How Nature Contributes to Well-Being and

Healthy AgingHow Nature

Promotes Well-Being and HealthyAging

Living55Plus.comJohn I. Todor, Ph.D..

Communing with Nature

Can enhance your immune system.

Restore mental sharpness.

Make your life more meaningful.

And, it is essentially free

and without side-effects.

What is Nature?

The phenomena of the physical

world collectively, including plants,

animals, the landscape, and other features

and products of the earth, as opposed to

human creations.

NOT NATURE

Nature and Well-Being

Nature is emerging as an

important way to restore the mind and body from the tensions of today’s world.

It promotes Well-Being and Healthy Aging.

Health and Well-Being

Health is a state of complete

physical, mental, and social well-

being and not just the absence of

disease or infirmity.

Healthy Aging

Age-related declines in the mind and body

start around age 30 and accelerate

around age 55.

Healthy aging is engaging in

lifestyle activities that minimize or

forestall these changes.

Chronic Stress

Today’s changing world puts

constant tension on the mind and

body.

The struggle to cope leaves many

in a state of low grade but chronic

stress that disrupts nearly every system in the

body.

The Source of Chronic StressThe fight or flight

response to threats quickly

puts the mind and body in a reactive state - all system

are go!

Problems arise when systems don’t quickly

return to normal after a perceived

threat.

Psychological Threats

Once most threats were real and

physical like the tiger.

Now they are mostly caused by external demands

and internal rumination or turning over

worrisome ideas in one’s mind.

Too Rev’d Up

Chronic stress is an epidemic.

Chronic inflammation is

rampant.

Anxiety and depression are on

the rise.

And, the most prevalent

diseases today are related to these

causes.

Rest and digest is a state where we slow down.

Blood flow is prioritized to our internal organs,

our heart rate slows - all to help us relax and heal.

Rest and Digest The antidote to fight or flight

A Slower Pace

“Rest and digest” responses are

controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system.

Unfortunately, psychological

rumination can interrupt or delay

this response, leaving us rev’d

up too long.

Promoting “Rest and

Digest”

Some people turn

to:

Yoga

Tai Chi

Mediation

Music

Slow Breathing

Laughter

Exercise

Communing with NatureExposure to

nature promotes Rest and Digest.

It affects our physiology, brain

and psyche.

The effects can be both short-term

and lasting.

For most it happens without a learning curve or much effort.

Primary Ways Nature

Improves Well-Being

Improves the immune system.

Counteracts psychological

stress and restores the

brains’ ability to focus attention.

Adds meaning to life.

Enhancing the Immune System

Here is the bottom line:

People who are regularly exposed

to nature live longer and have fewer diseases

linked to a failure of the immune

system to protect the body.

How Nature Affects

ImmunityPhytoncides are

antimicrobial compounds given

off by trees and other plants.

When people are exposed, blood

pressure is reduced, fight or

flight inhibited and immune system

functioning is enhanced.

Indirect Evidence

In one study, patients recovering

from surgery in rooms with a

window facing a natural setting had

shorter hospital stays and took less pain medicine than did patients whose

window faced a brick wall.

More Direct Evidence

Phytoncide concentration in the

forest air is much higher than in cities.

Walking in nature leads to higher

phytoncide levels in the body but not so when walking in the

city.

Even inhaling captured plant air

improves well-being.

Natural Killer (NK) Cells

NK cells play an major role in the body’s rejection of both tumors

and virally infected cells.

They are an innate component of the immune system.

Forest visits of 1day increase NK

cell levels, an effect that lasts 7

days or more.

Benefits of Negative Ions

Negative ions are oxygen molecules

with an extra electron created

by nature.

They are most concentrated in

forested, mountainous

areas and near moving water.

Negative Ions

Imagine the air and the feeling you get at the beach, near a waterfall or after

a storm.

That’s your body saturated with negative ions.

Negative ions clear the air of mold spores, smoke,

bacteria, viruses and allergens.

Health Benefits of

Negative Ions

Their presence is a natural

anti-depressant leading to a sense

of well-being.

Fewer allergens reduce the

workload on the immune system.

They promote “Rest and digest.”

Positive Ions

An excess of positively charged

ions in your environment

leads to a lack of energy, tension,

anxiety and irritability.

Modern homes, workplaces and

cars generate positive ions.

