Research suggests that being around trees is good for our mental and social well-being.
As a teacher mom, I believe in any healthy way that I can reduce stress and spend some time with my family outdoors.
Here are six ways that trees can make you happier and healthier:
Feel Less Stressed and More Restored - Probably the well-researched benefit of nature exposure is that it seems to help decrease our stress, rumination, and anxiety. And much of that research has been conducted in forests.
Improve Health - Besides helping us breathe, being around trees may improve our health in other ways, too. Studies have shown that spending short amounts of time in forests seems to benefit our immune systems.
Lead to Less Crime - While some prior research has shown that green spaces reduce crime in urban settings, it may be that trees are even more effective. In one recent study, they found that for every 10 percent increase in tree canopy cover, crime rates went down in several categories, 11.3 percent for assaults, narcotics crimes, and robbery, and 10.3 percent for battery.
Make Us More Generous and Trusting - Research suggests that nature experiences help us to feel kinder toward others, and many of those studies involve trees. In one experiment, they found that students who studied trees experienced more feelings of awe, a sense of wonder and of being in the presence of something larger than oneself.
Help Heal Faster – People that live in areas with more trees seem to enjoy better health. Whether it’s down to the fact that trees remove pollutants from the air, soil and water or that greener areas encourage people to be more active, is yet to be determined.
Make Environment More Comfortable – This is particularly true in large cities where the abundance of concrete and glass can make the landscape hot and dull. It has been proven that trees can help to lower the temperature of cities.
For all of these reasons, I make an almost daily practice of interacting with trees and encouraging my little one to interact with trees as well.