A Look Into the Mind-Air Connection
by Damien Smith
The Benefits of Fresh Air
People today live very busy lives, whether it’s working a nine to five job, higher education, taking care of children or family, and/or endless chores and errands. It can be difficult to find time to slow down. You may have heard that finding time for yourself can actually make you more productive in the long run, particularly when it involves nature or physical activity. For over 100 years psychologists have been looking into the benefits of fresh air on health.
Fresh air is air with plenty of oxygen and ventilation with no odors and without what is commonly described as a “stuffy” feeling. It’s just one of many aspects of the natural environment studied for its health benefits. And with the constant barrage of things to do, we really need a safe haven where our brains have an opportunity to calm and reset. According to research, increased exposure to nature can improve mental, physical, and cognitive health, and the absence of air pollution increases engagement with nature.
Poor Air & Health
The World Health Organization (WHO) has ranked air pollution as the single biggest environmental threat to human health. This includes effects such as worsening anxiety, depression, or existing chronic illnesses. How do we cope with a threat that’s all around us?
A study published in BJPsychOpen highlights the importance of getting fresh air into inside spaces with air filters/purifiers and open windows, especially for people who spend a lot of time indoors. But at the end of the day, the best thing that you can do for your health is to seek out green areas.
The Risk to our Connection with Nature
As our lives get busier and busier we often get farther away from nature. Those living in cities often have limited access to green spaces and therefore are particularly vulnerable, but that doesn’t make those living in more suburban or rural areas immune to risk. In recent years there has been a stark increase in development and a loss of green spaces such as forests, wetlands, and plains, stretching further into suburban and rural areas.
An article published in Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene has adapted a perspective of the human-nature connection that’s more interconnected with people as an aspect of nature rather than separated by an imagined wall between them and nature. Air quality is just one of the ways that people are connected to nature and the environment. By shifting our attention to our connection to the environment we can understand that we have a shared goal: health and wellbeing.
So What Can We Do?
How can we make our lives better now and in the future? First, take a hike or a walk around the park or visit your closest body of water and look closely. Appreciate nature for what it has to offer and then see how much more productive you become in your everyday life. Staying educated on how we impact the environment and how the environment can benefit us allows us to understand its worth and value. And by being vocal about how much we appreciate the environment, we can encourage the reintroduction of green spaces into our everyday lives.
References
Bhui, K and et al. (2023). Air quality and mental health: evidence, challenges and future directions. BJPsych Open, 9(120), 1-12. https://www.doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2023.507
McCall, WM and Huestis, B. (1922) Mental and Physical Effects of Fresh Air. Scientific Monthly, 14(2), 131-139. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/6432.pdf
Morgan, C and et al. (2023) Humans in/of/are nature: Re-embedding reality in sustainability sciences. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, 11(1): 00083. https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2021.00083
Nejade, R. M., Grace, D., & Bowman, L. R. (2022). What is the impact of nature on human health? A scoping review of the literature. Journal of global health, 12, 04099. https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.12.04099