We live in a chaotic world where children’s mental health is declining, and therefore we need more common-sense approaches like this nature study promotes. Before you say “Well duh!”, just stop for a moment and appreciate that this study gives you some hard evidence that children need more time outside. With so much pressure on children to perform in school and on parents to push this performance, combined with the chaos of our society post-COVID, so many children are being diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses. Rather than press harder on the gas pedal, this study supports tapping on the brakes, getting out of the car, and enjoying the gift of nature.
In this study, 1000 school age (10 to 12-years-old) children in Quebec were monitored over a 3-month period for changes in their mental health. Half of these children were part of the intervention arm in which they spent 2 hours a week of class time in a nature-based setting. The other control group of 500 stayed in the classrooms as usual. The children would continue normal school subjects which in the nature setting, but would also add in a “short 10-15-minute activity designed to promote mental health”.
The children in the intervention group were reported by teachers to show less signs of depression and anxiety. They also found that the children with the highest reports on depression and anxiety prior to the intervention showed the greatest improvements in mental health scores. Basically, the worse the symptoms, the greater the improvement in those symptoms with the nature time.
Of course, this makes perfect sense to sensible parents and those of us who care for children. The sterile and controlled world of indoors does not encourage a sense of well-being. Beyond the sterility of indoor school settings, the confinement with stressful social situations such as bullying and high peer pressure make for a society of at-risk children. Having a simple solution of time in nature could potentially avoid both millions in med costs as well as priceless improvements in our children’s enjoyment of life.
Helping others pursue healthier, more abundant lives often is a simple as getting back to the simple things in life. Take the article to your child’s school and ask about trying out the idea. If you homeschool, you’ve got an easier path: spend more time outside with your kids.
Original Article:
Tianna Loose, Julia Fuoco, Catherine Malboeuf-Hurtubise, Jean-Philippe Ayotte-Beaudet, Lise Gauvin, Nicholas Chadi, Isabelle Ouellet-Morin, Benoît Mâsse, Sylvana M. Côté, Marie-Claude Geoffroy. A Nature-Based Intervention and Mental Health of Schoolchildren. JAMA Network Open, 2024; 7 (11): e2444824 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.44824
Thanks to Science Daily:
McGill University. “Time in nature benefits children with mental health difficulties.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 November 2024. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/11/241115124538.htm>.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.