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Replacing Vacant Lots With Green Spaces Can Ease Depression in Urban Communities

  • July 26, 2018

If you’re a country gal or guy, you probably can’t imagine a world without trees and flowers or corn and clover fields, but in large urban areas there are plenty of people who rarely, if ever, see much of a green space. If the very idea makes you depressed, then think how that lack of greenery makes urban dwellers feel. NPR reports that when researchers looked in to ways to green-up urban areas, they found that access to even small green spaces reduced symptoms of depression in community members, especially in low-income neighborhoods.

It doesn’t take an experiment to know that nature has incredible healing powers, but it’s refreshing to know that scientists have reportable research to back up the concept that a connection to nature is crucial to our physical, spiritual and emotional well-being. In fact, the healing power of nature is so great that studies show that even combat veterans who are suffering psychological issues can be helped far more with “nature therapy” than with drugs or counseling.

Returning to the city, we’ve long known that city dwellers are more likely to suffer from mood and anxiety disorders as well as schizophrenia than those who live in more rural environments, so it stands to reason that we should listen to the growing body of research pointing to the calming and healing effects of nature in combating these disorders.

As you know, I also advocate spending as much time in the outdoors and in nature as possible, including walking barefoot in the grass or, if you live near a beach, in the sand. Called “grounding” or “Earthing,” even if you walk barefoot on bare concrete, the very act of going outside barefoot helps improve the balance of your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.

Not only that, exercising barefoot outdoors is one of the most wonderful, inexpensive and powerful ways of incorporating Earthing into your daily life, as it also can help speed up tissue repair, as well as easing the muscle pain you sometimes get from strenuous exercise.