How can being in nature contribute to long-term well-being for younger generations? This is what a recent study published in People and Nature hopes to address as a team of researchers from the University of Turku in Finland investigated the psychological connections between nature and well-being. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand the mental health benefits of nature compared to urban communities and the steps that can be taken to enhance these experiences.
For the study, the researchers enlisted 158 participants from the Finnish town of Turku comprising a wide range of ages with approximately 75 percent of the participants being women. They were asked to complete a survey asking them about their own and other individuals’ recent experiences in nature during Covid-19, along with comparing those experiences to before Covid-19. Additionally, 20 of the participants enrolled in a creative writing workshop so the participants could better articulate their experiences. In the end, the participants reported increased senses of well-being due to their experiences in nature, specifically the elderly participants.
“Our research unlocks the impact of nature on people's well-being on a deeper level than stress relief or positive emotions,” said Joha Järekari, who is a PhD student at the University of Turku and lead author of the study. “Connection to nature is important to us humans on an identity level and often underpins our lives in ways that are difficult to grasp unless we delve deeper into the matter with time.”
The researchers emphasize that further studies involving the connections between nature and well-being could enable long-term mental health benefits for individuals worldwide.
What new connections between nature and well-being will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: People and Nature, EurekAlert!