It's official: Nature cures all modern ills
How to get a "green prescription"
Nature is quickly becoming the medical answer to many of our modern ills.
Doctors around the world are now actively writing “nature prescriptions” for ailments from chronic conditions to a cascade of lifestyle diseases, such as:
Stress
Cancer
Obesity
Diabetes
Depression
Hypertension
Mental health
Immune health
Sleep disorders
Physical inactivity
Cardiovascular health
To name a few. Depending on where you live a doctor may write a “green prescription” for getting into the woods or a “blue prescription” for enjoying the water.
Health care providers, parks, academia, oh my
With hundreds of studies now documenting the ability of Nature to restore health and well being, a small non-profit, Park Rx America, has emerged to connect health care providers, park agencies, academia and research in developing nature prescription programs across the country.
Both the United States and Canada have national nature prescription initiatives. New Zealand was the first in the late 1990s and it’s become an established part of the government’s health offering. Programs have also been developed in the UK, Finland, South Korea, and of course, in forest-bathing Japan.
Thank Covid for a lot of that new interest.
In fact, new research published last year from the University of Tokyo suggests the benefits of spending time in nature are more powerful than previously believed.
Why do we have to make Nature all about us?
I love this because I can now accurately say that Nature is the answer to virtually everything that ails us and point to study after study to prove it.
Honestly though, treating Nature as a “pill, dose, prescription, therapy, fix” or “prescription” makes me cringe. It separates humans even further from nature and reinforces the cultural bias that Nature exists solely for our use and betterment.
But the uber-practical side of me understands we have to meet people where they’re at.
If the only realistic way they’ll get outside is to have a doctor hand them a piece of paper that instructs them to take their body outdoors a specific number of times per week for a specific number of hours, so be it.
In fact, if you think a nature prescription would be a useful forcing mechanism to get your booty outside more, you can download, print and fill out a form here. Take it to your doctor and get his approval, if you need it.
Otherwise, lead by example. Get your green or blue today.
Go wander outside!
3 Resources for You
‘From Magic Mushrooms to Big Pharma’ – a college course explores nature’s medicine cabinet and different ways of healing From the legalization of cannabis to increased research on “non-traditional” drugs. (Oh, the arrogance.)
The Park Rx America website is a treasure trove of great information. Recommended reading and links to numerous studies on the human benefits of Nature.
Let Google find your nearby nature. Search [parks near me]. Head out to one this week.
We can never have enough of nature. Henry David Thoreau
