Mental Health Awareness Week runs from the 10th to the 16th of May in 2021, and its theme is Nature.
The Mental Health Foundation, who hosts the week, define nature as
'Any environment in which we can use our senses to experience the natural world.'
This could include the countryside, park or garden,
coasts, rivers, lakes, wilderness, plants,
or wildlife closer to home.
It can also include nature which you can interact with in or from your home.
The 2 main goals using the theme nature are -
'To inspire people to connect with nature in new ways
and to notice the benefits that this has on their mental health,'
and 2) 'To convince decision-makers that access to nature is a mental health and social justice issue
as well as an environmental one.'
I'm Dr Beth Colby, a psychiatrist in London.
Research done by the Mental Health Foundation
on the effects of the pandemic on people's mental health
showed that going for a walk outside was the top coping strategy,
and 45 percent reported that being in green spaces is vital for mental health.
There's a growing body of scientific evidence of the beneficial effects of the natural world
to people's mental health and well-being,
at least among populations of high income - mainly urbanized societies.
What do you think would be the minimum amount of time per week
that we need to spend in nature
for it to have a beneficial effect on our mental health and well-being?
The answer to this is 2 hours -
not 2 hours per day, but 2 hours per week.
A study by White et al at the University of Exeter published in Nature in 2019
showed that the people who spent 2 hours or more of recreational time in nature,
such as a local park or woods, reported higher levels of
mental well-being and health than those who spent less time in it,
and it didn't matter whether the 2 hours was in one go,
or in separate different time periods. So it seems that 2 hours
is the threshold above which the benefits of being in nature are shown.
The effects were robust, cutting across different occupations, ethnic groups,
people from rich and poor areas, and people with chronic diseases and disabilities.
White, the author of the study, said and I quote
'It's well known that getting out in nature can be good for people's health and well-being,
but until now we have not been able to say how much is enough.
Two hours a week is hopefully a realistic target for many people,
especially given that it can be spread across an entire week
to get the benefit.
What about people who can't access nature,
people who don't have gardens, who are disabled, immobile, not able to get out?
This is a key part of the Mental Health Awareness Week.
The Mental Health Foundation said that many people find it hard to access nature
because of where they live or because they have no outside space
and they're going to use the week to launch new policy requests
to enable greater access for people to nature.
This can include making parks feel more safe to use,
planting more trees in our streets,
or asking developers to include plants and green spaces in their designs.
The mental health charity Mind's publication in 2018 of 'Nature and Mental Health'
have quite a few tips and ideas for people to get closer to nature,
including people who are indoors.
I will put a copy of the link underneath the video,
but will just finish by giving some of the ideas they've put for people who can't get out.
One was bringing nature inside
by having potted plants or flowers,
having a collection of natural materials
such as leaves, flowers, feathers, tree bark or seeds.
These could be used to decorate somebody's living space
or in art projects.
Organise a comfortable place to sit with a view of the sky or trees outside.
Grow plants or flowers on windowsills.
Use photos of your favourite places in nature as backgrounds on your mobile phone or computer screen.
Listen to natural sounds like recordings of birdsong, ocean waves or rainfall.
Or open your window - you may well be able to hear the birds now because of the lockdown.
Thank you for listening.
Enjoy Mental Health Awareness Week,
and notice how nature affects your mental health in a positive way -
and try to spend 2 hours this week in nature.
'Bye for now.