THE BENEFITS OF NATURE BY BEN HARPER

A study in a Pennsylvanian hospital found that patients recovering from a gall bladder operation whose beds faced a window looking out on to trees, recovered quicker and needed less pain relief than those patients whose beds faced a window looking out on to a brick wall. This is just one example of a study done that proves the benefits of nature on both our physical and mental health.

Being with nature and engaging with it can be so good for our wellbeing. In 2021, the Mental Health Foundation found that 60% found the outdoors a vital part of improving their mental health during the COVID lockdowns.

Scientists think it’s to do with the ‘fractals’ that exist in nature. In simple terms, fractals are shapes and patterns that are ever repeating. You see them in snowflakes, leaves, tree branches. All of these are both unique and the same, at the same time. Nature provides  a kind of ordered chaos that seems to give us some reassurance that any chaos we might be experiencing can also find order.

Taking in a view further than our eye can see can help to bring a sense of perspective to whatever is going on in the here and now. When we look beyond what’s right in front of us, we see beyond the challenges, and where we feel limited and constricted, we might start to see possibilities and freedom. So getting up high and looking across the landscape is good for us. This could be a view from a hill, or a view out to sea.

Spending time with something far older than you; an old tree, a mountain, a rock, can also give a different kind of perspective. There are things that have endured more than we will ever endure and overcome more than we will ever encounter. There’s a kind of reassurance here of our own capacity for resilience.

Some of us are more fortunate than others in what access we have to nature. Depending on where you live and how busy your schedule is, will determine how much nature you get to engage with. The good news is that whilst nothing beats being in the fresh air, bringing pictures, objects and smells from nature inside, can trigger some of the same effects as being out and about. Good news at this time of year when the weather is less enticing. Choosing a screen saver of the mountains for your phone, watching nature programmes, or playing sounds from nature in the background from Youtube or Spotify might be enough to gain at least some of the benefits of nature.

And in the face of climate change, doing one thing consistently to preserve and protect the environment can make us feel an increased sense of hope and empowerment, often leading us to do more and more as time goes on.

So whether it be a walk in the woods, tidying and clearing your garden, or putting up a picture of a beach in your bathroom, know that anything that brings you closer to nature will be good for you.

Whatever your schedule or access to nature you have, try and do just one thing extra this week to engage with nature.  Recognise the beauty, the diversity, the wildness and the order that nature includes, and be inspired.