Raechele Cochran Gathers, MD It’s no secret that your environment matters. The things that surround us can play a huge role in the way we feel. It turns out that your environment can affect not only your mental health, but also your physical health. Spending time in nature and in blue and green spaces can boost relaxation, make you feel better and might also make you healthier.
What are Blue and Green Spaces?
Blue spaces are areas near water: Think beaches, lakefronts, rivers, and streams. Green spaces are areas with non-paved surfaces (think soil and grassy expanses); areas with trees, shrubs, fields and few man-made structures. Examples of green spaces are parks, gardens, forests and even heavily tree-lined streets.
Health and Relaxation Benefits of Blue and Green Spaces
There is ample scientific evidence showing that spending time in blue and green spaces can boost relaxation, help us feel better and boost our health in many ways. Feeling stressed? Well, spending time in blue spaces has been associated with lower levels of psychological distress.
Likewise, blue spaces are associated with improved mood, vitality and mental health.
Health Benefits of Blue Spaces:
- Lower risk of depression
- Decreased anxiety
- Greater relaxation in adults
- Better behavioral development in children
If you’re not lucky enough to live next to a river or coastline, there’s still plenty of good news. Hopefully, there is a green space not too far from where you live…a neighborhood park, a tree lined street, or a bench surrounded by grass and, possibly, near a tree. Time spent in green spaces is also highly beneficial to your mental and physical health.
Spending more time in green spaces has been associated with a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Green spaces are also associated with increased well-being, reduced stress and even improvement in stress hormone (cortisol) levels. And, while none of us is immune to the effects of time, people who spend time in green spaces may also have a lower physical decline as they age.
Get Outdoors to Boost Relaxation
Be it a blue space or a green space, spending time outdoors (especially being active outdoors) can boost your mental and physical health, and might even slow down the impact of aging.
