How Nature Contributes to Well-Being and
Healthy AgingHow Nature
Promotes Well-Being and HealthyAging
Living55Plus.comJohn I. Todor, Ph.D..
Communing with Nature
Can enhance your immune system.
Restore mental sharpness.
Make your life more meaningful.
And, it is essentially free
and without side-effects.
What is Nature?
The phenomena of the physical
world collectively, including plants,
animals, the landscape, and other features
and products of the earth, as opposed to
human creations.
NOT NATURE
Nature and Well-Being
Nature is emerging as an
important way to restore the mind and body from the tensions of today’s world.
It promotes Well-Being and Healthy Aging.
Health and Well-Being
Health is a state of complete
physical, mental, and social well-
being and not just the absence of
disease or infirmity.
Healthy Aging
Age-related declines in the mind and body
start around age 30 and accelerate
around age 55.
Healthy aging is engaging in
lifestyle activities that minimize or
forestall these changes.
Chronic Stress
Today’s changing world puts
constant tension on the mind and
body.
The struggle to cope leaves many
in a state of low grade but chronic
stress that disrupts nearly every system in the
body.
The Source of Chronic StressThe fight or flight
response to threats quickly
puts the mind and body in a reactive state - all system
are go!
Problems arise when systems don’t quickly
return to normal after a perceived
threat.
Psychological Threats
Once most threats were real and
physical like the tiger.
Now they are mostly caused by external demands
and internal rumination or turning over
worrisome ideas in one’s mind.
Too Rev’d Up
Chronic stress is an epidemic.
Chronic inflammation is
rampant.
Anxiety and depression are on
the rise.
And, the most prevalent
diseases today are related to these
causes.
Rest and digest is a state where we slow down.
Blood flow is prioritized to our internal organs,
our heart rate slows - all to help us relax and heal.
Rest and Digest The antidote to fight or flight
A Slower Pace
“Rest and digest” responses are
controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system.
Unfortunately, psychological
rumination can interrupt or delay
this response, leaving us rev’d
up too long.
Promoting “Rest and
Digest”
Some people turn
to:
Yoga
Tai Chi
Mediation
Music
Slow Breathing
Laughter
Exercise
Communing with NatureExposure to
nature promotes Rest and Digest.
It affects our physiology, brain
and psyche.
The effects can be both short-term
and lasting.
For most it happens without a learning curve or much effort.
Primary Ways Nature
Improves Well-Being
Improves the immune system.
Counteracts psychological
stress and restores the
brains’ ability to focus attention.
Adds meaning to life.
Enhancing the Immune System
Here is the bottom line:
People who are regularly exposed
to nature live longer and have fewer diseases
linked to a failure of the immune
system to protect the body.
How Nature Affects
ImmunityPhytoncides are
antimicrobial compounds given
off by trees and other plants.
When people are exposed, blood
pressure is reduced, fight or
flight inhibited and immune system
functioning is enhanced.
Indirect Evidence
In one study, patients recovering
from surgery in rooms with a
window facing a natural setting had
shorter hospital stays and took less pain medicine than did patients whose
window faced a brick wall.
More Direct Evidence
Phytoncide concentration in the
forest air is much higher than in cities.
Walking in nature leads to higher
phytoncide levels in the body but not so when walking in the
city.
Even inhaling captured plant air
improves well-being.
Natural Killer (NK) Cells
NK cells play an major role in the body’s rejection of both tumors
and virally infected cells.
They are an innate component of the immune system.
Forest visits of 1day increase NK
cell levels, an effect that lasts 7
days or more.
Benefits of Negative Ions
Negative ions are oxygen molecules
with an extra electron created
by nature.
They are most concentrated in
forested, mountainous
areas and near moving water.
Negative Ions
Imagine the air and the feeling you get at the beach, near a waterfall or after
a storm.
That’s your body saturated with negative ions.
Negative ions clear the air of mold spores, smoke,
bacteria, viruses and allergens.
Health Benefits of
Negative Ions
Their presence is a natural
anti-depressant leading to a sense
of well-being.
Fewer allergens reduce the
workload on the immune system.
They promote “Rest and digest.”
Positive Ions
An excess of positively charged
ions in your environment
leads to a lack of energy, tension,
anxiety and irritability.
Modern homes, workplaces and
cars generate positive ions.
