How nature nurtures: Amygdala activity decreases as the result of a one-hour walk in nature

Since living in cities is associated with an increased risk for mental disorders such as anxiety disorders, depression and schizophrenia, it is essential to understand how exposure to urban and natural environments affects mental health and the brain. It has been shown that the amygdala is more activated during a stress task in urban compared to rural dwellers. However, no study so far has examined the causal effects of natural and urban environments on stress-related brain mechanisms. To address this question, we conducted an intervention study to investigate changes in stress-related brain regions as an effect of a one-hour walk in an urban (busy street) vs. natural environment (forest). Brain activation was measured in 63 healthy participants, before and after the walk, using a fearful faces task. Our findings reveal that amygdala activation decreases after the walk in nature, whereas it remains stable after the walk in an urban environment. These results suggest that going for a nature walk can have salutogenic effects for stress-related brain regions, and consequently, it may act as a preventive measure against mental strain and potentially disease. Given the rapidly increasing urbanization, the present results aim to influence urban planning to create more accessible green areas and to adapt urban environments in a way that will be beneficial for citizens’ mental health.

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Mental Health & Resiliency: Designing Participatory Nature Dependent Environments and Communities for a Sustainable Future

Journal of Sustainable Development ◽

10.5539/jsd.v11n3p234 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 234 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jacqueline Beam ◽

Nawari O. Nawari ◽

Bill Tilson

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Urban Planning ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Close Contact ◽

Community Planning ◽

Well Being ◽

Mental Health Research ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Relationship Building ◽

Natural Environments

Sustainable design trends have historically wended down a road that supports the idea of densely populated urban planning as a strategy for mitigating sprawl. Creation of dense urban areas aims at the reduction of carbon emissions. However, studies show that densely populated areas often come with a panacea of mental health, resiliency, and quality of life ails for a community.The following research explores the possibility of combining densely populated design approaches with ancient community planning methods that encourage relationship building: close contact with natural environments and social interchange. Community planning that also creates a day to day contact with nature could be a crucial strategy for both sustaining healthy ecosystems and the development of sustainable communities. The potential for integrating dependence upon nature within built urban environments, as well as the possibility of positive place-making by harvesting nature dependent cultural and social assets in communities and neighborhoods, is, therefore, a wealthy area worthy of exploration.To explore these areas, mental health research on the effects of nature on the brain, as well as the three leading determinants of social, environmental and economic well-being, worldwide, and the founding cultures of these determinants were reviewed. Resilient indigenous groups and case studies of the happiest nation, of Norway and two leading environmentally sustainable and resilient countries, Costa Rica, Cuba, and New Mexico are examined. The paper provides recommendations for improving mental health and resilience by integrating strategies for nature and community needs in urban planning and built environments design.

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Feeling Stressed and Ugly? Leave the City and Visit Nature! An Experiment on Self- and Other-Perceived Stress and Attractiveness Levels

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17228519 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (22) ◽

pp. 8519

Author(s):

Claudia Menzel ◽

Fiona Dennenmoser ◽

Gerhard Reese

Keyword(s):

Perceived Stress ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Natural Environments ◽

Body Appreciation ◽

Short Term ◽

Self And Other ◽

Before And After ◽

The Face ◽

Stressful Experience ◽

The City

Natural environments, compared to urban environments, usually lead to reduced stress and positive body appreciation. We assumed that walks through nature and urban environments affect self- and other-perceived stress and attractiveness levels. Therefore, we collected questionnaire data and took photographs of male participants’ faces before and after they took walks. In a second step, female participants rated the photographs. As expected, participants felt more restored and attractive, and less stressed after they walked in nature compared to an urban environment. A significant interaction of environment (nature, urban) and time (pre, post) indicated that the men were rated by the women as being more stressed after the urban walk. Other-rated attractiveness levels, however, were similar for both walks and time points. In sum, we showed that the rather stressful experience of a short-term urban walk mirrors in the face of men and is detectable by women.

