Today I was a part of a virtual meeting on nature as medicine with Dr. Lem. Dr. Lem showed concrete data to support findings that nature helped improve human quality of life.
This claim was based on two theories as to why nature improves human life. 1) Humans have evolved to understand that nature keeps them alive, 2) nature is vastly different from the problem solving urban world today, making nature a form of escape. Both these claims have value as research shows that people who spend 20-30 minutes in nature had a significant cortisol drop. And those who are in nature tend to have higher self-esteem, overall happier moods, reduce depression and anxiety, and improve satisfaction with life.
Orcas Island 2021
My favorite topic covered was unconventional nature. When Dr. Lem was going through the health benefits of conventional nature, like stress decrease and reduction of depression and anxiety, I found myself reflecting on how my horse Quest brought me those same benefits. Yet when I think of conventional nature, I picture a big forest with fungi and foggy air, not a horse in its pen surrounded by dead California grass.
But when Dr. Lem talked about how you can experience nature through yourself, posters of nature, sounds of nature, and animals. I realized that Quest is just as much a part of nature as the woods are. Quest is made of natural molecules; Quest eats, drinks, and breathes using what our world has to offer, just like other natural organisms do. Quest brings me emotional peace; he and other forms of nature both don’t have a schedule or agenda for the day. Quest slows me down; I become in the moment for the beautiful four-legged natural organism standing next to me presence alone let's all the human inorganic mess to fall away.
My Curious Questions
I have questions specifically catering to people like my parents who work typical office jobs
How do the fluorescent lights business people are under all day affect their health?
How can businesses make more natural working conditions for those stuck in cubicles all day?
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