Ecotherapy: Connecting Mental Health and Nature for Holistic Wellness

These days, we find ourselves more and more disconnected with nature by the minute. With separate ‘realities’ at our fingertips now, like virtual and augmented reality headsets, we can quickly find ourselves lacking a connection with real true nature. But why is it so important, and how does it help our brains?

What Does Stepping Outside Do for the Brain?

When it comes to our environments, there are piles of research showing that the things we see with our eyes can be reflected back to our brain chemistry. According to the American Psychological Association, "contact with nature is associated with increases in happiness, subjective well-being, positive affect, positive social interactions and a sense of meaning and purpose in life, as well as decreases in mental distress" (Weir, 2020) But why is this? Psychologists and researchers have shown that it is due to many factors - some of which we likely still haven't considered.

What we do know is that the sun, the air, and even the color of the grass outside can contribute to your dopamine and serotonin levels. With vitamin D from the sun and fresh, clean oxygen from the air, our brains can get a big helping of feel-good chemicals all day long. But why grass?

Surprisingly, the color green itself has many proven benefits, especially when placed outside in the sun. The APA specifies that "green spaces near schools promote cognitive development in children and green views near children’s homes promote self-control behaviors. Adults assigned to public housing units . . . with more green space showed better attentional functioning than those assigned to units with less access" (Weir, 2020) and that it has proven to improve short-term memory and attention control. Spending time in nature not only has cognitive and memory benefits, but it also has emotional and existential benefits that go far beyond memory.

Your Brain in Nature

At its core, our brain is simply trying to maintain us. We can make this easier and more enjoyable with a simple walk. Our brains are sponges, and by going out into nature, its as if we are able to take our own nutrients from the world and repurpose them into hormones that lower our stress. If we look closely at the benefits of nature on our brain, you'll find that there are three ways in which the outdoors aid us.

It Heals

Nature is one of our most reliable sources of vitamin D, thanks to the sun. This gives us the energy and the vigor to move and to stay active outdoors, leading to physical wellness as well as lowered cortisol (stress hormone) levels and blood pressure.

It Restores

Our sleep schedules can even be influenced by our outdoor habits. When you go outside, you are reinforcing your brain's circadian rhythm and this can help regulate your sleep patterns. This has a profound impact on our mental wellness, and "One study in Denmark examined 900,000 residents born between 1985 and 2003 [and] found that children who lived in neighborhoods with more green space had a reduced risk of mental disorders later in life." (UC Davis, 2023)

It Relieves

In addition, nature helps us relieve pain. We as humans were historically surrounded by nature, so we are genetically programmed to find trees, plants, and other elements of nature nurturing, and are distracted from our discomfort when in its presence. Introduced in a now classic study, patients had undergone gallbladder surgery. Half of these patients had a view of trees, and half had a view of a wall. "According to the physician who conducted the study, Robert Ulrich, the patients with the view of trees tolerated pain better, appeared to nurses to have fewer negative effects, and spent less time in a hospital. More recent studies have shown similar results with scenes from nature and plants in hospital rooms." (Delagran, 2021)

How Long Does it Take?

Of course, while we're talking about how beneficial nature is, we're also going to talk about how to properly collect those benefits. Holistic wellness researchers and scholars have done new research on this subject, and they found those that "had spent at least two recreational hours in nature during the previous week reported significantly greater health and well-being. That pattern held true across . . . older adults and people with chronic health problems, and the effects were the same whether they got their dose of nature in a single 120-minute session or spread out over the course of the week." (Weir, 2020) So it seems as long as you're able to fit at least two hours outdoors in your week, whether all at once or over time, you will be promoting your own brain wellness! Feel free to run in that field, play in that park, or read under that tree.

Written by Mackenzie Heath

Weir, Kirsten. “Nurtured by Nature.” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, 1 Apr. 2020, www.apa.org/monitor/2020/04/nurtured-nature#:~:text=Key%20points,much%20time%20one%20spends%20outdoors.

UC Davis. “3 Ways Getting Outside into Nature Helps Improve Your Health.” Health, UC Davis Health, 3 May 2023, health.ucdavis.edu/blog/cultivating-health/3-ways-getting-outside-into-nature-helps-improve-your-health/2023/05.

Delagran, Louise. “How Does Nature Impact Our Wellbeing?” Taking Charge of Your Health & Wellbeing, 7 Aug. 2021, www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/how-does-nature-impact-our-wellbeing.