Having Green Space Near Your House Improves Mental Health

Ann Novek( Luure)--With the Sky as the Ceiling and the Heart Outdoors

A new research has shown for the first time that green space does appear to improve mental health in a sustained way.

Mathew P. White and colleagues note that mental well being is a major public health issue, with unipolar depressive disorder the leading cause of disability in middle to high income countries.

Some research suggests that part of the blame for this unhappiness lies in increased urbanization  nearly 80 percent of the world’s population in more developed regions live in city environments, which tend to have little room for nature.

Other studies suggest a link between happiness and green space, but no research had convincingly established cause and effect of nature on well being over time. To help fill that gap, White’s team decided to examine the issue.

To figure out if nature makes people feel better in the long run, they compared the mental health of hundreds of…

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