Can Exposure to Green Spaces Make You Feel Good?

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Getting a hug from Shrek will definitely make you feel good. But the greenery mentioned here is something more trivial. Greenery surely is soothing but what exactly is the effect of green spaces on mental health? We are here to find out that. All the information provided in this blog is taken from this study (Click to view it). Let’s get started!

Some info about the study mentioned above.

The study explores the impact of green spaces on mental health in urban settings. Most of the people in the world currently live in urban areas. So, we focus on them. Also, village people are surrounded by greenery all around so there can’t be controlled experiments in such environment. Previous research explores benefits of green spaces for physical health. This one deals with mental health.

What are urban green spaces?

Urban green spaces are areas like parks, playing fields etc. The WHO defined this as “all urban land covered by vegation of any kind”. Urban green spaces are public places so you can’t go to someone’s private lawn to chill and say that it is beneficial for mental health. Try to restrict yourself to parks. Also, water features like ponds, fountains etc. are also considered under green spaces although it is technically blue space.

Impact of green spaces on mental health.

As I’ve spoiled above, exposure to green spaces is beneficial for your mental health. Out of the 25 studies included in the study mentioned above, 23 showed positive association between green spaces and mental health improvement. Urban green space has shown to have social benefits that may impact on mental health, including increased social support and sense of community in urban populations. Various mechanisms have been proposed to explain this association. These include:

The restoration theory which postulates that psychological restoration occurs through viewing and observing green spaces.
The synergistic relationship between physical activity and green spaces on mental health.
The ability of green spaces to enhance social cohesion.

Make you room greener.

I’m fortunate enough to have a beautiful green campus in my college. But you might not be so fortunate. So, I have some product recommendations for you to use in your room to make it greener which resembles natural plants. (Links for Indian Products below these international products)