Being in nature is good for you, we already know that, but it doesn't matter if you're hiking in a boring meadow or looking for a forest with a lot of biodiversity. Researchers in London discovered that the latter is better.
With the application Urban mind They collected real-time data on psychological well-being in relation to natural variation from about 2,000 participants. as it turned outNatural areas that contain a greater variety of trees, birds, plants, and water provide better mental health than areas that contain fewer of these features. The health benefits lasted for up to eight hours.
Proven for the first time
Nearly a quarter of nature's positive effect on your brain can be explained by a wide range of characteristics. Therefore, it is beneficial for nature itself and for the people who enjoy it to increase biodiversity in the nature reserve.
According to lead researcher Rayan Hammoud, it is King's College London For the first time, the impact of natural diversity on mental health has been studied.
in Scientias.nl “There are several ways in which high biodiversity can benefit mental health,” he explains. One theory is that nature can improve your focus and well-being by reducing psychological fatigue. “The more diverse nature provides a wider range of stimuli that can alleviate this fatigue and thus increase your psychological well-being,” says Hammoud.
More endorphins
He explains that there are more benefits. “In addition, more biodiverse nature reserves promote physical activities and social interaction. Both secrete hormones, such as endorphins, that improve mood. Furthermore, biodiverse ecosystems play a crucial role in reducing pollution and have an impact on temperature.” It can protect against chronic diseases like allergies and asthma, while reducing your stress level and improving your health. People seem to feel better about more biodiversity as a result of a combination of all these factors.
Nowadays, especially in cities, nature is often very one-sided. That must change. “In practical terms, this means that we have to get rid of monocultural parks that are heavily razed with grass mowing, and that have little biodiversity, and that we have to focus more on areas that more closely resemble natural ecosystems in terms of diversity.” biological”.
Trees, plants, birds and water
The researchers did not make any hasty decisions. Between April 2018 and September 2023, nearly 2,000 participants completed more than 41,000 tasks, or three tasks per day over a fourteen-day period. They had to fill out information about their environment and mental health. Natural diversity was defined by the number of four natural features—trees, plants, birds, and water—present in participants' environment.
Hammoud was surprised at the extent to which nature contributed to enhancing the mental health of the participants. “Although we intuitively believe that biodiversity is good for mental health the moment you experience it, we don't have any evidence for that yet. I was surprised by the strength of the effect and how long the benefits lasted, but also that almost a quarter of nature's positive effect can be explained level of biodiversity.
Less and less biodiversity
So it's time to act, according to his colleague Professor Andrea Micheli. “In the context of climate change, we are seeing a sharp decline in biodiversity around the world. Our results show that biodiversity is critical not only to the health of our nature, but also to the psychological well-being of people living in this environment. It is time we realize that biodiversity has Benefits for both the planet and the people who live on it and we consider it vital infrastructure in our cities.