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Cerebral Targeting of Acupuncture at Combined Acupoints in Treating Essential Hypertension: An Rs-fMRI Study and Curative Effect Evidence

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine ◽

10.1155/2016/5392954 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Yanjie Wang ◽

Yu Zheng ◽

Shanshan Qu ◽

Jiping Zhang ◽

Zheng Zhong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Synergistic Effect ◽

Acupuncture Treatment ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Short Term ◽

Curative Effect ◽

Brain Areas ◽

Fmri Study ◽

Sf 36 ◽

Before And After

The study attempted to explore that the synergistic effect of acupoints combination is not a simple superposition of single acupoint’s effect by comparing and analyzing the changes of blood pressure (BP), SF-36, and brain regions after acupuncture treatment. 47 patients were randomly divided into LR3+KI3 group, LR3 group, and KI3 group. Subjects received Rs-fMRI scan, BP measurement, and SF-36 questionnaires before and after treatment and short-term acupuncture treatment. After treatment, there were no significant differences in BP and SF-36 among 3 groups, compared to the case before treatment, SBP of 3 groups decreased, and DBP significantly decreased while vitality and mental health significantly increased in LR3+KI3 group. Both number and scopes of changes of brain regions in LR3+KI3 group were the largest, which mainly included BAs 3, 4, 8, 19, 21, 24, 32, 44, and 45. In conclusion, acupuncture at LR3+KI3 may auxiliarily reduce BP and improve the vitality and mental health of patients, and the changes of brain regions were related to somatesthesia, movement, vision, audition, emotion and mood, language, memory, etc. BAs 4, 9, 10, 24, 31, 32, and 46 may be the targeting brain areas of acupuncture in assisting hypotension. It is suggested that acupoints combination of LR3+KI3 maybe generates a synergistic effect, and it is not simple sum of single acupoint effect.

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Simulated nature walks improve psychological well-being along a natural to urban continuum

10.31234/osf.io/q75eh ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Giuliana Brancato ◽

Kathryne Van Hedger ◽

Marc Berman ◽

Stephen Charles Van Hedger

Keyword(s):

Well Being ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Pine Forest ◽

Natural Environments ◽

Emotional States ◽

Urban Neighborhood ◽

City Center ◽

Physical Environments ◽

Before And After ◽

Category Variability

Compared to urban environments, interactions with natural environments have been associated with several health benefits including psychological restoration and improved emotional well-being. However, classifying environments dichotomously as either natural or urban may emphasize between-category differences and minimize potentially important within-category variation (e.g., forests versus fields of crops; neighborhoods versus city centers). Therefore, the current experiment assessed how viewing brief videos of different environments, ranging along a continuum from stereotypically natural to stereotypically urban, influenced subjective ratings of mood, restoration, and well-being. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four video conditions, which depicted a simulated walk through a pine forest, a farmed field, a tree-lined urban neighborhood, or a bustling city center essentially devoid of greenery. Immediately before and after the videos, participants rated their current emotional states. Participants additionally rated the perceived restorativeness of the video. The results supported the idea that the virtual walks differentially influenced affect and perceived restoration, even when belonging to the same nominal category of natural or urban. The pine forest walk significantly improved happiness relative to both urban walks, whereas the farmed field walk did not. The bustling city center walk decreased feelings of calmness compared to all other walks, including the tree-lined neighborhood walk. The walks also differed on two perceived restorativeness measures (daydreaming and being away) in a graded fashion; however, the farmed field walk was found to be less fascinating than all other walks, including both urban walks. Taken together, these results suggest that categorizing environments as “natural versus urban” may gloss over meaningful within-category variability regarding the restorative potential of different physical environments.

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Why urban environments matter for refugee mental health

Urban Mental Health (Oxford Cultural Psychiatry series) ◽

10.1093/med/9780198804949.003.0006 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 73-82

Author(s):

Peter Schofield

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Social Deprivation ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Elevated Risk ◽

Ethnic Density ◽

Refugee Mental Health ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Economically Deprived

Refugees are at increased risk of mental disorders. This is increasingly attributed to the post-migration context in which they live, typically socio-economically deprived urban areas. In general, neighbourhood factors are relevant to mental health outcomes. There is now research showing that neighbourhood ethnic density is related to the incidence of psychosis and other mental disorders for ethnic minorities. One consequence of dispersal policies is that refugees are often placed in urban areas far from others from their country of origin, which is likely to affect their mental health. Refugees are more likely to be exposed to other neighbourhood factors shown to have adverse mental health consequences, e.g. high levels of social deprivation and low levels of social cohesion. The extent to which these factors might explain the elevated risk of mental disorders among refugees is still unknown and further research is needed.

