Green spaces: improving mental well-being
Studies relate nature with the easing of the most common symptoms of heart diseases, depression, anxiety and attention disorder, but they point out that the quality of the green space is a determining factor.
The relationship between health and nature is usually associated with an improvement in the physical and mental state. For years, different research programmes have studied the effects of green spaces on the population to analyse aspects of mental health, such as relaxation, satisfaction and happiness in general and to compare them with urban environments. The latest study by the BMC Public Health magazine emphasises these results, but it points out that more than the quantity, the quality must be taken into account. It is not enough to fill spaces with plants, paint the walls green or visit an unprepossessing park to get a positive experience.
The usability, accessibility, aesthetics and the sociability of an ecological setting bring greater satisfaction. “The association between green spaces and mental well-being is complicated,” Doctor Victoria Houlden from the University of Warwick in England, points out. “If it is a social space, where people meet up, chat and go walking, this type of contact and interaction builds up social networks and causes a greater feeling of well-being. On the other hand, areas with difficult access, bad lighting and that are dirty cause the opposite effect and spending time there does not improve the visitor’s mood,” Houlden concludes.
