NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, STRESS AND MENTAL HEALTH

Miodrag Milenović, Snežana Živković, Milan Veljković

DOI Number
10.22190/FUWLEP1703225M
First page
225
Last page
234

Abstract


In this paper, we discuss how natural environment affects mental health and how urban environment impacts on stress levels. The first part of the paper clarifies terminology used in discussing mental health, natural environment and the relationship between humans and natural environment. The second part deals with basic mechanisms of the impact of natural environment on mental health; it also discusses studies of the positive impact of nature on mental health. The third part presents Forest Therapy (Shinrin-yoku) and discusses how urban life contributes to high levels of stress.The paper suggests that being surrounded by nature can improve health. Even short-term exposure of senses is beneficial for mental health. Nature improves general mood, mental abilities and increases body vitality. The effects of green areas are particularly important because their natural vibrations benefit human natural vibrations. It has been shown that ‘imitating’ nature by creating visuals and emulating nature's scents or sounds can improve human psycho-physical health and the quality of life.

 


Keywords

nature, mental health, stress, greenery, vibrations

Full Text:

PDF

References


Beveridge, C.E. (1977). Frederick Law Olmsted’s Theory of Landscape Design, Nineteenth Century, 3, pp. 38-43.

Broadbent, D.E. (1958). Perception and Communication, London: Pergamont Press.

Brownsberger, J., Edwards, A., Crowther, R., Cottrell, D. (2013). Impact of mental fatigue on self-paced exercise. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 34, pp. 1029-1036.

Cackowski, J.M., Nasar, J.L. (2003). The restorative effects of roadside vegetation: Implications for automobile driver anger and frustration. Environment and Behavior, 35(6), pp. 736-751.

Capaldi, C.A., Dopko, R.L., Zelenski, J.M. (2014). The relationship between nature connectedness and happiness: a meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, pp. 976-981.

De Vries, S., Verheij, R.A., Groenewegen, P.P., Spreeuwenberg, P. (2003). Natural environments - healthy environments? An exploratory analysis of the relationship between greenspace and health. Environment and Planning, 35(10), pp. 1717-1731.

Diener, E., Kanazawa, S., Suh, E.M., Oishi, S. (2014). Why people are in a generally goodmood. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 19(3), pp. 235-256.

Donovan, G.H., Butry, D.T., Michael, Y.L., Prestemon, J.P., Liebhold, A.M., Gatziolis, D., Mao, M.Y. (2013). The relationship between trees and human health: evidence from the spread of the emerald ash borer. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 44, pp. 139-145.

Faber, L.G., Maurits, N.M., Lorist, M.M. (2012). Mental fatigue affects visual selective attention. PLoS ONE, 7: e48073.

Frumkin, H. (2001). Beyond toxicity: Human health and the natural environment. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 20(3), pp. 234-240.

Grillon, C., Quispe-Escudero, D., Mathur, A., Ernst, M. (2015). Mental fatigue impairs emotion regulation. Emotion, 15 (3), pp. 383-389.

Gulwadi, G.B. (2006). Seeking restorative experiences: elementary school teacher’s choices for places that enable coping with stress. Environment and Behavior, 38(4), pp. 503-520.

Hartig, T. (2007). Three steps to understanding restorative environments as health resources. In Thompson C. & Travlou, P. (Eds.), Open space: People space (pp. 163-179). London: Taylor & Francis.

Hippocrates (2007). On Airs, Waters and Places, Adelaide: University of Adelaide.

Jenny, H. (2001). Cymatics: A Study of Wave Phenomena & Vibration, Berkeley-CA: MACROmedia.

Johnson, D.L., Ambrose, S.H., Bassett, T.J., Bowen, M.L., Cummey, D.E., Isaacson, J.S., Johnson, D.N., Lamb, P., Saul, M., Winter-Nelson, A. (1997). Meanings of environmental terms. Journal of Environmental Quality, 26, pp. 581-589.