Cytokines are a Biomarker
for Inflammation
Awe-inspiring events like viewing a
star-filled sky or Yosemite Valley, can reduce one’s level of cytokines
in the body, an indication of less
inflammation.
Benefits of Nature on the
BodyIt lower
depression blood pressure
and blood glucose.
It enhances the immune system.
Living near green space lowers levels
of common diseases.
It increases longevity.
Exposure Purposely choosing to be close to nature,
while enjoying other activities or just being near it
Stimulating the Immune System Through Nature
Connecting Experiencing nature through interactive activities
Immersion Physically becoming part of nature. Mentally absorbing the feel, sights, sounds, smell and taste
Ways to Get Immersed in Nature
Ways to Connect With Nature
Ways to Get Exposure to Nature
Attentional Restoration: Getting Your Brain Back from Overwork and Stress
Full Attentional Capacity Flourishing - Maximum ability to voluntarily direct one’s mental capacities
Reduces Attentional Capacity Just Getting By - degradation of the ability to focus because of factors
like stress, anxiety, distractions, frustration, overwork or mood
Attentional Restoration in a Nutshell
Negative effects of modern life
Restoration through Rest and Digest
How Nature Helps
Engaging in involuntary
attention or fascination
with nature restores
one’s subsequent ability to
focus attention on specific tasks.
Forms of Fascination
HARD Requires directed attention, while fascinating and thrilling it is less restorative
SOFT Escaping the pressures of directed attention while taking in richness and tranquility without a struggle
Benefits of Immersion
After 3-days of immersion in
nature, without technology,
higher-order cognitive
functioning improves by
50%.
Benefits of Being in Nature
A 90 minute walk in a park reduced
activity in the brain areas
responsible for rumination of
negative thoughts.
Not so after a walk on city
streets.
Do Photos of Nature Work?Yes! 10 minutes
of viewing photographs of nature improves one’s mood and
cognitive functioning.
However, the impact is not as
great and immune
functioning is not improved.
Getting Up When You are Feeling Down
5 minutes of exposure to nature can improve one’s
mood and self-esteem.
Even smelling a lemon can bring
on positive emotions.
No, it isn’t just the WALK
Walking on a treadmill while
viewing photographs of
nature produced attentional restoration.
Walking on the treadmill without the photographs
did not.
Nature and Long-term
Mental Health
A study of 10,000 people over 18
years showed that living near green
space was associated with
less mental distress.
Vitality and Energy
Being outdoors is associated with
greater vitality, a relationship fostered by
presence of natural elements.
When feeling vital, people experience
a sense of enthusiasm,
aliveness, and energy.
Healthy Aging Adding Years to One’s Life and Life to One’s Years
Today, the average 65 year-old can expect to live to 85 and beyond. A healthy aging lifestyle can make most of this period one of well-being.
The challenge is to make the period of life meaningful, enjoyable, one of opportunity -not one of fear and deterioration.
Nature can contribute to this flourishing.
Overcoming Negativity
and Depression
Depression, loneliness and a loss of a sense of purpose tend to
rise as we get older. This can lead to less enthusiasm for life.
Communing with nature is an
anti-depressant and restores
vitality.
Overcoming Negativity
and Depression
Remember, a walk in a park can
reduce activity in the brain areas responsible for rumination of
negative thoughts.
Nature takes us out of our own thoughts in a
good way.
Nature and the Sense of Something Bigger
“You only lose energy when life becomes dull in your mind. Your mind gets bored and therefore tired of doing nothing…
Get interested in something! Get absolutely enthralled in something! Get out of yourself! Be somebody! Do something…
The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have.” Norman Vincent Peale
Putting Life in Perspective
Meaning in life is less about happiness and
more about connecting the past to
the present and the future.
And, a sense of belonging in all three.
In addition, nature
makes one more helpful to others and
leads to concerns about the well-being
of society and the planet.
Awe and Appreciation of NatureBeing appreciative of something outside our self, facilitates and enhances feelings of well-being and life satisfaction, as well as feelings of connection to what we have, to what we experience, and to life itself. (Adler)
Awe-inspiring experiences make people feel that they have more time, and are less rushed. This can be an antidote to the not-enough-time worry that plagues many in today’s fast-paced world.
Now! Put Yourself in touch with
Nature
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Ways to Get Small But Healthy Doses of Nature
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John I. Todor, Ph.D. Living55plus.com
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