Nature’s Healing Power

When we say nature, we mean the natural world and the nested ecosystems within it. This is the “non‐built” world of water, air, earth, vegetation and animals. Humans are part of nature and interact constantly with it in many ways — on the molecular and the larger systems level. This interaction is deeply beneficial, especially with the growing prevalence of depression caused by nature disorder, which is largely due to increasing time spent connected to technology. Apart from meeting some of our most basic needs, nature relaxes and refreshes us. And regardless of age or culture, humans find nature pleasing. 

This human/nature connection is known as biophilia*. In the age of Anthropocene, the more disconnected we are from nature, the more we need it. Our connectedness to nature benefits our mood and mental health. In a meta-analysis study, researchers found that people who feel more connected to nature have greater eudaimonic wellbeing — the kind of contentment that goes beyond feeling good to include a sense of purpose and meaning in life.

*Bio (nature) + philia (love) = our love of nature. Learn more about biophilia.

Experimental findings show how meaningful nature’s healing powers can be — time spent in nature (or even viewing scenes of nature) is associated with reducing anger, fear and stress and increases pleasant feelings. Exposure to nature not only makes us feel better emotionally, but it also contributes to our physical wellbeing, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and the production of stress hormones. Science suggests it can even reduce mortality. Research done in hospitals, offices and schools has found that even a simple plant in a room can have a significant impact on stress and anxiety.

In addition, nature helps us cope with pain. Because we are genetically programmed to find trees, plants, water and other nature elements engrossing, we are absorbed by nature scenes and distracted from our pain and discomfort. This is nicely demonstrated in a now-classic study of patients who underwent gallbladder surgery; half 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.

Being in nature gives our brains a rest and provides us with positive emotions because we can absorb information without mental effort. Researchers call this perceptual fluency to describe how nature makes us feel. Apparently the curves, shapes and colors along with shades of light and sounds are perceived to be more coherent by our senses compared to human-made settings. 

One of the most intriguing areas of current research is the impact of nature on general wellbeing. In one study in Mind, 95% of those interviewed said their mood improved after spending time outside, changing from depressed, stressed and anxious to more calm and balanced. Other studies show that time in nature or scenes of nature are associated with a positive mood, and psychological wellbeing, meaningfulness and vitality. Furthermore, time in nature or viewing nature scenes increases our ability to pay attention. Because humans find nature inherently interesting, we can naturally focus on what we are experiencing out in nature.

According to a series of field studies conducted by Kuo and Coley at the Human‐Environment Research Lab, time spent in nature connects us to each other and the larger world. Another study at the University of Illinois suggests that residents in Chicago public housing who had trees and green space around their building reported knowing more people, having stronger feelings of unity with neighbors, being more concerned with helping and supporting each other and having stronger feelings of belonging than tenants in buildings without trees. In addition to this greater sense of community, they had a reduced risk of street crime, lower levels of violence and aggression between domestic partners, and a better capacity to cope with life’s demands, especially the stresses of living in poverty.

This experience of connection may be explained by studies that used fMRI to measure brain activity. When participants viewed nature scenes, the parts of the brain associated with empathy and love lit up, but when they viewed urban scenes, the parts of the brain associated with fear and anxiety were activated. It appears as though nature inspires feelings that connect us to each other and our environment.