Spending time in nature may keep your brain healthy
/For years, people have been drawn to the outdoors.
A new study suggests being near nature may offer actual therapeutic benefits.
Research led by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that living near green areas, national or state parks, and water may help protect adults from Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s disease.
The study, published in JAMA, suggests that nature’s protective benefits don’t require people to move to the country. Researchers found similar benefits among urban dwellers.
The study measured natural environment exposure against hospitalizations of older patients with Alzheimer’s and related dementias or Parkinson’s disease. Researchers used patients' zip codes to determine the amount of green or blue space they were exposed to.
They concluded: “As life expectancy increases globally, policy makers should consider interventions of natural environments to prevent Alzheimer disease and related dementias and Parkinson disease.”
The work is important. The Census Bureau estimates one in four Americans will be 65 or older by 2060.
As the number of older Americans grows rapidly, so will the number of people with Alzheimer's. The Alzheimer’s Foundation projects the number of U.S. cases will nearly double by 2050, to 12.7 million. One million Americans live with Parkinson’s disease and 90,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation.
There is no cure for these diseases, but lifestyle and diet may be helpful in preventing or at least delaying their onset. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that the risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease – high blood pressure, physical inactivity, obesity, diabetes, depression, smoking, hearing loss, and binge drinking – can be controlled through lifestyle changes.
The Mayo Clinic reports that exercise and consumption of caffeinated beverages may also reduce the risk of Parkinson’s.
But the latest research offers hope that we may have even more defenses against these diseases. It suggests that being outdoors in nature can protect our brains from diseases that are particularly difficult – both for patients and their caregivers.