Importance of green space for mental health

Mental health is crucial for an individual because it can affect living and relationships. People were already under stress, and depression, and then came Covid-19, which destroyed them emotionally, mentally, physically, and socially.

Talking about mental health, there was a huge spike in mental health cases during the pandemic. According to statistics, there were more than 5 million people that took mental health screens; about a 500% increase over the number in 2019. 

According to scientists, humans who grew up with less green space around their surroundings had around 55% more risk of developing mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, and substance abuse in the long run.

What can be done to stabilize such mental health issues?

One of the scientifically proven methods includes green spaces. Studies show that green spaces can significantly improve our mental health. Also, it can reduce stress and restore the brain, thereby improving mental health.

Apart from that, green spaces are also known to enhance physical health by offering healthy well-being, improved immune systems, and more. In fact, spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature reported higher levels of health and mental well-being as compared to those who spent less time in nature.

Incredible benefits of Green space on mental health

1. Enhances your mood 

 According to researchers at the University of Minnesota, being surrounded by green space or just overlooking the scenes of nature has shown an increase in pleasant feelings. In short, green space works as the best mood booster.

So, how does green space enhance mood? In reality, the color green is strongly associated with nature and brings to mind lush grass, trees, and forest. And that is the reason why the color green or green spaces are often described as refreshing and mood-enhancing. 

2. Helps you in making a connection 

Another benefit of green space is that it helps you connect better with your community. That’s because nature or green space fosters feelings of empathy, love, and belonging.

Also, it is the most significant social space for people to interact on a daily basis. Furthermore, green space is considered one of the sustainable indicators for maintaining the well-being of residential communities. 

3. Known to decrease stress

Today, work-related stress is affecting employees all over the world. To overcome this stress, one should take regular walks in the woods or parks filled with green space because it can enhance the ability to cope with stress.

A 2019 study published in ‘Frontiers in Psychology’ says that spending only 20 minutes a day near nature or green space can lower one's stress hormones significantly. 

4. Improves creativity and problem-solving 

How do you feel after you have been in your garden or park for a while? Much relaxed and light, right? Because nature settings offer sensory inputs that are mentally restorative. 

A study suggests that nature is known to enhance creativity by evoking new ways of thinking, promoting curiosity, and encouraging more flexible thinking. 

5. Guards you against anxiety and depression

 As mentioned before, spending time with nature or green spaces around you like parks or gardens is known to protect you from anxiety and depression. The more time you spend in green spaces, the more you will feel better.

6. Known to provide heart health

Apart from enhancing great mental health, green spaces like parks and gardens are good for your heart as well. That’s because, being in these places means moving your body in some way, for instance, walking or hiking. Thus making a strong link between spending time in nature and good heart health.

Green space or environment plays a very important role in cardiovascular health. Nature or green space is known to offer specifically lower levels of sympathetic activation, reduced oxidative stress, and higher angiogenic capacity in cardiovascular patients.

7. Gives you high hopes

According to a study, people that live near nature or have green spaces in their surroundings are more likely to feel better about their health and future. In simple terms, nature makes your stress feel smaller and your life better every day.

That is why you should have green spaces nearby

So, these are some of the reasons you should have more green space or a green environment around your surroundings that not only promotes mental health but also your physical health. 

Give yourself a nature prescription

As the green space promoters, team HUGSI is doing its best to learn, understand, and gather good reasons behind our efforts to preserve and increase urban green spaces. NatureQuant, a company based in USA, has developed a personalized nature prescription mobile application known as NatureDose. It tracks and monitors the app user's activity indoors, outdoors, and when exposed to nature to send real-time notifications. The user can set goals and get alerts/reminders based on that for healthy living.  Learn more on: https://www.naturequant.com/naturedose/