Joye, Y., Van den Berg, A.E. (2011). Is love for green in our genes? A critical analysis of evolutionary assumptions in restorative environments research. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 10(4), pp. 261-268.

Kaplan, R., Kaplan, S. (1989). The experience of nature: A psychological perspective. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Kaplan, S. (1995). The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15(3), pp. 169-182.

Kaplan, R. (2001). The nature of the view from home - psychological benefits. Environment and Behavior, 33(4), pp. 507-542.

Kaplan, S., Berman, M.G. (2010). Directed attention as a common resource for executive functioning and self-regulation. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(1), pp. 43-57.

Kim, W., Lim, S.K., Chung, E.J., Woo, J.M. (2009). The effect of cognitive behavior therapy based psychotherapy applied in a forest environment on physiological changes and remission of major depressive disorder. Psychiatry Investigation, 6, pp. 245-254.

Kim, T.H., Jeong, G.W., Baek, H.S., Kim, G.W., Sundaram, T., Kang, H.K., Lee, S.W., Kim, H.J., Song, J.K. (2010). Human brain activation in response to visual stimulation and rural urban scenery pictures: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. The Science of Total Environment, 408, pp. 2600-2607.

Kim, G.W., Song, J.K., Jeong, G.W. (2011). Neuro-anatomical evaluation of human suitability for rural and urban environment by using fMRI. Korean Journal of Medical Physics, 22, pp. 18-27.

King, K., Ogle, C. (2014). Negative Life Events Vary by Neighborhood and Mediate the Relation between Neighborhood Context and Psychological Well-Being. PLOS ONE 9(4): e93539.

Kuo, F.E., Sullivan, W.C. (2001). Aggression and violence in the inner city: Effects of environment via mental fatigue. Environment and Behavior, 33(4), pp. 543-571.

Lazarus, R.S., Cohen, J.B. (1977). Environmental stress. In Altman, I. and Wohl-will, J.Y. (Eds.) Human Behavior and Environment, Vol. 2, pp. 89-128, New York: Plenum Press.

Maas, J., Verheij, R.A., de Vries, S., Spreeuwenberg, P., Schellevis, F.G., Groenewegen, P.P. (2009). Morbidity is related to a green living environment. Journal of Epidemiolgical Community Health, 63, pp. 967-973.

Maas, J., Verheij, R.A., Groenewegen, P.P., de Vries, S., Spreeuwenberg, P. (2006). Green space, urbanity, and health: how strong is the relation? Journal of Epidemiological Community Health, 7, pp. 587-592.

Mayer, F.S., Frantz, C.M., Bruehlman-Senecal, E., Dolliver, K. (2009). Why is nature beneficial? Environment and Behavior, pp. 607-643.

Mechakra-Tahiri, S., Dubé, M., Zunzunegui, M.V., Préville, M., Berbiche, D., Brassard, J. (2013). Pattern of change of depressive disorder over a one-year period among community-dwelling older adults in Québec, Depression Research and Treatment, article ID 451708, doi:10.1155/2013/451708.

Mitchell, R., Popham, F. (2008). Effect of exposure to natural environment on health inequalities: An observational population study. Lancet, 372 (9650), pp. 1655-1660.

Mishima, R., Tsunetsugu, Y., Miyazaki,Y., Yamamura, C., Yamada,Y. (2004). Effects of sounds generated by a dental turbine and stream on regional cerebral blood flow and cardiovascular responses. Odontology, 92(1), pp. 54-60.

Nordh, H., Hartig, T., Hägerhäll, C.M., Fry, G. (2009).Components of small urban parks that predict the possibility for restoration. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 8(4), pp. 225-235.

Park, S.H. (2006). Randomized clinical trials evaluating therapeutic influences of ornamental indoor plants in hospital rooms on health outcomes of patients recovering from surgery. Unpublished Dissertation, Kansas: Kansas State University.

