Tons of Evidence Point to Link Between Urban Green Spaces and Health in Humans

A top doctor in the UK, Dr. Richard Thompson of the Royal College of Physicians said that growing evidence points to the fact that urban green spaces have a positive effect on human health. The number of evidence that had been gathered showed that plants effectively reduce depression, anger and stress. He added that exercising in green spaces is very important to the well being of humans.

Scientific studies

It is often said that urban areas are concrete jungles. Before there was a movement to include green spaces in urban area development, it was very seldom to see any large patches of green in highly populated urban areas. Most of the spaces were allocated for streets, residential, commercial, industrial and parking areas.

And while there have been numerous scientific studies on the effect of urban green spaces on health, oftentimes, the issue becomes attributed to strategies in healthcare rather on the effects of natural green environment.

From the study results that have been gathered by American and British scientists, it had been suggested that looking at a wide variety of flowering plants alone can actually lower stress levels. Sir Richard also pointed out that in the controlled studies done in several hospitals in the United States, the gardens actually improved the mood within the hospital premises, as the stress levels of patients and their families as well as that of staff, were greatly reduced.

Sir Richard, who spoke during the Green Cities Conference in London, also noted that it was very important that the gardens must be biodiverse and there should be a variety of plants, from flowering plants to evergreens to shrubs and trees.

Gardens have been shown to help heart patients. Being among plants and trees help in the reduction of their anxiety after an operation, which in turn can lead to reduced medication. He also stressed that the gardens must be green ones and not concrete ones.

Benefits of gardening

Sir Richard is a patron of Thrive. It is a charity that promotes the benefits of gardening for people with ill mental health and disabilities. He also discussed the positive effects of gardening. He said it was beneficial to most people, but more so for older people living alone. Their studies have revealed that gardening improves balance thus reducing the occurrence of falls. Gardening also improves flexibility and helps improve a person’s mood.

Garden gym

There are many health benefits that you can get by just being outdoors. Exposure to sunlight reduces blood pressure. Even a small reduction of blood pressure means a substantial decrease in cardiovascular diseases, according to a recent study, added the renowned doctor.

Urban green spaces could also affect health budgets as they can bring about savings through the reduction of preventable diseases such as heart-related diseases and diabetes.

With these positive results, you can say that a garden gym is far cheaper than going to a regular gym.