The importance of nature for mental health
Researcher
The theme for Mental Health Awareness Week 2021 is ‘nature’ and, in a year shaped by lockdowns and restrictions on recreational space, we’re more aware of the importance of outdoor spaces for recreation and reflection than ever before. Nature is an important and well-evidenced mechanism for supporting mental health for both children and for adults (WHO, 2014). We’ve explored this in our work on potential interventions for enhancing the mental health and wellbeing of children and young adults in the Midlothian area of Scotland.
This research focussed upon understanding the views and experiences of children and young people, aged 10-25, who live in Midlothian. Through a series of virtual workshops and discussions, we heard from children what mattered to them. Nature was a standout theme, especially for primary school children. They shared how opportunities to be out in nature were deeply important, particularly during the pandemic. Whether to have fun with friends, reflect on emotions, get a chance to release pent up energy or simply to get out of the house, natural environments played an important role in how they maintained positive mental health and wellbeing.
As restrictions continue to ease, there are two findings that we wanted to share. Firstly, our research with children and young people suggested that opportunities to access the outdoors need to be proactively maintained, enhanced, and created in order for children to recover their sense of wellbeing and for their mental health to be supported. Secondly, we saw that the benefits of natural environments are not shared equally, with children from disadvantaged backgrounds being less able to access and experience positive outdoor spaces. Future opportunities provided by schools and communities should therefore be targeted at those who would otherwise miss out and who could benefit the most.
About the Project
Working with the Midlothian Early Action Partnership the overall aim of this work was to map the mental health supports available to young people in Midlothian aged 0-25, understand their thoughts and experiences and to identify potential areas for tests of change within the local mental health system. For children at primary school, we conducted two classroom discussions with 17 pupils focussed on what activities made them feel happy, healthy, and connected and which they’d say are most important them in their week and why.
What did we find?
Whilst indoor activities featured in what children viewed as important, being out in nature was a recurring and prominent theme and played an important role in maintaining positive mental health, as it helped children with:
Releasing energy
Active play outdoors (e.g. climbing trees, playing in the park or taking part in team sports) provide a central outlet for pent up energy. Children stated these activities make them feel energetic, happy, and tired in different instances. Indoor settings like going to the pool or gymnastics are also good opportunities to do this. One child described how gymnastics makes them feel, “amazing, fit and happy”. Research has highlighted that outdoor activities have been found to lower anxiety, depression and stress (Pretty, 2007; Maller, 2009). With greater periods of time spent indoors through the COVID-19 period, ensuring all children have opportunities for active play is a key component in scaffolding positive mental health and wellbeing.
2. Getting out of the house
A recurring theme in why children enjoyed playing and being outside is that it allows them to get out of the house. One child said they enjoyed activities in the park or going on excursions because, “it makes me happy because I don’t get to go outside a lot”. Another echoes this, “I am with my dog and I get fresh air”. Opportunities to be outside allow children to be in a neutral space not associated with emotions they have about home. Through workshop conversations, it was clear that not all children are able to be outside as often as others. Access to green space is an important spectrum along which inequities in the social determinants of mental health can emerge (Allen et al., 2014). Regional programmes that aim to improve access to green space play an ‘upstream’ role in shifting these inequities and have been linked to a reduction of depression
symptoms and better mental wellbeing (Larson, 2016; Volker, 2015).
3. Releasing emotions
Children also discussed how they enjoy engaging in team sports to release, or reflect upon, emotions. This theme was particularly apparent in team sports, “I like rugby, it makes me feel much better because I can take it out on people [laughs]” and as another states about football, “you feel good because it’s like a relief if you’ve had a bad day, you get to have a release”. Others found walking a helpful reflective space, “I can think about problems and get it out of my head”. Being active in child friendly spaces provides space for reflection and catharsis that supports children’s emotional literacy and mental health.
4. Protecting the environment
An activity which emerged in discussions about improving the community, and as being important for children more broadly, was picking up litter. In terms of emotions, one child describes the conflicting feelings this raises,
“[Litter-picking] makes me happy ‘cause I’m helping some animals but it is also sad because I shouldn’t be doing this, it should be the people that litter.”
Another commented that picking up litter makes them feel happy because they’ve “done something right”. Children spend a lot of time outside, as seen by the themes highlighted here. Varying cleanliness and quality of outdoor spaces is another indication of inequities in the social determinants of mental health. Ensuring these spaces are clean allows children to enjoy and benefit from the outdoors and the activities they value so highly.
5. Socialising with others
Unsurprisingly, these activities, ranging from sports and play to simple walks, are also key moments for children to bond with family, friends and to be themselves. This was expressed a number of times, with children saying, “I love hanging out with my friends and playing my favourite sport” and, “I like spending time with my friends and talking”. Spaces to bond with parents are valued. As one child states they enjoy walking their dog because they “get to do exercise while talking to my family”. Indoors, socialising is fostered through shared activities, such as online games with friends, cooking with parents or shopping for clothes. Reflecting on why they enjoy games one child states, “I don’t need to be alone and it’s fun”. With the closure of many child-friendly social settings, games with friends and family have played an important role in supporting children to bond and have fun in the absence of other activities. Finding safe ways to socialise and interact with peers and family during the COVID-19 period has posed a challenge, the learning from which can contribute to future supports for children’s mental health and wellbeing.
6. Relaxation
Both active and creative activities were valued by children as they helped them to relax and focus. Some of these were arts-related, such as painting and music. One child said that they liked playing keyboard as it “relaxes me and makes me feel sleepy”. Another felt a similar sense of relaxation when cooking with family, because “there is nothing else on my mind”. Others found relaxation in more active settings. One child described enjoying swimming because they can “relax and have fun with friends and family”. Opportunities to relax are important in building children’s ability to self soothe and regulate emotions. For some children, the home environment is where they were able to find outlets for relaxation which may have become more crowded through COVID-19, or those special family activities that may be harder to make time for. Overcrowding has been linked to negative impacts on mental health (Pevalin, 2017; Rollings et al., 2017) – in these homes the increased time at home may have been a particular strain.
What Now?
Access to clean, local, green spaces and natural environments is one of the many social determinants of mental health along which inequalities emerge for children. Nature and being outdoors plays an important and preventative role in children’s wellbeing that has come into acute focus with COVID-19, as greater periods of time have been spent indoors. For children, being outside provided an important space for them to enjoy activities with friends and family members. The older children we spoke to also commented on how important access to quiet, reflective spaces were when discussing how to protect their mental health and wellbeing. Working to surface and identify possible solutions for such inequalities has been a key part of the partnership work between Midlothian and Dartington Service Design Lab, for which Midlothian are now moving forward to refine tests of change. These will begin to support the mental health and wellbeing of all children and young people in Midlothian. You can read more about what we found to support children and young adults’ mental health in the report due out this May.