Supporting Theories..... an epistemological foundation. No fake news here!

The healing effects of nature are supported by three theories that locate them within a scientific evidence base.  Citing Jordan (2014):

What these different theories point to is the importance of nature in provoking an aesthetic and affective response which is positive and beneficial to human health in a number of ways: reducing stress, restoring attention, promoting well-being.  It also highlights how contact with nature is driven by an unfolding evolutionary process linked to brain chemistry and genes which is essential for human survival.

The Biophilia Hypothesis (Wilson 1984 in Jordan 2014)

“Biophilia” (Fromm, 1964) is the innate tendency to focus on life and life-like processes.  Biophilia describes a psychological orientation of being attracted to all that is alive and vital.  

Wilson argues that through our evolutionary biology, humans are genetically programmed to seek kinship with the more-than-human (natural) world.

The hypothesis suggests human identity and personal fulfilment depend on our relationship to nature – not just for material exploitation of the environment (natural resources) but also for our emotional, cognitive, aesthetic and spiritual development.

Kellert (1993) extended the hypothesis to the interdependence of the natural environment and our genetic evolution.  I take this to mean, as the earth goes; so do we.
  
This does not strike me as far-fetched.  We are made of the same physical matter as the earth.  What makes us think we are something extrinsic?

Joni Mitchell’s lyrics in her seminal song Woodstock (1969) are a presage to the climate and environmental crisis we are in today and reify the Biophilia Hypothesis. 

We are stardust

Billion year old carbon

We are golden

Caught in the devil’s bargain

And we’ve got to get ourselves

Back to the garden

 

It might seem oversimplified but I regard each of us (persons) as a micro-organism (human being) who occupies a shared (interconnected) space on a mega-organism (earth).

The Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan and Kaplan 1989 and Kaplan 1995 in Jordan 2014)

The Kaplans researched the restorative effects of the natural environment by studying the psychological effects of being in wilderness and local parks. 

Taking the concept of voluntary and involuntary attention they proposed two kinds: directed and indirect attention or “soft fascination” (Kaplan and Kaplan 1989).

Directed attention is when we have to focus our attention on a task and sustain this concentration while resisting competing distractions.  The impact on us is tiredness and impaired higher cognitive functioning.

In contrast to that, indirect attention is maintained by aesthetic and sensory contact with the natural world and does not fatigue us or deplete our capacity to think because it uses different cognitive functioning.

The extent of restoration is variable but for the best results, a natural experience should be outside of your daily routine, take place in a complex natural environment, be in good weather and involve your participation in an activity that is engaged with nature, such as berry picking, bird watching, rambling, coppicing, etc.

Psychoevolutionary theory of stress reduction (Jordan 2014)

Research into the aesthetic properties of natural environments proves that they stimulate and evoke automatic positive affective (good mood) and parasympathetic physiological responses (rest and digest instead of fight, flight or freeze) with associated feelings of calmness, relaxedness, pleasantness and fascination.

Robert Ulrich (1984) is probably the most cited and influential evidence-based healthcare design researcher in the world.  His classic paper on a view from a hospital window was based on ten years of research that compared the recovery of patients who had a view of a blank hospital wall with those who could see trees from their hospital beds.  The hospital stays of patients with a view of the trees were shorter.

Ulrich (1983) evaluated the attributes of the views in terms of complexity, vista, inclusion of water and absence of threat.  His appraisal has been incorporated in billions of dollars of healthcare design and construction around the world including the NHS.

A growing body of research into rehab gardens to promote recovery from mental health problems such as stress and burnout (Stigsdotter and Grahn 2003) is gaining prominence in Scandinavia, the Netherlands and elsewhere.



References

1. Jordan, M. (2015) Nature and Therapy, p. 11, Routledge, Hove, East Sussex.

2. Ibid.

3. Mitchell, J. (1969) Siquomb Publishing Company.

4. Jordan, M. Ibid.