Spending time in nature can lead to a happier life: study
Posted May 12, 2015 7:54 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The West Coast is known for the great outdoors. And it turns out getting into nature can make us feel a little better about ourselves.
Carleton University Professor John Zelenski has found with a new study that being around nature makes us act in a more sustainable manner. There are reasons for that:
“Embedded deep in our experience and our genes we’re drawn to environments that are healthy for us and support life. These would be places that support other kids of life,” he tells us.
He tells us the more you take advantage of the outdoors, the more likely you are to appreciate it, and therefore want to preserve other environments you encounter.
“There might also be something going on at a basic psychological level, and we’re still trying to figure this out. But it seems like nature is good for our mental performance; it seems to restore our attention.”
Zelenski adds green spaces and rivers helped our ancestors survive and that mentality can still exist today, if you make the effort.
