How nature affects our physical and mental health
Get outside and enjoy the power of eco therapy
Text: Tiff H
With more than 50% of the world’s population now living in an urban area or city according to the UN, and that figure projected to balloon to two-thirds of the global population by 2050, humanity is slowly losing touch with nature and the great outdoors. While the countryside to city shift has its undeniable upsides — economic growth, business innovation, access to healthcare, education, social services — the vanishing presence of nature from our lives has implications beyond the fact that our morning runs are on concrete rather than grass, or that stars in the night sky are outshone by dazzling metropolitan skylines. Many studies have shown that the lack of natural elements around us impacts our mental health, with ecotherapy increasingly being offered as the balm for those leading nature-deficient lives.
What is ecotherapy?
According to Youmin Yap, founder of Xiu Nature Connections in Singapore, “Ecotherapy is an umbrella term that encompasses many nature-based approaches to therapy and healing. The types of exercises that come under this term are diverse and can include formal therapy programmes or less formal activities such as a walk in the park by yourself.”
Ultimately, all practices that fall under ecotherapy connecting to nature in some way and seek to boost our physical and mental wellbeing. The diverse variants include forest therapy, earthing, horticultural therapy, adventure or wilderness programmes, park prescriptions, farming, gardening and exercising in nature.
How does nature affect our mental health?
Nature has the power to shape and soothe our mental state. Asher Low, Co-Founder of Limitless, shares that the built environment can sometimes feel claustrophobic and stressful as we tend to associate it with work, pressure and stress. The openness of nature and the great outdoors is the antithesis of that and therefore has a calming effect.
Youmin also highlights that spending more time outside can alleviate our sense of disconnectedness and disengagement from the world, rendering us less reactive, anxious and distracted. Instead, we feel more attentive, empathetic, focused and grounded. Research has also shown that contact with nature may improve memory and boost feelings of kindness, happiness and creativity.
Ecotherapy has been applied for a myriad of mental health issues including dementia, depression, addictions, autism, anxiety and other stress-related illnesses, where it usually supplements traditional therapy. At Vana for example, a wellness retreat in Dehradun, India, guests have found tangible and measurable improvement in their overall wellbeing with psychosomatic symptoms like anxiety, chronic depression, chronic fatigue, insomnia, eating disorders and dependencies. Saranpreet Singh Suri, Director at Vana shares that “While Vana was not intended to focus only on curing illnesses, [their] team of doctors and practitioners have made noteworthy progress, assisting the healing process with a number of physical ailments and emotional concerns.” Meaning forest in Sanskrit, Vana’s lush green surroundings plays a large part in the therapeutic nature of the retreat.
How does nature affect our physical health?
Many studies reveal the presence of phytoncides (naturally emitted anti-bacterial compounds by plants) in green spaces. Research shows that phytoncides help to reduce our stress hormones, boost our immune systems and improve our blood pressure. Additionally, spending time outdoors reduces the probability of developing myopia, with researchers finding that each additional hour spent outdoors during the week decreased the risk of developing near-sightedness by 2%. Meanwhile, other studies have linked time spent outdoors with lower BMI and less fatigue.
How can we implement ecotherapy in our lives? Here are some tips:
1. Spend time outdoors: head to the nearest neighbourhood park, a hiking trail, the beach, or even the little patch of greenery by your home. Use your senses to engage deeply with the great outdoors.
2. Cultivate a relationship with natural elements — a garden, a potted plant, a vase of flowers, a pet, or even the neighbourhood tree.
3. Participate in nature programmes and activities available near you and find out which style of ecotherapy suits you, whether it’s a forest bathing session or nature retreat.
4. Seek out biophilic designs in your working environment and incorporate it in your home.
Youmin Yap, the founder of Xiu Nature Connections, is a pioneer and leading Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide (Association of Nature and Forest Therapy) in Southeast Asia and based in Singapore. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram.
Asher Low is a social worker and co-founder of Limitless, which specifically caters to those aged 12-25 who experience issues related to mental health, providing support through therapy, counselling, social activities and group work. Discover more about Limitless on their Facebook and Instagram.
