During the school day, students are inside the building from 7:40 am to 2:40 pm with little to no exposure to nature. What people don’t realize is that exposure to nature has wonderful effects on mental health.
Nature is generally a very big mental health booster. According to mentalhealth.org.uk, nature can generate a multitude of positive emotions such as happiness, calmness, and creativity. It also helps with concentration. It is no secret that school can have a negative effect on mental health due to oversocialization, stress, and the workload of classes. Nature gives students a way out.
Stanford.Edu did a study that led to the conclusion that time in nature was found to have a positive effect on mood and aspects of cognitive functioning, working memory, and has a dampening effect on anxiety. The study was solely for the purpose of studying a body that is still growing to explore the connection between nature and human well-being.
Now, there are several researches that back up this idea, however we decided to do a slight experiment of it ourselves. So, for a week, we went outside and just relaxed to see how it would affect us. Our Co-Editor, Colleen Brownley, said, “it improved my mood, and I felt more energized throughout the week.”
Our reporter Ava Roscoe stated, “I felt like I was a lot more energetic, and it got rid of my brain fog from sitting in a classroom for too long. I was definitely happy afterwards.”
Our reporter James Mihalcoe said, “I definitely felt like it bettered my mood. My anxiety improved a lot.”
From the backing of the studies and the experiment conducted by our own people, it can be concluded that nature has a good influence on mental health. There are many positive effects that are included with being outside, and it is better than being stuck in a classroom for roughly eight hours in a day.