AFTER WALKING IN THE PARK, THE KIDS SHOWED


improved cognitive function and reduced inattention—


AS MUCH AS IF THEY’D BEEN DOSED WITH A top-selling ADHD drug. I


n his 2005 bestseller Last Child in the Woods, journalist Richard Louv coined the term “Nature Deficit


Disorder” to describe the symptoms of a generation of children being raised as hothouse flowers, so care- fully scheduled and managed that they had no time for, or access to, the natu- ral world. In the decade since, more and more families like mine have moved to the city, staying indoors and growing ever more dependent on the 24-hour availability of digital devices. As this trend continues, experts worry that we’re depriving our kids—not to mention ourselves—of the vital benefits that nature provides. A growing body of evidence sug-


gests that exposure to nature is an essential component of human health and well-being. The mere sight of trees or indoor plants lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol and decreases blood pressure. In 2007, Qing Li, an immunologist at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo, made the staggering discovery that a walk in the woods—or shinrin- yoku (“forest bath”) as it’s known in Japan—elevates counts of the white 34 · LAND&PEOPLE · FALL/WINTER 2013


blood cells responsible for resisting tumors and viruses. Scientists attribute the effect to phytoncide, an aromatic substance given off by trees. The more phytoncide that a person inhales, the stronger the immune boost, with effects lasting for up to a month after exposure.


Researchers at the University of


Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have found that time spent in urban for- ests also appears to reduce ADHD symptoms in children. Researchers placed kids in different settings—a lush urban park, a mostly concrete downtown area, and an area clus- tered with houses. In each setting, the kids walked for 20 minutes and then took a series of tests to measure their attention and executive function- ing. After walking in the park, kids showed improved cognitive func- tioning and reduced inattention and impulsivity—as much as if they’d been dosed with a top-selling ADHD drug. But why? In Your Brain on Nature, physician Eva Selhub and naturo- path Alan Logan theorize that since humans evolved in the natural world,


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