Vancouver Sun - Using nature to make you smarter, healthier and happier

Using nature to make you smarter, healthier and happier

By TRACY SHERLOCK, Vancouver Sun May 5, 2011 

Richard Louv writes about the benefits of nature.
Readers who are interested in losing weight, being happy and more relaxed, and perhaps even becoming smarter, should spend more time in nature, according to Richard Louv, author of The Nature Principle.

“There is study after study that shows an impact of time in nature on physical health, psychological well-being and the ability to learn,” Louv told The Vancouver Sun in an interview.

Although we may not understand exactly how or why it works, as little as five minutes spent in nature has been shown to improve mental health, Louv said.

This is Louv’s second book on this subject. The first, Last Child in the Woods, coined the term “nature-deficit disorder,” which is now commonly used.

“The phrase has entered the language to the point that it’s no longer attributed to me, which is great, because that was the point of the book,” Louv said. “It’s not a known medical condition. Perhaps it should be declared one, but it’s not yet.”

Last Child in the Woods focused on the effect of alienation from nature and its impact on attention deficit disorder; the new book focuses on adults. Louv stresses that people don’t need to go as far as hiking in the mountains to feel better, because nature can even be found in inner cities.

“Some nature is better than none, and more is better than some,” Louv said.

“Both children and adults can benefit greatly from nature, but we’ve got to do it where we live, work and play.

“Even when I am in dense cities, I will go for a walk and look for nature. Whenever I do that, I feel better.”

He says workplaces and schools that incorporate nature — even just by adding natural light — will experience fewer sick days and more efficiency.

“We’ve got to go beyond sustainability toward a kind of evolved nature movement so that where we live, work and play produces human energy.”

In the book, the author writes that scientists are finding humans have many more than just the five senses of sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste.

“They talk about as many as 30 senses,” Louv said, adding that the extra senses have to do with abilities such as knowing where we are with our eyes closed or being able to track animals.

He also includes our sense of balance and even a sense of humility, something he says comes in handy in encounters with bears. Being in nature makes humans feel more alive because they use all five senses at the same time, he said. There are studies that show basic intelligence and creativity also are affected positively by time in nature, Louv said.

“Einstein spent a lot of time on long walks in the woods,” Louv said, adding he thinks finding patterns in nature helps with creativity.

“Kids playing on natural playscapes are more likely to invent their own games.”

Studies also show that people living in neighbourhoods with more nature and trees have lower body mass indexes than people in more urban neighbourhoods, Louv said.

“Obesity is a very complex issue, and nobody knows the formula for reducing it,” he said, adding obesity has increased over the same time period that organized sports have become more common.

“Soccer is great, but it’s not the same thing as the freewheeling play that we used to do in the past.”

His hope for the book is that it will give people a future to look forward to, instead of the post-apocalyptic version of the future seen in popular films.

“If we can begin to paint a picture of a future where we can be as immersed in nature every day as we are in technology, that’s a good world to go to,” he said.

tsherlock@vancouversun.com Sun Books Editor


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Louv will be launching The Nature Principle at EPIC: The Vancouver Sun Sustainable Living Expo May 13 to 15 at the Vancouver Convention Centre West. EPIC is Western Canada’s largest lifestyle show for the eco-conscious consumer.