Can Mother Nature Improve Your Health?

Before attending medical school, I didn’t fully appreciate nature. That changed during my first winter in North Carolina, when I saw some of the most magnificent sunsets I’ve ever laid eyes on. These spectacles were so breathtaking that drivers would often pull off the road to watch them. I later learned that sand from the Sahara Desert is sometimes carried by the wind across the Atlantic Ocean to the North Carolina coastline, where it provides a canvas for the sun. Dramatic hues of red, pink, orange, and lavender looked like interlacing ribbons wrapping around the sun as it sank below the horizon.

I still vividly recall the assignment-interview a terminally ill patient. Wow-this was going to be difficult, and emotionally challenging. This event occurred during my first clinical rotation, psychiatry. I was assigned to interview a young woman whom I’ll call Melissa (not her real name, of course). It was the very first time I’d ever confronted a cancer patient.

Just the thought of it made me nervous. Cancer is our worst, most ferocious enemy, the taker of life, the proverbial thief in the night, and the deliverer of unbelievable pain. I’d seen specimens of cancer in the lab and learned the details of how cells go astray, overgrowing and creating a path of such overwhelming consumption that the cancer leads to its own demise along with the body of its host. Now here it was, finally, in the flesh.

She looked healthy, but she lay in the bed listlessly. Unfortunately for Melissa, she had been diagnosed with malignant melanoma. Her deep sadness, understandably, veiled her youthful beauty.

She was sweet, cooperative, and probably very lonely, so my visit seemed to be a welcome relief from the glaring silence that otherwise filled her room. At age twenty-eight, Melissa was already the mother of four. She talked about her children and her husband much more than she did about herself. During those brief moments of expressing herself, she seemed to forget the death sentence that awaited her. Then reality returned, and she spoke passionately to me about her concerns about what was going to happen to her children after she died.

Listening to Melissa, I was emotionally overwhelmed and speechless. I couldn’t find the appropriate words for such a catastrophic situation. Fear and regret streamed through me. I wanted to do something-to relieve her of her suffering. I wanted to give her some kind of comfort, grab her and hug her and tell her that everything was going to be all right.

I couldn’t because it wasn’t true, and any display of emotion, would have serious consequences. I’d learned to remain “distant” and “objective.” What did that really mean? I thought it was cruel and heartless. But who was I to challenge the instructions of my professors?

I didn’t know consciously how to that type of anxiety, and sense of helplessness. I rushed out of the hospital to the beautiful Sarah P. Duke Garden, and sat there in silence. In the midst of the beautiful flowers and trees, the anxiety dissipated. It was the beginning of my deepening relationship with Mother Nature.

One day, after seeing a terminally ill patient, I didn’t know what to do with my turbulent thoughts and feelings. I rushed out of the hospital and sat in the Sarah P. Duke Garden, conveniently located behind the hospital, until I was able to recover my internal balance.

My distress seemed to melt away. Created by the Duke family, this garden contains flowers and trees gathered from around the world. From that day forward, I had a favorite spot near a pond across from a terraced section filled with flowers. There I’d sit, inhaling the beauty—sometimes for hours, especially during the many weekends I was on call in the hospital.

I spent many weekends studying in that garden. It soothed and comforted me. It gave me great peace and wonder.

Nature-A True Health Enhancer

To activate help maintain and improve your health and well-being, it is imperative for you to design your lifestyle in such a way that you may take full advantage of the benefits of nature. Exposure to the natural environment is one of the most underutilized but powerful pathways to optimal health.

Even if you live in an urban setting, it is important to be in contact with nature as much as possible. Add natural elements to your home, such as indoor plants, and allow fresh air and natural sunlight to come in through the windows. Make a point of visiting parks and recreational areas.

If you are fortunate to live in close proximity to nature, as my husband and I do, take advantage of the landscape around your home. Go outside and walk, bike, swim, climb, garden, and even sit where you can allow yourself the gift of nature’s presence.

The Psychological Benefits of Nature

I’ve often heard mountains described as cathedrals and use other religious metaphors to describe the spiritual awe they feel in the presence of a majestic canyon or a waterfall. These comparisons are appropriate. Nature’s wondrous design uplifts mind, body, and spirit. It causes our emotions to soar when we come in contact with it.

Although we know intuitively that being in touch with nature is healthy because it feels good and refreshing to be outdoors, now there’s a convincing and growing body of research confirming that it contributes to mental health and psychological development. Nature benefits us by improving self-confidence and self-discipline, deepening our sense of community and belonging, and strengthening our sense of internal coherence.

Experiencing nature consciously connects us our sense of wonder. It can lead you to feel appreciation for something greater than yourself. It teaches that although you are an individual, you are connected to a larger whole—to all of life. Its grandeur reminds us that there is something beyond what we, as human beings, could create, something timeless and unbound by the constraints of human intervention and involvement.

Nature affects us in a variety of positive ways, some of which are easily measured and some of which are not measurable but are meaningful and important nonetheless. Our exposure to a variety of colors, plants, mountains, forests, and seas, with their soothing sounds and fragrant odors, as well as the energy of different places, restores our sense of health and well-being.

Nature Reduces Stress, Enhances Well-Being

A 2010 study discovered that spending just twenty minutes outdoors in nature gave people a greater sense of well-being and vitality, beyond what is caused merely by having engaged in physical activity or enjoyable social interactions. Wilderness excursion participants reported that just remembering their outdoor experiences enhanced their health and happiness.

Exposure to natural landscapes stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, triggering the relaxation response and the release of endorphins. This reduces the stress hormones circulating in our bodies, lowers blood pressure, and helps to relieve anxiety, anger, aggression, and depression. The opportunity to see nature, even through a window, accelerates recovery after surgery, shortening postoperative hospital stays. Other studies have determined that prison rooms with a view of a natural landscape were beneficial to the health of prisoners.

When we’re in natural settings, we are known to recover more quickly from stress. Researchers at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and Uppsala University (Sweden) have found that mental fatigue is relieved by nature experiences.

Counterbalancing Technology

Nature creates a sense of wonder and fascination that counterbalances the effects of too much focused attention, such as that required to use electronic devices like computers and smart phones. After an hour of taxing mental work, a walk through a park is more mentally and emotionally restorative than a walk through a city, reading a magazine or a book, or listening to music. The restorative effects of walking in nature trigger renewed attention and positive moods.

In addition, nature improves our social relationships and our perceptions of other people. University of Rochester researchers found that after viewing scenes of nature, people were kinder and more compassionate and giving, as demonstrated by their willingness to donate money to a charity. The exposure also caused them to feel heightened concern about social outcomes and closer to members of their community. The researchers concluded that exposure to nature helps us get in touch with our basic values.

Dwelling in nature can lead to more opportunities for physical activity, which keeps us fit and offers us relief from the demands of our daily lives. More than 100 studies show that stress is decreased by participation in outdoor recreation.

To enhance your health, it’s imperative for you to design your lifestyle in such a way that you may take full advantage of the benefits of nature. Exposure to the natural environment is one of the most underutilized but powerful pathways to optimal health, especially for medical students.

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