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Eight-Year Retrospective Study of Young Adults in a Diabetes Transition Clinic

10.20944/preprints202111.0219.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Aarooran Sritharan ◽

Uchechukwu Levi Osuagwu ◽

Manjula Ratnaweera ◽

David Simmons

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Young Adults ◽

Health Condition ◽

Diabetes Type ◽

Health Conditions ◽

Mental Health Condition ◽

Mental Health Conditions ◽

Transition Clinic ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Before And After

The transition of people from paediatric to adult diabetes services is associated with worsening glycaemia and increased diabetes-related hospitalisation. This study compared the clinical characteristics of those with and without mental health conditions among attenders at a diabetes young adult clinic diabetes before and after changes in service delivery. Retrospective review of 200 people with diabetes attending a Sydney public hospital over eight years corresponding to the period before (2012-2016) and after (2017-2018) restructuring of a clinic for young adults aged 16-25 years. Characteristics of those with and without mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, diabetes related distress, eating disorders), were compared. Among clinic attenders (type 1 diabetes n=184, 83.2%), 40.5% (n=89) had a mental health condition particularly, depression (n=57, 64%), which was higher among Indigenous than non-Indigenous people (5.6% vs 0.8% p=0.031) but similar between diabetes type. Over eight years, those with, compared with those without a mental health condition had higher HbA1c at the last visit (9.4%[79 mmol/mol] vs 8.7% [71 mmol/mol], p=0.027), the proportion with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA 60.7% vs 42.7%,p=0.009), smoking (38.4 vs 13.6%,p=0.009), retinopathy (9.0 vs 2.3%,p=0.025), multiple DKAs (28.4 vs 16.0%,p=0.031) were significantly higher. Having a mental health condition was associated with 2.02 (95% Confidence intervals 1.1-3.7) fold increased risk of HbA1c ≥ 9.0%[75mmol/mol]. Changes to the clinic were not associated with improvements in mental health condition (39.0% vs 32.4%, p=0.096). In conclusion, we found that mental health conditions, particularly depression, are common in this population and are associated with diabetes complications. Diabetes type and clinic changes did not affect the reported mental health conditions. Additional strategies are required to reduce complication risks among those with mental health conditions. .

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Ecosystem Services and Human Health

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Environmental Science ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780199389414.013.86 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Elisabet Lindgren ◽

Thomas Elmqvist

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Well Being ◽

Natural Environments ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Local Climate ◽

Mortality And Morbidity ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Mitigation And Adaptation ◽

Increased Risk

Ecosystem services refer to benefits for human societies and well-being obtained from ecosystems. Research on health effects of ecosystem services have until recently mostly focused on beneficial effects on physical and mental health from spending time in nature or having access to urban green space. However, nearly all of the different ecosystem services may have impacts on health, either directly or indirectly. Ecosystem services can be divided into provisioning services that provide food and water; regulating services that provide, for example, clean air, moderate extreme events, and regulate the local climate; supporting services that help maintain biodiversity and infectious disease control; and cultural services. With a rapidly growing global population, the demand for food and water will increase. Knowledge about ecosystems will provide opportunities for sustainable agriculture production in both terrestrial and marine environments. Diarrheal diseases and associated childhood deaths are strongly linked to poor water quality, sanitation, and hygiene. Even though improvements are being made, nearly 750 million people still lack access to reliable water sources. Ecosystems such as forests, wetlands, and lakes capture, filter, and store water used for drinking, irrigation, and other human purposes. Wetlands also store and treat solid waste and wastewater, and such ecosystem services could become of increasing use for sustainable development. Ecosystems contribute to local climate regulation and are of importance for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Coastal ecosystems, such as mangrove and coral reefs, act as natural barriers against storm surges and flooding. Flooding is associated with increased risk of deaths, epidemic outbreaks, and negative health impacts from destroyed infrastructure. Vegetation reduces the risk of flooding, also in cities, by increasing permeability and reducing surface runoff following precipitation events. The urban heat island effect will increase city-center temperatures during heatwaves. The elderly, people with chronic cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and outdoor workers in cities where temperatures soar during heatwaves are in particular vulnerable to heat. Vegetation and especially trees help in different ways to reduce temperatures by shading and evapotranspiration. Air pollution increases the mortality and morbidity risks during heatwaves. Vegetation has been shown also to contribute to improved air quality by, depending on plant species, filtering out gases and airborne particulates. Greenery also has a noise-reducing effect, thereby decreasing noise-related illnesses and annoyances. Biological control uses the knowledge of ecosystems and biodiversity to help control human and animal diseases. Natural surroundings and urban parks and gardens have direct beneficial effects on people’s physical and mental health and well-being. Increased physical activities have well-known health benefits. Spending time in natural environments has also been linked to aesthetic benefits, life enrichments, social cohesion, and spiritual experience. Even living close to or with a view of nature has been shown to reduce stress and increase a sense of well-being.

