By Dr. Elizabeth
K. Nisbet, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Trent University
With the
recent time change, even with the best intentions it's hard to get outside
during daylight hours. Finding a few
moments to enjoy some nature time during a hectic work day is even more
challenging when the temperature dips below zero. This may be a difficult season - even for
enthusiastic nature lovers - but keeping that connection to our natural world
has a range of benefits (many of which are reviewed in Selhub and Logan's
well-researched new book "Your Brain on Nature").
Environmental
or 'conservation' psychologists try to unravel the mysteries of human behaviour
- why some people are drawn to and enjoy nature while others prefer to avoid
it. By using self-report surveys, it is possible to measure how connected or
"nature related" people are. This concept of nature relatedness is
similar to a personality trait, like an ecological self or sense of identity
that includes the natural world. As
environmental problems worsen, more researchers are exploring these
human-nature relationships to better understand how our connection (or
disconnection) might influence how we treat our environment. When people feel connected to something, they
want to protect it. And this is what we
find when we measure nature relatedness; being more connected to the
environment goes along with greater concern and ecologically friendly
behaviour. Nature relatedness is also
good for our psyche. That is, more nature
related people tend to report being happier (disconnection from nature is
associated with more negative moods).
For many people, the finding that nature can make us feel good is not exactly
earth (no pun intended) shattering news.
Intuitively, we seem to know that nature can be healing, relaxing, and
restorative.
The physical
and mental health benefits of nature contact (or the hazardous effects of
'nature deficits') are getting media attention, and even influencing political
decisions (in 2010 U.S. President Obama called for research on how to reconnect
Americans with the great outdoors). What
may be puzzling is that many people underestimate nature's benefits.
My
colleagues and I conducted a series of studies in which we asked people to
predict how a short walk outdoors would make them feel; after 15 minutes of
walking, we measured their mood again.
Compared to walking indoors, a brief stroll outside provided a
significant happiness boost. What surprised
us was that even though people expected to enjoy being outdoors, it was much
more pleasant than anticipated. This
underestimation of nature's mood boosting effects (even unspectacular nature,
such as an urban park), may explain why we don't get outdoors more often. Battling
the allure of technology and overcoming the seasonal challenges of Canadian
weather is not an easy task, but new approaches to environmental education such
as 'citizen science' hold promise for bringing together communities and
fostering the awe, fascination, and curiosity that draws us outside and
contributes to our well-being (you may enjoy that cold, crisp November air more
than you think!).
Psychologists are working to understand how our relationship
with nature influences our psychological health and the health of the
planet. By finding ways to reconnect
people with the natural environment, it's possible that we can inspire more
conservation efforts for local green spaces.
And the good news is that this type of activity is likely to make us
happy as well.
To learn
more about the research on individual differences in nature relatedness,
happiness, and environmental behaviour, visit naturerelatedness.ca, or come to
the "Mind Gains: Nature and your brain" session (TD3) on Thursday, November 15th, 2:00-3:30 pm with Melissa Lem (MD), Alan Logan
(ND), and Elizabeth Nisbet (PhD).
Dr. Elizabeth K. Nisbet is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Trent University in Peterborough, an Adjunct Research Professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, and an avid (and happy) nature enthusiast.
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