FROM BIRDSONG TO A BUNCH OF FLOWERS, A LITTLE BOOST FROM MOTHER NATURE CAN REALLY LIFT OUR SPIRITS. NICOLE CARMICHAEL DISCOVERS WHY
IF THE LAST few months have taught us anything, it’s that nature can have the most incredible effect on our happiness. Within days of lockdown, people started commenting on how much clearer the air felt, how much bluer the skies were and how much more vocal garden birds seemed to be. In the midst of all of the challenges we had to face, when everything else about our lives was being turned upside down, nature did what comes naturally.
A new book by Sally Coulthard, Biophilia: You + Nature + Home is a handbook for bringing the natural world into our lives. It begins by asking people to imagine a place where they feel truly happy and relaxed. Go on, ask yourself now.
Maybe it’s on a sun-drenched beach where crystal blue waters beckon or drinking in the purest oxygen in a cooling deep forest. It could be camping under the stars or taking in a magnificent sweeping view. Whatever the differences in description, we often talk about being in nature - looking and interacting with it.
And it’s that connection with nature that’s the crux of biophilia - that we not only need it to survive, but it’s what makes us thrive. “Understand biophilia and suddenly all those jam jars of wildflowers, stolen armfuls of drift wood and carefully tended vegetable gardens make sense - we need nature much more than nature needs us.”
WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED
“DEVIATION FROM NATURE is deviation from happiness,” said Samuel Johnson, and although nature isn’t the only thing in our lives that can make us happy, biophilia suggests you can easily increase your happiness quota. Using nature in decorations and furnishings at home, tweaking your workspace, refocusing your 9-to-5 and getting involved with community projects, are all ways to embrace biophilia and pay it forward for others.
“Studies have shown that a connection with natural surroundings can improve memory and concentration, reduce anxiety and depression and significantly reduce stress levels,” writes Sally. “People also show physiological responses to nature - from lower heart rates and blood pressure, to improved immune responses, reduced inflammation and better sleep patterns.”
Amongst the shopping list of benefits is improved short-term memory, focus and creativity, reduced cortisol (stress hormone) levels and an elevation in white blood cell counts, which is crucial for immune health.
THE BIOPHILIAC MANIFESTO
THERE ARE THREE KEY THREADS THAT WEAVE TOGETHER TO FORM A BIOPHILIC MANIFESTO - A KIND OF BLUEPRINT FOR BOOSTING THE AMOUNT OF NATURE IN OUR LIVES
1. ENSURE THAT A SPACE PUTS YOU IN DIRECT, PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH NATURE. THAT COULD MEAN FILLING YOUR HOME WITH PLANTS AND FLOWERS, SNUGGLING
