- People who live in areas with more green space have lower levels of cortisol (Ward et al, 2012).
- Having plants in your home is linked to lower levels of cortisol (Ward et al, 2012)
- ADHD symptoms greatly reduced when in the presence of nature or doing activities in nature (Kuo & Taylor, 2004).
- Walking through nature evidence of lower frustration, engagement and arousal, and higher concentration and positive emotions (Aspinall et al 2013)
- A strain of bacterium in soil, Mycobacterium vaccae, has been found to trigger the release of seratonin, which in turn elevates mood and decreases anxiety.Seratonin is also thought to play a role in learning (Jenks & Matthews, 2010).
References
- Aspinall, P., Mavros, P., Coyne, R., & Roe, J. (2013). The urban brain: analysing outdoor physical activity with mobile EEG. British journal of sports medicine, bjsports-2012.
- Susan M. Jenks (presenter) and Dorothy Matthews, “Ingestion of Mycobacterium vaccae influences learning and anxiety in mice.” Presented at the Annual Animal Behavior Society Meeting, William and Mary College, Williamsburg, VA July 25 – 30, 2010.
- Kuo, F. E., & Taylor, A. F. (2004). A potential natural treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: evidence from a national study. American journal of public health, 94(9), 1580.
- Spratt, E. G., Nicholas, J. S., Brady, K. T., Carpenter, L. A., Hatcher, C. R., Meekins, K. A., … & Charles, J. M. (2012). Enhanced cortisol response to stress in children in autism. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 42(1), 75-81.
- Ward Thompson, C., Roe, J., Aspinall, P., Mitchell, R., Clow, A., & Miller, D. (2012). More green space is linked to less stress in deprived communities: Evidence from salivary cortisol patterns. Landscape and Urban Planning, 105(3), 221-229.
