Time spent outdoors is so fundamental to human life that in U.S. maximum-security prisons, inmates are guaranteed two hours a day outdoors. However, according to one survey, 50% of children spend less than an hour outside daily.first This disconnect from the natural environment can lead to a variety of physical and mental problems in children and adolescents, leading to a phenomenon known as nature deficiency disorder.
Specifically, nature deficit disorder is “the price man has to pay when he is alienated from nature”, in which there are many. This, coupled with the fact that US children spend three times more hours on computers or watching television when they play outdoors,2 may contribute to the emerging mental health crisis among young people.3
What is natural deficit disorder?
The term “nature deficiency disorder” was coined by journalist Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods”.4 This is not an actual psychological diagnosis but a term used to describe lifestyle deficiencies that contribute to poor psychological and physical health.
Louv says that people’s alienation from nature has led to “reduced use of the senses, difficulty concentrating, and higher rates of physical and emotional illness.”5 Speaking to Yale Environment 360, Louv explained that there has been an increase in research highlighting the ill effects of nature deficits in recent years:6
“When I wrote Last Child in the Woods in 2005, it wasn’t a hot topic. This topic is mostly ignored by academia. I could find 60 studies that are good ones. Now it’s approaching and is about to surpass 1,000 studies, and they point in a direction: Nature is not only beautiful when it is, it’s a must-have for physical health and cognitive function.”
The lack of nature is increasing due to increasingly urbanized lifestyles, which often include access to less natural space, more time using equipment and increased pressures from work and school, leads to more time indoors and less leisure time in general, as well as less leisure time outdoors.
Changes in risk perception were also highlighted by Louv as a driver of nature deficit disorder, although he did refer to risks as “stranger danger” at the time. there.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further increased the risk of illness and social gatherings, making outdoor time even scarcer. In a study published in the journal Environmental Research in March 2022, it was shown that many US college students limit outdoor recreation and reduce park use during the pandemic due to concerns. about the virus as well as lack of transportation or crowding.7
Reduced park use is associated with higher levels of emotional distress, like living in a county with a smaller park area per capita. In another study of US adolescents conducted from April 2020 to June 2020, a decline in outdoor participation, connection with nature, and mental health was observed. .8 It is likely that nature deficiency disorder is even more common today than it was before the pandemic.
Lack of nature contributes to mental health crisis
Thirty years ago, the biggest public health threats to teenagers included binge drinking, drunk driving, smoking, and teenage pregnancy. That has been largely replaced by a new threat: mental health disorders. As reported by The New York Times:9
“In 2019, 13% of teenagers reported experiencing a major depressive episode, up 60% from 2007. Children and adolescents who went to the emergency room during that period also experienced a sharp increase in anxiety. , mood disturbances, and self-harm. And for 10- to 24-year-olds, the suicide rate, which was stable between 2000 and 2007, increased by nearly 60 percent in 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ”
The rise in mental health disorders has paralleled the rise of excessive phone and computer use – defined as at least three hours a day, excluding school work – in bars. teenagers in the past decade. When kids spend less time indoors, they spend more time on screens, including social media exposure. During the same decade, persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, along with suicidal ideation, also increased.ten
You may have heard of the term “food desert,” which describes communities with limited access to nutritious foods. “Park deserts” also exist, in which communities lack green space for their residents to spend time in.
With younger generations spending more and more time looking at screens, living in urban environments without access to natural spaces, the disconnection from nature is getting worse and worse. better.
Writing in the journal BMC Public Health, researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston describe access to nature as an issue of environmental justice, adding that “the Latinx, low-income and/or low-educated individuals have less access to vegetation,” are putting their physical, mental, and socio-emotional health at risk.11
What Do Children Get From Nature?
Regular access to and spending time with nature brings enormous benefits to human health and well-being. Writing in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience in India explain:twelfth
“It is often experienced that a simple stroll in the park, watching the trees sprout from a tiny seed, or taking a vacation away from the hustle and bustle of the city at least relieves people of stress. partly straight that we might encounter. and make everyone feel new again.
