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Promoting the Wellness of Mind, Body, and Spirit Through Experiences with Nature

Steven R Hawks, EdD, MBA, Professor of Health Education and Promotion

Why this matters to me personally…

Presentation Outline• Research findings• Theoretical perspectives• Practice and implementation strategies

•Childhood reflections…•The daily run…

What Does the Research Say?

•Context and definitions•Optimum “dose” of nature•Research settings•Wellness variables of interest•Notable outcomes•Gaps in the research findings

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So, what exactly is a Nature Experience?

Setting Engagement Impact on Senses Components

Urban Greenery Nature Images Sights Trees

City Parks Window Views Sounds Rocks

Countryside Presence in Nature Smell Water

Nature PreservesNational Parks

Active Engagement Touch Wildlife/Pets

Wilderness Adventure/Survival Taste Vegetation

Well…it’s complicated…it depends on…

Useful Definitions

Term DefinitionNature Areas containing elements of living systems that include plants and non-

human animals across a range of scales and degrees of humanmanagement—from a small urban park to “pristine wilderness.”

Nature Experience Time spent being physically present within, or viewing from afar, landscapes (or images of these landscapes) that contain elements from the above category. The distinction between physical and visual contact with nature may be important.

Nature Engagement Active movement that creates meaningful contact with nature: walking, hiking, running, climbing, cycling, etc. in a natural setting.

Nature Connectedness Sense of belonging or relatedness to nature. Emotional connection to nature.

Bratman GN, Hamilton JP, Daily GC. The impacts of nature experience on human cognitive function and mental health. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2012 Feb 10;1249(1):118–36.

What Dose of Nature is Optimal?

Barton J, Pretty J. What is the Best Dose of Nature and Green Exercise for Improving Mental Health? A Multi-Study Analysis. Environ Sci Technol. 2010 May 15;44(10):3947–55.

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Beatley, Tim. “TNOC Encore: Exploring the Nature Pyramid.” The Nature of Cities (blog), August 2, 2014. https://www.thenatureofcities.com/2014/08/02/tnoc-encore-exploring-the-nature-pyramid/.

The Research Focus (so far)…

Bratman GN, Hamilton JP, Daily GC. The impacts of nature experience on human cognitive function and mental health. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2012 Feb 10;1249(1):118–36.

What Outcomes Have Been Measured?

Cognition Affect Stress Immune Conditions

Attention Feeling Good Blood Pressure Immunoglobulin A Heart Disease

Concentration Functioning Well Cortisol NK Cell Activity Cancer

Memory Social Support Adrenalin T-Cell Numbers ADHD

Creativity Negative Affect Amylase White Blood Cells Obesity

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Health Benefits of Exposure to Nature

Bowler, Diana E., Lisette M. Buyung-Ali, Teri M. Knight, and Andrew S. Pullin. “A Systematic Review of Evidence for the Added Benefits to Health of Exposure to Natural Environments.” BMC Public Health 10 (August 4, 2010): 456.

“To date, most nature intervention research has not met the gold standard of broad sampling, random assignment, strong control groups, and longitudinal data collection.” Capaldi, et. al., 2015

Cautionary Notes

“The extant research does describe an array of benefits of contact with nature, and evidence regarding some benefits is strong; however, some findings indicate caution is needed in applying beliefs about those benefits, and substantial gaps in knowledge remain.” Hartig, et. al., 2014

“Overall, the studies are suggestive that natural environments may have direct and positive impacts on well-being, but support the need for investment in further research on this question to understand the general significance for public health.” Bowler, et. al., 2010

“Evidence suggests that contact with nature has a small effect on health and well-being in comparison to structural characteristics such as income, employment, or education, and behavioral characteristics such as smoking… However, a small beneficial effect on a large number of people is a large contribution to population health.” Hartig et. al., 2014

Nature – Wellness – Spirit Theory

• Proposed theoretical frameworks• Personal experience• Model of relationships

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What is the Wellness Promoting Mechanism?Theory Theorist Definition

TranscendentalismEudaimonic Well-Being

Henry David ThoreauRalph Waldo Emerson

Nature allows us to connect with our inner spirit (faith, meaning, purpose). Spirituality, Awe, Mystery…

Biophilia Edward O. WilsonStephen R. Kellert

Humans possess an innate tendency to seek connections with nature and other forms of life.

Human Development VariousBeing in nature stimulates the senses and promotes healthy development in children and adults.

Promotion of Healthy Behaviors Terry Hartig, et. al. Being in nature encourages social contact, higher levels of physical activity, etc.

Stress Reduction Theory (SRT) Roger UlrichReduction in stress during experience of natural stimuli as measured through physiological responses.

Attention Restoration Theory (ART)Stephen and RachelKaplan

Recovery from directed attention fatigue enhances cognitive processes and responses.

