Chasing Eden Part 3: The Science

I believe that it’s because we were made for a garden that our minds, bodies, and spirits long for time outside. We were not made for the modern world, for gray cubicles and fluorescent lighting nor to stare at screens for endless hours and to breathe stale inside air that is often filled with toxins from cheaply made mass-produced products. 

We were made for early morning sunlight, sitting under a tree canopy, and gentle breezes. And no one needs to tell us that because we all know it in our bones. How many times have you felt overwhelmed and had to step outside for some fresh air? We feel it after a long day at work, just the walk to the car, no matter how drab the parking lot may be, is a release. You literally feel a change in your nervous system as you step out the door. Stress levels go down. Something in your body shifts. Tension is released. So what’s going on? 

Rom. 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Time outdoors has been proven to lower stress hormones: Exposure to natural environments reduces the production of stress hormones like cortisol, which lowers both heart rate and blood pressure. 

Research shows that urban environments are not pleasing to our brains. Man-made environments are full of sharp, ninety-degree angles, which can cause mental fatigue. Nature is filled with fractals—infinitely repeating geometric patterns (found in tree branches, leaves, and rivers) that the brain naturally finds calming and can reduce stress levels. 

And it’s affecting everything. It’s estimated that stress costs the U.S. economy 3 billion dollars a year. 

The soothing, varied sights, sounds, and textures of the outdoors pull your brain away from rumination or worry and force you into the present moment. The opposite of what our phones and information overload are doing to us. The American Psychological Association recommends spending at least two hours per week outdoors to benefit from these neurological and mental health benefits. 

Psalm 23:1-2

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.

As our nervous system calms from being outdoors our thoughts and feelings get regulated, and the results affect everything from sleep quality to wound healing. In a famous 1984 study by Roger Ulrich patients in otherwise identical rooms were compared. The difference was that one group had rooms facing a brick wall and the other had a room facing a natural scene with trees. 

The key findings were that the tree view resulted in shorter hospital stays, fewer painkillers required, and fewer negative evaluative comments about their mood. 

Japanese immunologist Qing Li spent decades studying what the Japanese call “forest bathing”. His research showed that walking in forests significantly raised natural killer cell activity and anti-cancer proteins by about fifty percent with effects lasting up to a month. 

If you want to read more about the research being done on the positive effects of nature on humans check out some articles, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31210473/

The list of countries where doctors recognize the benefits of spending time outdoors for mental and physical health is growing. Japan even has certified forest therapy trails and it’s integrated into healthcare. In New Zealand doctors write “green prescriptions” and Sweden allows doctors to prescribe nature based travel. So far the list is rounded out by Finland, Canada, and Scotland. 

Even the medical community is beginning to recognize that Eden is calling to us right down to our cells. A leafy landscape, sunlight, and fresh air is what we were made for and while our doctors may not be prescribing it for us we can take the initiative ourselves and get outside. Catch some early morning sun, take an evening walk, breathe deep and be. 

Job 12

7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
    or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
    or let the fish in the sea inform you.
9 Which of all these does not know
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In his hand is the life of every creature
    and the breath of all mankind.