Nature Therapy: How the Wonders of Natural Environments Influence Human Sensory

Have you ever found yourself in a gloomy or stressful mood, suddenly interrupted by a moment of (a) a glimpse of the warm sun on your face, (b) a gust of a refreshing breeze, (c) the lingering scent of florals, or (d) a quick visual of some beautiful greenery? Can you visualize how one of these subtle sensory interruptions may have had an influence on this gloom or stress? There are scientific reasons for these natural calming and feel-good moments, and we’re here to break down how incorporating the use of nature therapy into our everyday lives can enhance our overall well-being. Afterall, why not use these natural and available resources to our advantage?

The topic of nature-based therapy was inspired by the ability to indulge human sensory into the wonders of the natural world, to calm negative mood and increase positive physiological responses. Nature-based therapy is the umbrella term for various therapeutic techniques, all which incorporate restoration and healing through exposure to some form of natural element. Such nature-based therapies that you may have heard of include ecotherapy, walking therapy, forest therapy, horticultural therapy, nature meditation and general exposure to sunlight, as they typically utilize and manipulate human sensations (i.e., through nature immersion, connection and relationship to nature, physical movement and touch, audio and aroma).

Immersing oneself in natural environments has many research-based benefits, both physiological and psychological, particularly in the reduction of stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms. How? IT all breaks down to the stimulation of our nervous system: our body’s command centre. This command centre originates from our brain, transmitting signals to control our movements, thoughts and automatic responses.

Connecting with nature in some form, even for a short period of time, has been shown to influence the human autonomic nervous system (i.e., controls our involuntary processes, such as heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestion, etc.), specifically affecting the parasympathetic nervous system (i.e., relaxation responses) and the sympathetic nervous system (i.e., adrenaline responses, “fight or flight”). Both of these ‘relaxation responses’ and ‘fight or flight responses’ are divisions of the autonomic nervous system.

For example, a ‘thing’ or ‘event’ influences our body to make a quick and automatic judgment, triggering us to either relax (i.e., affecting our parasympathetic reactions), or react with adrenaline (i.e., affecting our sympathetic nervous system). Natural environments have been shown to significantly trigger our calming responses!

A little more background on nature-based therapy:

Therapies for symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression consider the manipulation of the autonomic nervous system, increasing relaxation responses (i.e., the parasympathetic nervous system, PSNS reactivity) and decreasing adrenaline responses (i.e., the sympathetic nervous system, SNS reactivity). Current researchers commonly credit the work of Ulrich et al. in the years ranging from 1980 to the 1990’s, for pioneering nature-based techniques in the reduction of general mood disorders, through analyzing such physiological restorative effects. Ulrich et al. (1984) focused on visual stimuli, with significant results supporting positive physiological effects of the natural environment, while the theoretical perspective of the Psycho-Evolution Theory (PET) (Ulrich et al., 1991) suggested the physiological roots stem from the evolutionary human ability to flourish in the natural environment. Kaplan & Kaplan (1989) presented the commonly referenced Attention Restoration Theory (ART), proposing the natural environment restores attention capacity when consumed by stress and related symptoms. The Biophilia hypothesis (i.e., urge to affiliate with other forms of life) and the Topophilia hypothesis (i.e., love of natural places) presented by Wilson et al. (1993) have appeared in recent studies, which support positive effects in reduction of stress and mood disorders.

A key takeaway is that connecting with nature can increase positive moods, influence our calming responses, decrease relative symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression, and can overall help to support our well-being.

Remember, you are not alone. If you would like to explore how one of our clinicians can help you on your journey, please contact our administration team to set up a free consultation.

References:

Alvarsson, J. J., Wiens, S., & Nilsson, M. E. (2010). Stress recovery during exposure to nature sound and environmental noise. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 7(3): 1036-1046.

Gladding, S. T. (2018). The Counseling Dictionary: Vol. Fourth edition. American Counseling Association.

Hubbard, G., Thompson, C. W., Locke, R., Jenkins, D., Munoz, S. A., Woerden, H. V., Maxwell, M., Yang, Y., & Gorely, T. (2020). Co-production of “nature walks for wellbeing” public health intervention for people with severe mental illness: Use of theory and practical know-how. BMC Public Health, 20: 428.

Lim, P. Y., Dillon, D., & Chew, P. K. H. (2020). A guide to nature immersion: Psychological and physiological benefits. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(16): 5989.

Pinel, J. P. J., & Barnes, S. J. (2018). Biopsychology (10th ed.). Pearson Education.

About the Author

Amanda Maitland, is both an administrative and intake assistant here at The Growth and Wellness Therapy Centre, as well as currently pursuing her Masters in Counselling Psychology at Yorkville.