Cytokines are a Biomarker

for Inflammation

Awe-inspiring events like viewing a

star-filled sky or Yosemite Valley, can reduce one’s level of cytokines

in the body, an indication of less

inflammation.

Benefits of Nature on the

BodyIt lower

depression blood pressure

and blood glucose.

It enhances the immune system.

Living near green space lowers levels

of common diseases.

It increases longevity.

Exposure Purposely choosing to be close to nature,

while enjoying other activities or just being near it

Stimulating the Immune System Through Nature

Connecting Experiencing nature through interactive activities

Immersion Physically becoming part of nature. Mentally absorbing the feel, sights, sounds, smell and taste

Ways to Get Immersed in Nature

Ways to Connect With Nature

Ways to Get Exposure to Nature

Attentional Restoration: Getting Your Brain Back from Overwork and Stress

Full Attentional Capacity Flourishing - Maximum ability to voluntarily direct one’s mental capacities

Reduces Attentional Capacity Just Getting By - degradation of the ability to focus because of factors

like stress, anxiety, distractions, frustration, overwork or mood

Attentional Restoration in a Nutshell

Negative effects of modern life

Restoration through Rest and Digest

How Nature Helps

Engaging in involuntary

attention or fascination

with nature restores

one’s subsequent ability to

focus attention on specific tasks.

Forms of Fascination

HARD Requires directed attention, while fascinating and thrilling it is less restorative

SOFT Escaping the pressures of directed attention while taking in richness and tranquility without a struggle

Benefits of Immersion

After 3-days of immersion in

nature, without technology,

higher-order cognitive

functioning improves by

50%.

Benefits of Being in Nature

A 90 minute walk in a park reduced

activity in the brain areas

responsible for rumination of

negative thoughts.

Not so after a walk on city

streets.

Do Photos of Nature Work?Yes! 10 minutes

of viewing photographs of nature improves one’s mood and

cognitive functioning.

However, the impact is not as

great and immune

functioning is not improved.

Getting Up When You are Feeling Down

5 minutes of exposure to nature can improve one’s

mood and self-esteem.

Even smelling a lemon can bring

on positive emotions.

No, it isn’t just the WALK

Walking on a treadmill while

viewing photographs of

nature produced attentional restoration.

Walking on the treadmill without the photographs

did not.

Nature and Long-term

Mental Health

A study of 10,000 people over 18

years showed that living near green

space was associated with

less mental distress.

Vitality and Energy

Being outdoors is associated with

greater vitality, a relationship fostered by

presence of natural elements.

When feeling vital, people experience

a sense of enthusiasm,

aliveness, and energy.

Healthy Aging Adding Years to One’s Life and Life to One’s Years

Today, the average 65 year-old can expect to live to 85 and beyond. A healthy aging lifestyle can make most of this period one of well-being.

The challenge is to make the period of life meaningful, enjoyable, one of opportunity -not one of fear and deterioration.

Nature can contribute to this flourishing.

Overcoming Negativity

and Depression

Depression, loneliness and a loss of a sense of purpose tend to

rise as we get older. This can lead to less enthusiasm for life.

Communing with nature is an

anti-depressant and restores

vitality.

Overcoming Negativity

and Depression

Remember, a walk in a park can

reduce activity in the brain areas responsible for rumination of

negative thoughts.

Nature takes us out of our own thoughts in a

good way.

Nature and the Sense of Something Bigger

“You only lose energy when life becomes dull in your mind. Your mind gets bored and therefore tired of doing nothing…

Get interested in something! Get absolutely enthralled in something! Get out of yourself! Be somebody! Do something…

The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have.” Norman Vincent Peale

Putting Life in Perspective

Meaning in life is less about happiness and

more about connecting the past to

the present and the future.

And, a sense of belonging in all three.

In addition, nature

makes one more helpful to others and

leads to concerns about the well-being

of society and the planet.

Awe and Appreciation of NatureBeing appreciative of something outside our self, facilitates and enhances feelings of well-being and life satisfaction, as well as feelings of connection to what we have, to what we experience, and to life itself. (Adler)

Awe-inspiring experiences make people feel that they have more time, and are less rushed. This can be an antidote to the not-enough-time worry that plagues many in today’s fast-paced world.

Now! Put Yourself in touch with

Nature

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Ways to Get Small But Healthy Doses of Nature

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John I. Todor, Ph.D. Living55plus.com

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