This week I had the very great pleasure of presenting at ‘Stay Sharp’, a community-based group that meets weekly for seniors seeking tips and strategies for healthy aging.
My topic? Why nature is life support at every age.
Having asked where they felt most energised, relaxed and happy, green space was mentioned more often than blue, but nearly everyone said how much they appreciated that being retired, they had more time to go where they wanted, whether a local park or walking holiday and to breathe in the fresh air, enjoy the scenery and to simply being enjoy the outdoors.
Not one person suggested their favourite place was “window shopping in a mall.”
But nature provides so much more than nice scenery.
The challenges faced with ageing include loss of social connection, loss of strength, loss of balance, loss of confidence and declining health.
Spending time outside can assist with all of these.
Nature builds social and emotional connection
We are living at a time of an epidemic of loneliness. For older people this can mean they are living alone due to divorce or death of a partner, or far away from their children and grandchildren.
Whether with friends, or seeing the same people regularly when out in nature, this is the perfect backdrop for you to interact with a smile, a nod of recognition, or question “how are you?”. Time in nature, walking in a park, working in a community garden, or volunteering to restore a degraded environment all serve to reduce that sense of isolation as well as strengthen a sense of purpose.
Studies have shown how spending time outside boosts mood and is linked to a higher overall level of life satisfaction, as well as a more positive perception of what it means to be getting older.
Listening to the group’s stories revealed to me just how important these interactions within nature are for cementing greater connection to self, community and the environment.
Even those with limited mobility shared how they love to sit listening to birdsong, or to spend time in their garden appreciating being able to watch the clouds in the sky. One lady shared how taking some slow, deep breaths of fresh air and feeling the warm sunshine on her face makes her feel good, highlighting the point: You don’t have to go far or do anything special to gain nature’s benefits.
Nature elevates mental and physical well-being
When attending my local gym, I’ve noticed how many of the older participants are engaged in strength and balance training. This is great to see, but it also makes me wonder what proportion of our older generation don’t engage with this type of activity either because they don’t like gyms, don’t perceive the need, aren’t mobile enough to attend, or are happy as they are.
This is where being active in nature provides the perfect solution.
Time spent outdoors is associated with lower blood pressure and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, along with lower risk of type two diabetes, osteoporosis and cognitive decline and increased longevity.
Not only are you now outside and gaining the benefit of lower stress and better mood, walking, running (if the knees will take it), or cycling provide excellent methods of improving balance, especially if the surface isn’t entirely even or the trail involves steps or walking up an incline.
Time outside is perfect for topping up Vitamin D levels, an important pro-hormone for maintaining bone and muscle strength. As we get older, our skin’s ability to synthesise Vitamin D decreases by up to 50% between the age of 20 and 80. In addition, age-related decline in kidney function required to create the active form of Vitamin D decreases as well.
Trips, slips and falls are things many older people worry about and with good reason. A fall can strip a person of their confidence and lower motivation to spend time outside.
Increased time indoors can then set up a downward spiral of further reduced mobility and muscle strength. This is why maintaining balance and muscle strength with physical activity outside is a must. Becoming frail is a significant health hazard.
The aspect of nature often overlooked
Being in a place of natural beauty provokes more awe and wonder, especially when we choose to intentionally slow down to fully engage with all our senses and express gratitude for our environment.
One lady shared how she while visiting a park on an overseas trip, she noticed a young man sitting quietly on a bank on his own, seemingly absorbed by the beauty of the scene around him. She captured the image on her phone and then painted it on returning home, creating a wonderful memory of her holiday that she will never forget.
Nature stimulates our creativity -whether it’s art, music or song.
Another person shared how she regularly goes to a local park near where she lives, where she has located a special area not visited by many others. Here she can sit quietly and observe everything around her. This simple activity costs her nothing except her time, and she says it always fills her with joy.
Where do you go to be truly yourself, let down your hair and play?
Whether you’re engaged in a spot of birdwatching, playing with your pets, planting flowers or veggies, learning to kayak or swim, all these activities work to help keep you healthy and active at every age.
As Parks Victoria reminds us, the well-being effects of spending time in nature affect us and our environment. The options available are often only limited by our imagination.
Nature influences human creativity, art and architecture
This week, Pope Leo XIV offered a papal blessing to the highest church spire in the world at La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
We visited the Cathedral several years ago. The cathedral has been under construction for 144 years and remains unfinished. The architect Gaudi’s vision was to build a cathedral for the people.
Visiting it several years ago had a deeply profound and positive impact on me.
It remains simply the most beautiful building in the world I’ve ever visited.
Stepping inside was like walking into a forest, which was Gaudi’s intention.
The towering stone columns, none of which are quite straight, come together to create the impression of a leafy canopy supporting the roof, while the light from multiple and strategically placed stained glass windows create a majestic and breathtakingly beautiful space.
Nature and its Arranged Marriage with urban planning
Cecil Konijnendijk is an urban forestry expert who introduced the 3-30-300 urban planning rule. So, what does it stand for?
Three trees
The first part of the rule is that every person should be able to see at least three mature trees from their living, school or working space. The appeal of this idea stems from the seminal study by Ulrich in 1984 that found that hospital patients recovering from surgery do so faster and with less pain relief needed if they had a tree or green view from their hospital window rather than a brick wall.
This is where careful planning by Aged Care living and retirement homes can seek to maximise the opportunity for greenery to be included in external garden and recreation areas
Visual greenery has been shown to help lower cortisol levels (in around 15-20 minutes), lower stress and ease symptoms of anxiety and depression while improving attention and alleviating cognitive fatigue.
Thirty per cent tree canopy
This is an important threshold for several health benefits. Its relevance for older people includes:
- Lower temperatures. At a time of climate change, this is especially important for older adults who are at greater risk of heat stress. Professor Croeser from RMIT’s Centre for Urban Research believes we need more like 40% canopy cover to substantially reduce daytime air temperatures. Unfortunately, most major Australian cities, apart from Hobart at 59%, fall well below the desired level.
- Denser tree canopies act as a noise buffer against traffic and provide better air filtration. This assists better sleep and helps to also reduce the risk of cardiac disease, which remains a major killer.
- Community-based greenery is associated with increased longevity, improved psychological well-being and lower risk of dementia (through higher tree canopy, not just open grass).
Be within 300 metres to your nearest park
Readily accessible urban green and blue spaces of at least one hectare for rest, leisure and recreation. This can be harder to achieve due to tree inequity in lower socio-economic areas.
There is a big difference in health benefit from accessing a piece of turf or a green place with significant biodiversity.
Nature.
It provides benefit at every age.
For older Australians, spending more time outside is a simple, inexpensive way to enhance health and well-being, and boost pleasure and joy.
What role does time in nature play in your life?