Park, B.J., Tsunetsugu, Y., Kasetani, T., Kagawa, T., Miyazaki, Y. (2010). The physiological effects of shinrin-yoku (taking in the forest atmosphere or forest bathing): evidence from field experiments in 24 forests across Japan. Environmental Health Preventive Medicine, 15, pp. 18-26.

Ryan, R.M., Weinstein, N., Bernstein, J., Brown, K.W., Mistretta, L., Gagne, M. (2010).Vitalizing effects of being outdoors and in nature. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30(2), pp. 159-168.

Silverstone, M. (2011). Blinded by Science, London: Lloyd's Wold Publishing.

Sugiyama, T., Leslie, E., Giles-Corti, B., Owen, N. (2008). Associations of neighbourhood greenness with physical and mental health: do walking, social coherence and local social interaction explain the relationships? Journal of Epidemiological Community Health, 62, e9.

Takayama, N., Korpela, K., Lee, J., Morikawa, T., Tsunetsugu, Y., Park, B.J., Li, Q., Tyrväinen, L., Miyazaki, Y., Kagawa, T. (2014). Emotional, restorative and vitalizing effects of forest and urban environments at four sites in Japan. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 11, pp. 7207-7230.

Tinio, P.P.L., Leder, H. (2009). Natural scenes are indeed preferred, but image quality might have the last word. Psychology of Aesthetics,Creativity, and the Arts, 3(1), pp. 52-56.

Toa, M., Den, R., Hasegawa-Ohira, M., Morimoto, K. (2013). Effects of woodland walking on salivary stress markers cortisol and chromogranin. Complementary Therapies and Medicine, 21, pp. 29-34.

Tomson, J.A. (1934). Biology for Everyman, Vol.1, London: J.M. Dent&Sons.

Tsunetsugu, Y., Park, B.J., Miyazaki, Y. (2010). Trends in research related to “Shinrin-yoku” (taking in the forest atmosphere or forest bathing) in Japan. Environmental Health Preventive Medicine, 15, pp. 27-37.

Ulrich, R.S. (1983). Response to Natural. Behavior and the Natural Environment, 6, 85.

Ulrich, R.S. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science, 224 (4647), pp. 420-421.

Ulrich, R.S. (1999). Effects of gardens on health outcomes: Theory and research. In Cooper-Marcus, C. & Barnes, M. (Eds.), Healing gardens: Therapeutic benefits and design recommendations, pp. 27-86. New York: John Wiley.

Ulrich, R.S., Simons, R.F., Miles, M.A. (2003). Effects of environmental simulations and television on blood donor stress. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 20(1), pp. 38-47.

Van Dillen, S.M.E., De Vries, S., Groenewegen, P. P., Spreeuwenberg, P. (2011). Greenspace in urban neighbourhoods and residents’ health: Adding quality to quantity. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 66 (6), e8.

Vemuri, A.W., Grove. M.J., Wilson, M.A., Burch, W.R. (2011). A tale of two scales: evaluating the relationship among life satisfaction, social capital, income, and the natural environment at the individual and neighborhood levels in metropolitan Baltimore. Environmentak Behavavior, 43, pp. 3-25.

WHO, (2014). Mental health: a state of well-being, http://www.who.int

White, M., Smith, A., Humphreyes, K., Pahl, S., Snelling, D., Depledge, M. (2010). Blue space: The importance of water for preference, affect, and restorativeness ratings of natural and built scenes. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30(4), pp. 482-493.

White, M.P., Alcock, I., Wheeler, B.W., Depledge, M.H. (2013). Coastal proximity, health and well-being: results from a longitudinal panel survey. Health & Place, 23, pp. 97-103.

Zhang, J.W., Howell, R.T., Iyerb, R. (2014). Engagement with natural beauty moderates the positive relation between connectedness with nature and psychological well-being. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 38, pp. 55-63.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.22190/FUWLEP1703225M

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


ISSN   0354-804X (Print)

ISSN   2406-0534 (Online)