Nature Connectedness: Belonging, Relatedness, Community

F. Stephan MayerCynthia M. Frantz, et. al.

The level of emotional connection to nature mediatesmood and other aspects of cognitive function.

Adapted from: Bratman GN, Hamilton JP, Daily GC. The impacts of nature experience on human cognitive function and mental health. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2012 Feb 10;1249(1):118–36.

Theory Group Discussion

• How important is it for your well being to have nature experiences?• What (if any) is the wellness benefit of your nature experiences?• What role do feelings and perceptions play in your wellness response?• How strong/important is your sense of nature connectedness?• Is the quality of your wellness response to nature different based on:

• Level of engagement: viewing images, presence, active engagement, etc.?• Type of nature setting: urban greenery, city parks, countryside, wilderness, etc.?• How the your senses are impacted: smell, sounds, touch, etc.• Natural components of the environment: water, rocks, trees, wildlife, etc.?

• Which theory best explains the value of your nature experiences?

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Implementing Nature Based Interventions

•Population based examples• Implementation discussion•Strategies

Population Based Examples

Intervention Overview

David Suzuki Foundation 30x30 Nature Challenge Canada, 2012: Spend 30 minutes per day in nature during May

Canadian Mental Health Association: Mood Walks Initiative

Trains mental health organizations in Ontario to launch nature hike programs. Partners with Conservation Ontario, Hike Ontario

Forest and Nature SchoolsChildren spend significant time in nature during school day: encourages inquiry, play-based, child-directed learning

Every Kid in a Park InitiativeU.S., 2015: free family admission to national parks for one year

No Child Left Inside Initiative

U.S.; Promotes the enhancement of environmental literacy between kindergarten and 12th grade and fostering of understanding, analysis, and solutions to environmental challenges

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Specific Recommendations

Adapted From: Maller, C., Townsend, M., Pryor, A., Brown, P., & St Leger, L. (2006). Healthy nature healthy people: ‘contact with nature’ as an upstream health promotion intervention for populations. Health Promotion International, 21(1), 45–54.

Strategies

Health Promotion

Partnerships: form partnerships between health and environment sectors, at national and local levels, toward a sustainable socio-ecological approach to health promotion.

Education: promote understanding of the health and well-being benefits of viewing and being in nature through media and community projects that raise public awareness; promote contact with nature in schools, for example through curriculum development; encourage workplaces, schools and housing developments to provide access to nature.

Training: train teachers, health workers and administrators of public natural spaces (including park staff) to facilitate nature encounters.

Barriers to Nature Connectedness

•Tiredness•Preexisting negative emotions•Lack of mindfulness•Distraction, inadequate perception of surroundings•Discomfort, anxiety, fear•Limited concept of selfhood (excluding nature)•Unopen to spiritual connection with nature

Mindful-Affective-Perception-Imagination in-Nature• Place familiarization: a brief assessment of a place’s natural characteristics.• Meditation: a 5–10 minute breathing-focused meditation to calm the mind and

heart, become aware of the physical and mental states, and become present.• Sound mapping: the participant recorded each sound in the soundscape, mapping its

source, direction, and distance.• Listening: one sound or the entire soundscape was selected and engaged mindfully

with an attitude of care, respect, and curiosity.• Vision: a scanning vision was used to identify any potential objects of interest. Once

an object was selected, the participant focused his or her attention on it mindfully.• Touch: an object of interest was selected, and it was caringly touched, held, stroked,

and/or caressed.• Connecting: engage and connect with a particular object or landscape feature, using

the senses, imagination, visualization, dialogue, intuition, and the use of emotional outreaching...

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MAPIN Insights

• It is important to create physical and psychological distance from the outside world;

• The immersive experience led to a sense of peace, calmness, gentleness & love;

• One needs to be patient, to just sit and observe to feel more connected;

• I observed new things by being mindful, which helped raise my awareness of perceptions;

• Memories of previous joyful times in nature unlocked emotions.

White, Peter R. “Enhancing the Experience of Connection With Nature: Participants’ Responses to the MAPIN Strategy.” Ecopsychology 4, no. 4 (December 1, 2012): 345–54. https://doi.org/10.1089/eco.2012.0054.

Group Discussion: Implementation• How do we integrate nature engagement into our own lives?• What theoretical orientation makes the most sense?• How do we acknowledge and address barriers to nature engagement?• As wellness professionals, how do we promote nature engagement?

• Target populations• Settings/Dose• Conditions (stress, anxiety, loneliness, CVD, cancer, cognitive function, etc.)• Age, gender, diversity, accessibility, etc.• Upstream, midstream, or downstream approaches

• Evaluation of Nature Engagement Strategies• Quantitative Research• Qualitative research

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Interesting Reads

Thank you!