This gives us a clear indication that man really has a deep desire to reconnect with the natural world no matter how much he separates himself from the natural world, in a place full of its full facilities, advanced technology, sophisticated. ”
However, it’s not just natural feeling or assuming that nature is good for children’s health; Research also shows this. In a systematic review that included 35 articles, about half found a statistically significant positive relationship between nature and mental health outcomes.13
Furthermore, it has been previously found that, in adolescents and young adults, exposure to nature improves cognitive function, reduces attention deficit disorder, and promotes self-perception. Participating in outdoor camping has been suggested as a way for children to get important time outdoors, and one study, indeed, found benefits when young adults attended a four-day wilderness camp. the week.14
In addition to an improved sense of place and nature connection, the participants felt that the wilderness environment facilitated social connections, and they experienced a significant improvement in well-being. benefits, including benefits for:15
- Feel the stress
- Relax
- Positive and negative emotions
- Whole feeling
- Transcendent
Ecological Interventions Benefits for Medical Disorders
Ecotherapy is a term to describe psychotherapeutic techniques that treat mental and physical health using environmental or ecological interventions, such as social farming and therapy, green exercise, environmental conservation, wildlife therapy, foster care and animal-supported interventions.
All of this puts people back in touch with their natural roots, leading to improvements in health that are hard to achieve using other interventions. Ecotherapy techniques have been shown to be beneficial for a wide range of disorders, including:16
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High Blood Pressure |
Fat |
|
Recovery after surgery |
Boring |
|
Stress |
post traumatic stress disorder |
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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder |
Adjustment disorder |
For example, a 2019 study revealed that psychiatric hospital patients benefit greatly from gardening.17 Working with plants and soil stimulated reflex processes in patients, those who used the activity and the garden itself to better understand their illness.
Along with providing the calm and needed environmental change from a hospital setting, gardening improves mood and socially friendly behavior while fostering a sense of community, belonging and sharing. shared purpose. The patients also reduced their isolation and felt that this activity kept them from being distracted by unpleasant thoughts. Gardening can be just as powerful, in part due to what is known as the attention restoration theory:18
“Attention restoration suggests that concentration can be restored by exposure to the natural environment. Engaging in gardening activities allows an individual to mentally and physically move to another place, provides an opportunity to feel connected to a larger world, and allows participants to participate in their environment to meet their needs and preferences, all of which contribute to environmental restoration.
Engaging in gardening activities has been linked to reduced stress, increased attention, social well-being, and self-efficacy. ”
Especially in times of pandemic, when people, including adolescents, become even more isolated from their natural environment, researchers have suggested that natural areas could be used used to combat “psychological disorders”, and pointed out that ecotherapeutic interventions can be “simple and transformative” adding:19
“[W]I can put my hands on the ground to feel the ground, swim in the water to heal my emotions, fill my lungs with fresh air to clear my mind, raise my face to the heat of the sun and touch with the fire to feel the immense power within us, the sum of which is, the physical connection to nature has the effect of improving our mental health concerns.
Indeed, research to date shows that reconnecting with nature through some unresolved methods will certainly bring about a positive change in mental health and wellness issues. our health. ”
Helping young people reconnect with nature
Positive changes are taking place as it becomes increasingly clear that humans need nature, perhaps more than nature needs us. A survey by HR consulting firm Future Workplace found that access to natural light and views of the outdoors were the most sought-after attributes of an office environment, beating out fitness centers. education, kindergarten and on-site cafe.20
Even learning at school is taking place more and more outdoors. Louv, co-founder of the Children & Nature Network, which aims to increase the time children spend in nature, says outdoor schools, where most of the learning takes place in natural spaces, has increased by 500 % since 2012 in the US.21
Even spending 120 or more minutes in nature per week was associated with a higher likelihood of good health or happiness, compared with no exposure to nature,22 and you can break it down any way you want – one hour twice a week, 20 minutes six days a week, etc.
Encouraging teens to turn off electronics and spend time outdoors – participating in sports, gardening, walking the dog or being in nature – should be a priority. Whenever you get the chance to get outdoors, do it – mealtimes, family gatherings, and even car washes are all opportunities to be outdoors.
Overdue travel is another common barrier to youth access to nature, and it is estimated that the average U.S. child spends only four to seven minutes outdoors engaging in outdoor activities. play unstructured every day.23
As such, one of the simplest things parents can do for youth, according to the Children & Nature Network, can also be one of the most profound: “Make nature a priority like any other. any other scheduled events and use the time for quality family bonding. ”24