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The Effect of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPS)Training on The Public Awareness of New Habitual Adaptations (NHA): A Pilot Research

Jurnal Keperawatan Soedirman ◽

10.20884/1.jks.2021.16.3.1869 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Susanti Niman ◽

Habsyah Saparidah Agustina ◽

Sri Wahyuni ◽

Niken Yuniar Sari ◽

Retty Octi Syafrini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Psychosocial Support ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Health Condition ◽

P Value ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Before And After ◽

Quasi Experimental ◽

The Impact

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has a physical impact and on the mental health condition of the community. The existence of psychological distress due to the Covid 19 pandemic will affect the body's physiological conditions, such as reduced immune system responses and increased risk of infection, and the impact on mental health. The COVID-19 pandemic demands a change in people's behavior. Mental health and psychosocial support training is very important for the community so that the community can actively maintain mental and physical health. The research objective is to identify the effect of DKJPS training on awareness of new adaptation readiness. Method: The research was conducted through a quasi-experimental pre-post-test without control on 44 participants in the DKJPS training. Result: there is a significant difference between awareness of adaptation new habits before and after training (p-value 0.001). Conclusion: Mental health and psychosocial support training conducted in the community can increase public awareness of new adaptation habits independently.

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Viewing an alpine environment positively affects emotional analytics in patients with stress-related psychiatric disorders and healthy controls

10.21203/rs.3.rs-15834/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Katharina Hüfner ◽

Cornelia Ower ◽

Georg Kemmler ◽

Theresa Vill ◽

Caroline Martini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Psychiatric Disorders ◽

Natural Environments ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Self Assessment ◽

Alpine Environment ◽

Organizational Barriers ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Beneficial Impact ◽

Dose Dependent

Abstract Background: Patients with stress-related psychiatric (psychosomatic) disorders often don´t respond well to medical treatment and experience many side effects. It is thus of clinical relevance to identify alternative, scientifically based, treatments. Our approach is based on the recent evidence that urbanicity has been shown to be associated with an increased risk for mental disorders. Conversely green and blue environments show a dose-dependent beneficial impact on mental health. Methods: Here we evaluate the effect of viewing stimuli of individuals in an alpine environment on emotional analytics in 183 patients with stress-related psychiatric disorders and 315 healthy controls (HC). Emotional analytics (valence: unhappy vs happy, arousal: calm vs excited, dominance: controlled vs in control) were assessed using the Self-Assessment Manikin. Further parameters related to mental health and physical activity were recorded. Results: Emotional analytics of patients indicated that they feel less happy, less in control and had higher levels of arousal than HC when viewing neutral stimuli. The comparison alpine>neutral stimuli showed a significant a positive effect of alpine stimuli on emotional analytics in both groups. Patients and HC both felt attracted to the scenes displayed in the alpine stimuli. Emotional analytics correlated positively with resilience and inversely with perceived stress. Conclusions: Preventive and therapeutic programs for patients with stress-related psychiatric disorders should consider taking the benefits of outdoor natural environments into account. Organizational barriers which are preventing the implementation of such programs in clinical practice need to be identified and addressed.

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Alcohol Use and Peer Mentorship in Veterans

Journal of Humanistic Psychology ◽

10.1177/0022167820905952 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 002216782090595

Author(s):

Samuel Hall ◽

Mark Flower ◽

Lisa Rein ◽

Zeno Franco

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Alcohol Use Disorders ◽

Ptsd Symptoms ◽

Mentorship Program ◽

Peer Mentorship ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Identification Test ◽

Before And After

Veterans are at an increased risk of developing alcohol use disorder (AUD) and other comorbid psychiatric disorders, yet they often underutilize professional mental health services. Peer mentorship programs offer an alternative option for those seeking help for mental health problems. The purpose of this study was to examine alcohol use in veterans enrolled in a peer mentorship program, determine the effects of peer mentorship on alcohol use and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and assess the interaction between AUD risk and PTSD symptoms over time. Veterans were enrolled in a 12-week peer mentorship program at Dryhootch in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Measures of AUD risk (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and PTSD symptoms (PTSD Checklist for DSM-5) were collected before and after 12 weeks. Additionally, the participants reported their total drinks consumed each week throughout the program. Results showed that veterans were at an increased risk for AUD compared with civilian populations. The risk of developing AUD was associated with more PTSD symptoms. While PTSD symptoms were significantly lower after 12 weeks in the program, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test scores and the average number of weekly drinks were not significantly different. Further community work should address alcohol use in veterans to achieve better mental health outcomes in the program.

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