Do you suffer from “Nature Deficit Disorder”?

Nature connection

Feb 4

I was lucky; I grew up in North Wales, surrounded by stunning countryside. Beaches, lakes, mountains, rivers, a back garden and a clear night sky where I could see the Milky Way. People who visit my home usually respond with awe, or envy. The thing is, I didn’t realise how lucky I was at the time; it was normal to me.

It was only when I moved away to Manchester for University that I started to feel that something was ‘off’. Surrounded by buildings, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, I felt anxious, depressed, like “my soul [was] dying”, as I put it in my diary. It was only when I went back home to visit my family that I realised how deeply I’d been impacted by being away from nature - even in as little as four weeks. To be able to run around in a field again, to sing at the top of my voice and know that nobody would hear me, to sit by a river - I felt as if the breath came flooding back into my body.

Getting outside can be tough, and it's especially off-putting when you're faced with grey days and rain, or when there are no trees to be seen for miles. With late mornings and early evenings, there isn't a lot of daylight to catch in Winter - and if you're at work during those hours, it's even harder. But it might turn out that getting outside a little more could have transformation effects.

In 2015, I focused the study of my Masters in Applied Positive Psychology on how spending time in nature is vital for our wellbeing. In fact, I teamed up with Rewild Your Life, and found that people were significantly happier after spending just 30 minutes a day in nature for 30 days (read the study here). Not only was their overall mood much more positive, but they claimed to be more satisfied with life and even to have more meaning in their lives. It seemed that the more time they spend in nature, the better, and the ‘wilder’ the are the greater the effect - but the effect still held from spending time in ‘urban nature’, which is good news for those in cities.

Here are some facts that might get you thinking. Children who regularly play outdoors have a stronger immune system, lower levels of stress, better imagination and creativity, higher self-esteem and respect for others, better vision and motor function, and better social bonds.

On the other hand, children who have 2 or more hours of daily "screen time" are at a higher risk of obesity, have less regular sleep patterns, delayed language acquisition, more hyperactivity and attention problems, lower levels of creativity and more trouble forming social bonds. Yet 64% of babies and toddlers are, on average, watching 2+ hours of TV a day - (sources: Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood and the National Centre for Physical Development and Outdoor Play).

But it isn't just children who are affected by too much screen - and not enough green - time. Adults who don't spend enough time outdoors are just as likely as children to be overweight, irritable, depressed and anxious, and those who spend a lot of time outdoors are generally happier and healthier.

In his book Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv argues that many of us today suffer from nature deficit disorder - which, according to him, can lead to: “a diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, conditions of obesity, and higher rates of emotional and physical illnesses. Research also suggests that the nature-deficit weakens ecological literacy and stewardship of the natural world. These problems are linked more broadly to what health care experts call the “epidemic of inactivity,” and to a devaluing of independent play”.

Here in the Czech Republic, it seems that people go to the countryside almost once a week, and they’re often found gardening, hiking, skiing, or kayaking, so when I tell them about the benefits of nature, they look at me as if I’m stating the most obvious thing ever. However, this is not the case everywhere. The average American apparently spends 93% of their lives indoors, and it’s not much different over in the UK.

What’s really mind-blowing is that research is now suggesting that spending time outdoors can be an effective preventer of depression, and that living close to nature or spending time outdoors is linked to lowered risk of type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, premature death, preterm birth, stress, and high blood pressure.

You don’t have to think about it for too long before you realise that in a crumbling ecosystem, this is bad news. If we are happier when we spend time in nature, what happens when our natural spaces are destroyed? What happens to our mental health if we can’t go outside, we can’t breathe fresh air, or even if we never learn where our food and water come from? There’s also a huge inequality factor to consider - those with more money tend to buy grand houses with big gardens, in peaceful, idyllic areas, while many are economically trapped in urban areas with very little greenspace. Consider the fact that adding urban green space can reduce crime - a wonderful finding, if governments are willing to fund or allow such projects, but also an indicator of how access to nature can be a privilege that further exacerbates inequality.

So what do we do? Well, we do what we can. Get yourself into nature as much as possible. Can’t get there? Good news - research shows that even looking at pictures of nature can reduce our stress levels. But I personally don’t love the idea of a world where we gaze longingly at green pastures on our laptops while the actual world around us continues to be destroyed, deforested and devastated. We should do what we can to protect the planet we have, and we should also keep in mind that those who don’t care about, appreciate or understand ecosystems are less likely to care about them - so get some David Attenborough documentaries doing, join the campaign to Rewild Childhood, grow a small plant on your windowsill, and look for ways that you can get close to greenspace as often as possible.

As part of my training with The Work That Reconnects, I am working through recognising my interconnectedness with all living things, which means that when I am outside, I am closer to home than when surrounded by electronics. I also find that when a coaching session moves from an indoor, “official” feeling space to my garden, or a walk through the park, something shifts inside me and the client. It’s suddenly far easier to access our emotions, to understand how we’re feeling, and to connect with a deeper sense of who we really are.

So, what are you waiting for? Get yourself some “Vitamin N” today - or, in the meantime, here’s another nice picture to look at: