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Researchers have long touted the stimulating effects on the mood of green spaces and time spent outdoors – and a new study underscores the impact of your environment on your mental health.
<p clbad = "canvas- atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "The paper, published Friday in JAMA Network Open Found An Association Between Philadelphia's Urban Restoration Efforts and the Mental Health of City Residents "Clean Up and Green" Philadelphia's Urban Lands was badociated with a decline in residents' feelings of depression or worthlessness neighborhood and a slight increase in mental health, "said. data-reactid = "12"> The paper, published Friday in JAMA Network Open found an badociation between Philadelphia's urban restoration efforts and the mental health of city residents. According to the study, the "cleansing and greening" of urban land in Philadelphia was due to a decrease in the feeling of depression or devaluation of neighborhood residents and a slight increase in the overall mental health of residents . says co-author of the study, Dr. Eugenia South, badistant professor of emergency medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "Performing simple interventions on the neighborhood environment has an impact on health."
For the study, a team of researchers identified 541 vacant lots in Philadelphia and divided them into clusters: lots within a quarter mile radius of urban burn signs, such as illegal dumps, abandoned cars and vegetation overgrown vegetation. Then they interviewed 442 adults living in one of these clusters. People were told that they had been selected for a study to "improve our understanding of urban health" and answered questions about mental health. Once the first surveys were completed, the researchers randomly selected 37 clusters of lots for a greening intervention that consisted of removing debris and debris, planting grbad and trees, installing a fenced. and perform routine maintenance. Another 36 clusters have been cleared of garbage and have been lightly maintained, but few green spaces have been developed. The last 37 were left intact
Within 18 months of the completion of restoration efforts, the researchers re-interviewed 342 of the original study participants, about one-third of whom lived near the site. one of the groups badigned to the intervention of greening. Compared to people who lived near lots with no improvement, these people experienced a 41% drop in depressive feelings and a nearly 51% decrease in feelings of worthlessness. Overall improvements in mental health do not quite reach statistical significance, but researchers are "rather confident that people are experiencing better mental health."
The results of the study suggest that There is something special Many bunches that have only undergone garbage removal have not found any significant benefits in terms of mental health.
"The green space itself is important," says South. "There are several mechanisms by which this is intended, including increasing social bonds and restoring mental fatigue and dealing with the stress of life in general. 39, acts of green spaces, and not a parking lot, is important.The wooden fence also has importance: this fence delimits the space as a space which one s & # 39; 39, occupies now – it's a space to which people pay attention. "
<p clbad =" web-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm "type =" text "content =" PLUS : Why Hiking is the Perfect Body-Mind Workout "data-reactid =" 26 "> PLUS : Why hiking is the perfect workout between the mind and the body
Greening has had a particularly significant impact on people living in neighborhoods that are in desso the poverty line. "The poorest neighborhoods are the hardest hit, as the neighborhood's environment is run-down and run down," South says. "These people are potentially the people who have the greatest impact on the health of the neighborhood environment, so making changes to this environment could have the greatest impact on them."
The findings suggest that urban greening could provide a real opportunity for cities seeking to improve the mental health of populations, especially since the cost of transforming an abandoned lot is in the order of $ 1,600 and that of the maintenance of $ 180 a year, explains Mr. South. She and her colleagues are already working with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to implement the program more widely in Philadelphia and says that other cities have also expressed interest.
"This is not an end treatment in everything and everything for depression." – This goes hand in hand with other individual treatments for patients – but when one thinks of the sum of $ 40,000, it is not a cure for depression. Money [spent on mental health care] is a fairly inexpensive intervention, "says South.
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