Stress and Nature

There is certainly no shortage of things to be stressed about these days. We have books to purchase and classes to attend, then there's work, a social life and hopefully a love life. The most important cure to being stressed out might be right outside your window.

Reports by the Global Healing Center, natural medicine and a study by the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Washington State University all say nature is a significant reducer of stress.

In the Washington State study students were monitored while inside a window-less computer lab. One group studied in just the room, the other had various plants filling the room. Not only did students in the plant room have lower blood pressure, but they were more productive too.

You might say that's an obvious fact, but more technological advancements are pulling us further and further away from nature. This could be time spent watching TV or browsing the Internet. Or, you could be on your handheld device posting a Twitter tweet. And today, instead of playing golf out in nature, it's likely you play in your living room on Nintendo Wii.

Today's modern society has given people more and more ways to detach from nature. A person could go from their garage to driving their car to work. From there they would go inside an office and stare at a computer. After work they may come home and play video games or online poker. It's actually quite easy to go a whole day without seeing more than a few trees or feel the sun and wind against your face.

Some doctors in Australia are actually prescribing more nature time to patients. In an article with naturalmedicine.com, Mardie Townsend said, "People with access to nearby natural settings have been found to be healthier overall than other individuals, and are more satisfied with life in general."

Modern advances have also had an impact on the food we eat. In a large city, it's almost impossible to go more than a few blocks without seeing a fast food restaurant. Most of our vegetables and fruits are now peppered with pesticides and grown from a corporate farm. Even our meat and poultry is not natural anymore, cows are pumped with steroids and some chickens never see the light of day. Finally, when we make these meals outside, we use a grill powered by a propane tank.

More evidence can be found by our growing obesity problem. Less time spent outdoors exercising and more entertainment indoors has infected a good part of the population. According to childrenshospital.net, the number of obese children has tripled since 1980 to more than 16 percent.

For college students, more time with nature shouldn't be hard to find. There is a myriad of activities we can do with a group of friends outdoors. There is golfing, campfires, disc golf, fishing, rafting trips and nature hikes. And best of all, these things are cheap.

For the same price as a movie pass UNO students could visit Fontenelle Forest for a day, or the Lauritzen gardens. Another option being from Omaha is going to the Henry Doorly Zoo.

My personal advice for students feeling stressed is to just get out to any park or natural setting. Get to a spot where you can't see anything man-made or manufactured. After awhile out there, you'll begin to forget about current problems with work, school or dating. Lastly, being completely surrounded by nature reminds us of our true essence, instead of cursing our situations we'll begin to realize how blessed we are to live here.

This article courtesy of Todd Hansen University of Nebraska

 Save My Page in Your 'Favourite Places' Now and Return to Read the List of Recommended Products Below at Anytime.

Copyright reserved 2007 © Bobby Jonnes (Ba Hons Psychol)stressko.com