Why your Doctor may soon be telling you to take a hike!
Do You Know About The Nature Prescription?
Hey Halton! Do you know about the PaRx program? Halton Healthcare has become the first hospital system to partner with the PaRX program that prescribes nature as medicine!
Nature is a powerful drug for mental health and physical health disorders. Mental Health practitioners have always encouraged individuals to get their share of nature as best they can to help improve symptoms of depression, anxiety and co-occurring issues. Being in nature has also proven effective at reducing physical health issues that are linked to chronic stress including diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.
How does this Nature Prescription Work?
Healthcare providers who have registered with the PaRx receive a file that provides them with a unique provider code and instructions on how to issue the prescription to patients. Conservation Halton has confirmed that those individuals prescribed the PaRx will be granted 10 free visits to Halton Conservation areas.
Why is this Necessary? Can It Even Really Help?
Those who live in urban areas are at a higher risk of developing mental health disorders including depression, generalised anxiety disorder, addiction and psychosis (Bakolis et al., 2018). We are also a society that is glued to a screen, constantly consuming and falling prey to the negative impacts of high screen time which include, but are not limited to social media addiction, low self-esteem, sleep disruption, anxiety, stress, depression, etc. (Haidt,2024). If you want a comprehensive understanding of the correlation between screen time and mental health, check out Jonathan Haidt’s most recent book, The Anxious Generation.
Since the pandemic and a shift to remote and hybrid work, workers to many extents have seen an upturn in work responsibilities to counterbalance the convenience for working from home. Combine this with increasing economic stressors including food inflation, overall economic inflation, screen distraction, the job market and the rising cost of living, working society as a whole is facing mental health fallouts.
Burnout in particular is on the rise. 1 in 3 Canadians will struggle with a mental health diagnosis such as Major Depressive Disorder or Generalised Anxiety Disorder in their lifetime. The Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth indicates a steady decrease in overall mental health in youth under 19 from the years of 2019 to 2023. This steady decrease in mental health was particularly prominent in teenage girls. The increased use of devices and in particular social media, is directly linked to increased anxiety and depression rates in young people. We are a distracted society glued to our phones and struggling to keep up with demands of life.
How Does Nature Improve Our Overall Health?
The Impact of Nature on Mental Health
Nature in the form of parks, trails, lakes, conservation areas, green spaces etc., provide individuals the opportunity to press the reset button on their overall well-being. Being surrounded by nature can increase endorphins, decrease cortisol levels, and increase vitamin D consumption. This combination reduces stress levels and boosts mood. It also reduces sensory overload which allows mental relaxation and improved focus and creative processing. Some studies even show that being in nature and green spaces correlated with higher levels of empathy.
The Impact of Nature on Physical Health
The physical health implications of nature are also plentiful. Numerous studies prove that being surrounded by nature helps lower blood pressure, reduce heart rate, and reduce stress levels which can directly impact an individual’s risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Being in nature also promotes physical activity in the form of hiking, biking, canoeing or simply just playing. This, of course, has a direct impact on our overall physical and mental health and aids in reducing obesity levels.
How Nature Impacts Healthy Development
Nature promotes healthy cognitive development in children and is also directly linked to promoting self-control behaviours. A 2019 study by Engemann et al., found that children who lived in neighbourhoods with access to more green spaces have a reduced risk of psychiatric disorders later in life including depression, schizophrenia, eating disorders and substance abuse disorders.
Do you have ADHD? Nature can help!
ADHD can manifest as hyperactive behaviours, (which are welcomed in the great outdoors) an/or in a hyperactive mind. If you struggle with focus and “turning off your brain,” being in nature can help quiet the internal noise. A growing body of research indicates that being in nature can improve ADHD symptoms by reducing stress, anxiety, sensory overload, and distraction. This in turn allows for better focus and clarity of thought.
How Can I Get the Prescription?
Ask your doctor if they are currently partnered with the program. Currently, there are more than 16 000 health-care professionals registered to prescribe time in nature across Canada, and the program continues to grow! If your doctor is not part of the program, encourage them to check it out here.
References
Arbuthnott, K. D. (2023). Nature exposure and social health: Prosocial behavior, social cohesion, and effect pathways. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 90, Article 102109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102109
Bakolis, I., Hammoud, R., Smythe, M., Gibbons, J., Davidson, N., Tognin, S., & Mechelli, A. (2018). Urban Mind : Using Smartphone Technologies to Investigate the Impact of Nature on Mental Well-Being in Real Time. BioScience, 68(2), 134–145.
Berman, M. G., Kross, E., Krpan, K. M., Askren, M. K., Burson, A., Deldin, P. J., Kaplan, S., Sherdell, L., Gotlib, I. H., & Jonides, J. (2012). Interacting with nature improves cognition and affect for individuals with depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 140(3), 300–305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2012.03.012
Beute, F., & de Kort, Y. A. W. (2014). Natural resistance: Exposure to nature and self-regulation, mood, and physiology after ego-depletion. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 40, 167–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2014.06.004
Faber Taylor, A., & Kuo, F. E. (2009). Children with attention deficits concentrate better after walk in the park. Journal of Attention Disorders, 12(5), 402–409. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054708323000
Hunter, M. R., Gillespie, B. W., & Chen, S. Y. (2019). Urban nature experiences reduce stress in the context of daily life based on salivary biomarkers. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 722. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00722
Mason, L., Ronconi, A., Scrimin, S., & Pazzaglia, F. (2022). Short-term exposure to nature and benefits for students’ cognitive performance: A review. Educational Psychology Review, 34(2), 609–647. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09631-8
Meredith, G. R., Rakow, D. A., Eldermire, E. R. B., Madsen, C. G., Shelley, S. P., & Sachs, N. A. (2020). Minimum time dose in nature to positively impact the mental health of college-aged students, and how to measure it: A scoping review. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 2942. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02942
Neill, C., Gerard, J., & Arbuthnott, K. D. (2019). Nature contact and mood benefits: Contact duration and mood type. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 14(6), 756–767. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2018.1557242