How Covid-19 has changed the relationship with nature: the study

Covid-19 has significantly changed the lifestyle habits of everyone and has upset interpersonal relationships and the relationship with the outside world, often experienced from a window. Above all, the relationship with nature has changed. In a time of great deprivation, there seems to be a new perspective. In Vermont, UVM researchers have begun to quantify exactly how the pandemic is transforming outdoor experiences and what this change could mean for the future of environmentalism. In a new study published in the journal PLOS One, scholars provide data that highlight how Covid-19 has prompted people to relate to nature and outdoor activities.

The team of researchers scattered QR codes among signs outside of urban forests and parks in the Burlington area. Each code directed people to an online survey that asked questions about whether the pandemic forced them out of. more in nature.

One of the main findings was that 26% of the more than 400 visitors to the park who responded had never been to the green lung near their home, even just for a walk, in the previous months or in the last year. that group, most people said they really appreciate the opportunity to get out into nature during a time of such stress and isolation.

Even if the first step in the woods took place because it was actually the only activity allowed, at the beginning of the pandemic, it turned out to be a really precious and important experience for mental and physical health.

in a wood, taking a "forest bath", taking a run in the city park, making art and relaxing alone outside are some of the most popular activities. Women, more than men, have increased their outgoings in kind. 59% of respondents said nature also helped give them a greater sense of mental health and well-being during this time.

lived within the four walls of the home showed how important it is to have access to nature, even if it is only in the neighborhood. For the psychophysical benefits deriving from the man-nature relationship, outdoor spaces will be a priority for the future: new green areas will be created inserted in urban contexts and will be maintained in the best way to make them more and more usable.

The connection with nature increases, despite the winter. If before the Covid-19 pandemic, the trend was to spend a lot of time in contact with nature or outside only during the summer, now also the rhythm of the days in winter, despite the few hours of daylight, it is exploited to the maximum. After spending a lot of time in very hot homes, it is good to let the body gradually adapt and reap the benefits of clean, fresh air.

To stay in contact with nature you could also practice the telemark, a particular type of ski.

in the blood, therefore useful to counteract the onset and fight diabetes

against hypertension: it helps to decrease blood pressure

contributes to muscle relaxation

invigorates the immune system

purifying action with consequent elimination of toxins from the body

a rebalancing of moods and a reduction in the risk of getting depressed

a lowering of anxiety and anger

an increase in concentration

a concrete improvement of oxygenation

improve the cognitive functions

and the receptors of well-being, a regenerating path that allows you to eliminate toxins.

Walking in nature also helps breathing. Seven specific remedies for better breathing are also helpful.