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According to a new study from the University of Michigan, taking a "pill for nature" for 20 to 30 minutes can reduce stress in a biologically meaningful way.
What is a pill for nature? It's just going outside to spend time in a place that looks like nature. You can sit or you can walk. You can not exercise or use your phone. And it does not even have to be a park or forest where you spend time, according to MaryCarol R. Hunter, principal investigator of the study. "Maybe the front door wherever you work," says Hunter Co.Design. "If you have street trees or open skies – if you see something that looks like a nature – it starts."
Hunter's small study, which she says is the first document that examines the effects of nature on the human body over long periods, has asked 36 city-dwellers to go to a place that seemed like nature three times a year. week at least. 10 minutes each time. Note that there was no minimum green space or number of trees. He simply had to be described by nature in the eye of the beholder.
During the eight weeks of the study, participants had cortisol (or stress hormone) in saliva measured before and after the experience of nature four times. What researchers have gathered from all this data is that time spent in nature definitely reduces stress. Soaking can begin immediately, but it is only after 20 minutes that the data shows that the decrease in cortisol is significant. The decline continues, reaching about 30 minutes, but cortisol levels will continue to decline for an hour.
"We wanted to know when it was the most effective. . . when people can get the greatest effect, "says Hunter. "If you want to spend more than 30 minutes, it would be more beneficial until the first hour. If you really wanted to get the maximum amount in the minimum time, you would do it for 30 minutes. But 20 minutes would do it for you. "
Hunter can not say how long the cortisol level has dropped after a pill for nature, which would require more staff and more funding.
Proving the link between nature and stress level is only part of what makes the idea of taking a so-called "pill for nature" so appealing. It is also a smart brand, easy to understand for the public. The term "pill for nature" is not new in the field of environmental studies, but Hunter appreciates it a lot because it encompasses practice in a clinical prescription. A pill for nature is something that the medical community can understand (and even prescribe!). It also seems that we are scared as modern consumers who would like to buy a product or get a supplement to feel better. "Nature Pills" marks the act totally free to stand near trees with all the effectiveness of Big Pharma.
As for what natural pills could mean for urban design, they certainly confirm that splashing green can have a measurable impact on the well-being of a city dweller. Cities do not need to have Central Park at every block.
"I like to think about it in the extreme. In a megalopolis, a concrete jungle, what does it take to make it a good space? And if it's a small dead tree, periodically [on the block]it probably will not do it. But if it's something that provides a sense of protection, a small microhabitat, that may depend on the species you've chosen, then you may be in business, "says Hunter.
She also pointed out that it was not just how the green spaces of the cities looked, but how they felt. She cites "the smell and freshness when you are close to the plants" as one of those intrinsic feelings that make us understand nature, even when there is not necessarily a lot of soil or chlorophyll in the vicinity. Finally, there is no single definition of "nature" that suits everyone. That's why she thinks that urban spaces need a healthy variety of ecological motives and that it's so important to find a space that resonates with you.
"When you go out, try right away to sign up for nature to stop the spinning brain," Hunter said. "Just stop and be aware of where you are."
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