also suggests that forest bathing has proven impacts of inducing relaxation through reduce secretion of stress-hormone, and enriching an individual's mood. Hence the need to preserve forest is paramount as it can enhance health of the body, and mind of an individual. Several studies have proved the impact of forest settings in reducing the levels of stress, and invoking psychological relaxation on people. Further studies conducted on young women have established that the period consumed in forest settings, such as walking through a forest or observing the landscape will mitigate the levels of "salivary cortisol," a stress hormone, increased cerebral blood flow blood pressure, and lower heart rate. It also helps in augmenting the parasympathetic nervous activity which is aids in improving relaxation in individuals. A "Forest rehabilitation" can also augment natural killer (NK) cell activity, and enhance immunity of a person with the impacts lasting for an estimated month. Research has also shown that emotions of pleasure and happiness are uplifted with an increase in tree density within particular environments, even in urban scenes. The bigger, and denser the trees, the greater the scenic beauty scores upfront.

Selhub, Eva M., and Alan C. Logan. Your brain on nature: The science of nature's influence on your health, happiness, and vitality. John Wiley & Sons, 2012.

The authors, Selhub and Logan in their book explain how the science of nature affects the health, happiness, and vitality of individuals. In chapter one, Selhub and Logan give their personal accounts while growing up as children. They point out that the fragrance of pine trees and flowers, sounds of rushing creeks, waterfalls, and ocean waves reinvigorated their psychological well-being. Nature helped to mitigate their personal anxieties and stressors. Chapter eight of the book explains how the brain is influence...