Life As You Make It

Green Spaces reduce stress levels

I was flipping through a magazine earlier and found a little blip about using the outdoors for stress reduction. In the Real Simple March 2015 issue, on page 146, they quote “a 2014 study published in Ecopsychology discovered that group walks in green spaces…lead to less stress and enhanced well-being.” I had read about the importance of greenery and outdoor time for mental health before, but this little blip inspired me to read more about ecopsychology.

I found this web article that gives more information on the field of ecopsychology as an alternative to traditional psychology. The article starts out explaining some of the history of ecopsychology and states that the field is turning towards standard psychological studies and research to learn about the benefits of spending time outside. They claim that “even subtle interactions with nature provide a range of cognitive benefits, including elevated mood, enhanced memory, and decreased stress.” Sounds good to me! Furthermore, they state that “research demonstrates that walking through the city can tax our attention, whereas a park restores our concentration and can even improve our performance on tests of memory.” Initially ecopsychology studies were not as strict as regular psychological studies, but they are using more and more standard scientific research. So far, studies show that green spaces improve moods and mental health, but they don’t 100% prove that manmade structures and technology are bad for our emotional health.

One recent study took a group of stressed people and had them look at either directly at a nature scene, a blank wall, or a television showing the nature scene in real time. The people who looked directly at the nature scene calmed down and relaxed more easily while the people who looked at the TV or the blank wall showed no difference. The TV wasn’t even more relaxing than staring at the wall even though it showed the same nature scene that the other group was watching in person!

The article goes on to share another study that showed people remembered information better when walking through nature instead of through a city. It describes the ways that the idea of ecopsychology is gaining more legitimacy by using stricter, more traditional scientific study. And it’s still showing the health benefits of getting out into nature. I thought that was exciting news! Now that spring is coming to my part of the world, I can’t wait to get out in the woods and de-stress! 🙂

Here are some more articles about the power of green spaces to help with stress reduction:

Green Spaces Reduce Stress Levels of the Unemployed
Living near trees, green spaces reduces stress, study showsGreen Spaces Reduce Stress Levels

Take your vitamin D to avoid seasonal depression, cold and flu

As we get into the winter season here in the United States, many people face seasonal problems such as wintertime blues, Seasonal Affective Disorder and recurring colds or flus. It’s not always the happiest or healthiest time of the year, but there are things we can do to raise our moods and boost our immune systems.

One thing we can do is eat or take more Vitamin D. We all know that a well-balanced diet with good nutrition is important, but there are multiple studies showing that Vitamin D in particular has many important benefits–especially in the winter. For example, getting more Vitamin D can help improve seasonal depression, ward off colds and improve blood pressure.

This study found that depressed people who took Vitamin D supplements recovered better than people using light therapy. (Another related study showed that infants who received higher levels of Vitamin D were less likely to develop schizophrenia and people with other mental health problems had lower levels of Vitamin D.) Multiple studies found lower levels of Vitamin D in depressed people; however, for happier people who were not Vitamin D deficient to begin with, extra Vitamin D didn’t make a difference.

Another study reminds us that Vitamin D is great for bone health, but it also regulates the immune system. Vitamin D in cod liver oil has even been used for tuberculosis infections! One study found that people with low levels of Vitamin D were more likely to become sick and another found that people who took extra Vitamin D were less likely to catch the flu.

This article shows even more benefits of Vitamin D:
Regulating high blood pressure, reduced pre-cancerous polyps, lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis and more!

Some studies show that at least 25% of people are deficient in Vitamin D, and these are the people who are more at risk for developing a variety of illnesses. Especially during the winter, it is important to get more sunlight, (getting sun through a window is less effective,) and maybe take a supplement to protect your mood and health.

Color therapy!

Years ago, I had an unusual doctor who treated me in the typical way as far as giving prescriptions, etc…, but she also gave advice about alternative treatment. For example, she recommended using aromatherapy products to brighten my mood or reduce stress and she recommended color therapy as well. She asked me what kinds of colors I liked to wear, and what colors I used to decorate my house. I told her I used a lot of earthy colors like green and brown, and she pointed out that I didn’t have a lot of reds or oranges in my life. That is true. She gave me a maroon-colored silk sample and suggested I just enjoy the color of it, as well as trying to add more reds in my life. She thought it would help me feel less depressed and more energetic. I’m not sure how true this is, but I liked the idea of adding more variety in my life, so I’ve kept her advice in mind. When I buy decorations for my home, I try to find things that match my colors but also have reddish highlights. If nothing else, they are pretty, right?

Tonight I was reading through some psychology studies and found this article. Now, this is a study based on hamsters, so the article warns that it might not work for humans, but it does give us something to think about. The article found that at night, it’s best to have total darkness, but if you do like a night light, you maybe best off using a red night light instead of clear or blue. Hamsters that had red night lights at night were less depressed. The researchers concluded that people who work third shift may benefit from red-based lighting instead of white lights.

Of course there is a stigma to using a red light 😉 but reading this study reminded me of the maroon silk sample my old doctor gave me. It’s interesting advice to use red-colored items to avoid depression. Maybe there is something to color therapy….