Science has long proven that being outdoors can improve physical and mental health. However, a study published this week proved that you can reap these benefits without having to walk outside. Instead, simply viewing nature scenes can increase your mood and ultimately improve your health. The study took a highly stressful experience, going to the dentist, and tested the impact of viewing nature scenes during the visit. The researchers found that patients who watched nature scenes via virtual reality devices had lower blood pressure, cortisol levels, and heart rate which translated to less stress and happier patients. If you or your kid fear the dentist, like 22 percent of the population, looking at nature scenes in a magazine or through art can help reduce your stress levels
Not only does viewing nature scenes reduce stress level, but it provides an abundance of other benefits. Here are five other reasons that prove viewing nature scenes can improve your health.
Boosted Immune System: People say that a picture is worth a thousand words. However, science is now proving that a picture is also worth a thousand vitamins. According to a study conducted in 2013, viewing nature scenes can help us heal faster. In the study, patients in rooms facing a courtyard recovered much faster than those that faced a brick wall. Nature scenes can help patients recover from surgery and procedures faster and help us beat common colds and bacterial intruders that enter our body. You won’t have to worry about taking so many sick days between you and your child.
Reduces Depression: Viewing landscape scenes and other images of nature helps us to recover autonomic function following acute-mental stress. This means that prior viewing of nature scenes helps us overcome stressors by improving the way our “fight or flight” responses react to stress. This reduces our risk of mental illnesses such as depression.
Increases Energy: A study from Science Daily looked at exercises in a natural environment against those facing concrete walls in manmade facilities. The findings showed that those that exercised with natural scenery had more energy and were more motivated to stick to their exercise routine. This extra energy can also help people become more focused and pay more attention, which can be great for your child’s schooling.
How to Add Nature to Your Home
- To improve you and your little one’s health, try the following tips to bring the nature into your home.
- Add plants to your home. Plants imitate the outside world and not only provide the benefits mentioned above, but they also clean the air and reduce air pollutants in your home.
- Bring in natural aromatherapy. You can buy aromatherapy sticks or candles to replicate the smells of the outdoors. Scientists suggest that different plant oils can improve certain health conditions.
- Open the windows and let in the nature and light. The light will let in Vitamin D and also provide the health benefits of viewing nature.
- Add landscape paintings or photos to your house. You should place them in areas you spend a lot of time in, such as bedrooms and the living room so that you can get the most benefits.
If you don’t have the time to go outdoors, you can always just bring nature indoors and still reap many of the same benefits.