When you visualize kids today, what do you picture? Do you see them frolicking outside with sunshine hitting their skin and imagination pumping through their veins? Or do you see them slouching on a sofa, glued to a bright screen, and with a glaze over their eyes? We often criticize those children on tablets and smartphones for not being outside much, but we are just as guilty of going outdoors less ourselves. In Florence Williams’ The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative, she takes a look at the effects nature has upon us. She examines how other countries are trying to promote going outside to absorb those effects and explains how Americans are losing their connection with Mother Earth. Jumping back to my original
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You can feel the benefits of the outdoors by seeing, hearing, smelling or feeling it. Several research cases have studied how simply looking outside affects us. Florence Williams explains that “...window studies have examined everything from schools to office buildings to housing projects. They have shown that nature views support increased worker productivity, less job stress, higher academic grades and test scores and less aggression in inner-city residents” (The Nature Fix). This shows that you don’t even need to step foot outside in order to improve your well-being. Williams also tells how patients in hospital rooms with a view of nature needed less pain medicine, had better attitudes, and were able to leave the hospital sooner. Based on these studies, if you can’t make time to physically go into the great outdoors, try merely observing it. Barrera Espada reveals a similar observation that studies of being in a hospital room with a view of nature, compared to one without, have proved significant recovery benefits (“Impact of Outdoor Sports on Health”). There are clearly advantages too looking at nature, both mentally and physically. Listening to the environment offers positives as well. “An experiment at an elementary school in Liverpool found that students listening to birdsong were more attentive after lunch than students who didn’t listen...” (The Nature Fix). Have you ever noticed how
You can feel the benefits of the outdoors by seeing, hearing, smelling or feeling it. Several research cases have studied how simply looking outside affects us. Florence Williams explains that “...window studies have examined everything from schools to office buildings to housing projects. They have shown that nature views support increased worker productivity, less job stress, higher academic grades and test scores and less aggression in inner-city residents” (The Nature Fix). This shows that you don’t even need to step foot outside in order to improve your well-being. Williams also tells how patients in hospital rooms with a view of nature needed less pain medicine, had better attitudes, and were able to leave the hospital sooner. Based on these studies, if you can’t make time to physically go into the great outdoors, try merely observing it. Barrera Espada reveals a similar observation that studies of being in a hospital room with a view of nature, compared to one without, have proved significant recovery benefits (“Impact of Outdoor Sports on Health”). There are clearly advantages too looking at nature, both mentally and physically. Listening to the environment offers positives as well. “An experiment at an elementary school in Liverpool found that students listening to birdsong were more attentive after lunch than students who didn’t listen...” (The Nature Fix). Have you ever noticed how