Jul 26, 2021 23:00:00

Research shows that children living near forests improve their cognitive abilities and mental health

In recent years, attention has been focused on petting give to mental health and the health effects of a natural, '

the children who grew up in a green place with minimal increased risk of mental illness ,' ' immunity improvement and stress reduction by contact with nature Research results such as 'the effect can be obtained ' and 'the mental state may be improved by spending about 10 minutes a day in nature ' have been announced one after another. A new British research team reported that 'children living near forests have better cognitive abilities and mental health.'

Benefit of woodland and other natural environments for adolescents' cognition and mental health | Nature Sustainability
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-021-00751-1

Living near woodlands is good for children and young people's mental health | Imperial News | Imperial College London
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/226853/living-near-woodlands-good-children-young/

City children have better mental health and cognition if they live near woodlands --CNN
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/20/health/woodland-children-wellness-scn-intl-scli-gbr/index.html

A joint research team at Imperial College London and University College London conducted a study of Cognition, Adolescents, and Mobile Phones to investigate the impact of contact with nature on children. Research / SCAMP) ”analyzed the longitudinal data set collected from 2014 to 2018. The dataset surveyed 3,568 children aged 9 to 15 years in London, including where they live, cognitive abilities, emotional and behavioral problems, mental health, and well-being.

First, in order to estimate the frequency with which each child comes into contact with nature, the research team investigated the natural environment within a radius of 50m, 100m, 250m, and 500m at home and school based on satellite data. Of the natural environment, forests, meadows, parks, etc. are classified as 'green spaces', rivers, ponds, seas, etc. are classified as 'blue spaces', and green spaces are further divided into 'grasslands' and 'forest areas'. Then, we estimated the frequency of children's contact with each nature, adjusted variables such as age, ethnicity, gender, parent's occupation, school type, and air pollution, and then analyzed.

As a result, it was found that children who frequently come into contact with forest areas in their daily lives have higher cognitive development scores, and the rate of developing emotional and behavioral problems after 2 years tends to be as low as 16 to 17%. On the other hand, contact with grassland had a similar effect, but with less impact than forest areas, and blue space had no effect, the researchers say. It was confirmed that there was a tendency for the overall contact with the blue space to be less than that for the green space.

'The results of this study show an understanding of the natural environment among the key preventative factors in adolescents' cognitive development and mental health,' said

Mikaël Maes , Ph.D. student at University College London, lead author of the paper. And suggests that not all environmental types show equal health benefits. '

However, while living near forest areas has been shown to be associated with improved cognitive and mental health, the causal relationship between the two remains unclear. In this regard, Maes told foreign media CNN that exposure to the audiovisual stimuli brought about by forest vegetation and animal abundance may have psychological consequences.

Co-author of the paper, Professor Mireille Toledano of Imperial College London, said, 'In previous studies, the impact of the natural environment on mental health is greater than the degree of urbanization in the surroundings, depending on family structure and parental age. While comparable, it has been suggested that they are weaker than their parents' socio-economic status. '' Whether the natural environment is important to our mental health throughout our lives, and the benefits we get from the exercise we do in the natural environment. It is important to clarify whether it can be obtained from social interaction, contact with animals and plants, or a combination of these. '

In this study, we estimate the interaction between children and nature based on where they live, and it is unknown how much the children actually interacted with nature. In addition, local crime rates are not considered, and more than half of the parents of the targeted children are in managerial or professional positions, and children in socio-economically disadvantaged groups are underestimated. The research team points out that it may be.

Stella Chan , a psychologist at the University of Reading, also emailed CNN that just because children actually live near nature doesn't mean they can actually access nature. .. On the other hand, he said the study provided 'new insights' that could help support the intellectual development, health and well-being of young people.