LOS ANGELES - Across the United States, nature is being recognized as an effective and promising tool for health care.A 2019 study found that spending at least two hours a week in nature has a variety of positive health benefits.
Researchers found that Americans only spend 7% of their entire life outdoors. Now, more than half of U.S. states actually prescribe time in nature and green spaces as a way of treating conditions like high blood pressure, anxiety and depression.While there is growing evidence that exposure to natural environments is beneficial to health, there are still many questions to be answered.
What is nature? While this may seem simple at first glance, there are many differences between a national park, an urban pocket park and a picture of waves crashing on the beach.
What is the dose of nature needed?Dr. Nooshin Razani, who runs the University of California San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, associates nature with biodiversity.Razani and her team take patients out into parks where they allow them to spend time connecting with each other and the natural wonders that surround them.