Catch up on stories from the past week (and beyond) at the Slashdot story archive

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
Earth Science

Study Finds Living Near Trees, Not Just Green Space, Improves Wellbeing (citylab.com) 88

According to a new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open, living in neighborhoods with leafy trees is linked to higher levels of wellness. The study found that not all green spaces are created equal, as leafy trees promote higher levels of wellness than abundant green space. CityLab reports: [The researchers] describe a large-scale longitudinal study featuring 46,786 mostly older residents of three Australian urban areas. The subjects were initially interviewed between 2006 and 2009; follow-up reports were taken between 2012 and 2015. At both points, participants were asked to rate their overall health, and noted whether they have ever been diagnosed with, or treated for, anxiety or depression. In addition, they completed a 10-item questionnaire designed to measure their risk of psychological distress. Among other items, they noted how often in recent weeks they had felt "hopeless, rigid, or fidgety," "so sad that nothing could cheer you up," or "worthless." Researchers compared the participants' answers to the natural features of the "mesh block" where their home is located (a geographical unit containing 30 to 60 dwellings). Using satellite imagery, the team calculated both the percentage of total green space and "separate green space types, including tree canopy, grass, or other low-lying vegetation."

After taking into account such variables as the participants' age, gender, education, and household income, the researchers were able to confirm the results of previous studies, finding that "total green space appeared to be associated with lower odds of incident psychological distress." More intriguingly, they also found that exposure to low-lying vegetation was not consistently associated with any particular health outcome. Exposure to grass was, surprisingly, associated with higher odds of psychological distress. The wellness-boosting feature, then, appears to be the trees. The researchers report that living in areas where 30 percent or more of the outdoor space is dominated by tree canopy was associated with 31 percent lower odds of psychological distress, compared to people living in areas with 0 to 9 percent tree canopy. "Similar results were found for self-related fair to poor general health," with tree-rich residents reporting better health overall, the researchers write.

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Study Finds Living Near Trees, Not Just Green Space, Improves Wellbeing

Comments Filter:
  • by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 02, 2019 @09:07PM (#59032456)

    Green, healthy, just all around good.

    Smog ridden, concrete covered, crime ridden, city dwellers...rage against the machine...

    • Except in the country where they cut all trees within a mile of the last home and planed bushes instead, in a vain effort to 'landscape' it 'better' than Mother Nature, with the net result that I, while living in a smog-ridden, concrete-covered and crime-ridden city see trees more often than them.

  • People like living in the forest, to the point that they refuse to clear defensible space around their homes in the woods - leading to them LOSING their homes in the inevitable forest fires.

  • Trees (Score:5, Interesting)

    by fluffernutter ( 1411889 ) on Friday August 02, 2019 @10:04PM (#59032682)
    The fact that a tree is there means it has stood the test of time. They remind me that life will go on, even if something bad happens. I've never considered myself a nature person but I grew up in a mostly treeless place and visited family in a place that was mostly forest with some houses and roads. The affect I felt was quite remarkable, and now I live there.
  • by Rick Schumann ( 4662797 ) on Friday August 02, 2019 @10:21PM (#59032748) Journal
    In an area with lots of trees (park, wooded area, forest) I'd think there'd be more oxygen and less CO2. Also, less human-made noises, if any noise at all, and more natural noises. Despite how much we've evolved and how much we've built a civilization, we're still animals, even if smart, self-aware animals, and we're still more at home in many cases in a natural environment than we are one made of concrete, steel, and glass.
    • There is a park I like to visit with a hill and forest, there's a freeway across the way so there are lots of car noises in addition to all the birds, but it still feels really nice to be in the forest. The natural noises are effective at altering mood even when you're still in the city.

    • I'd think there'd be more oxygen and less CO2.

      The biggest impact on your daily CO2 is the amount of ventilation, not trees in your neighbourhood.

      • 1. Considering a very recent experience I had with air travel and the extreme effect it had on me, I'll agree with you on 'ventilation'.
        2. I'm not really talking about 'landscaped trees in your neighborhood', I'm talking about 'wooded areas' like a forest, where the flora is dense -- although having lots of nice big mature trees in your neighborhood isn't a bad thing in any case.
  • They don't have to rake the 2 feet of leaves off of my lawn in the fall, what a pita.
  • by mentil ( 1748130 ) on Friday August 02, 2019 @10:50PM (#59032832)

    Humans descend from bonobos -- who live in and move amongst trees. It'd make sense that if they're not near trees, they'd feel anxiety. Furthermore, who knows what kind of threats, like snakes, lurk amongst the tall grass; better keep clear of that.
    Humans presumably retained some of those instincts, despite not relying nearly as much on trees; perhaps being in the open too far from trees left us vulnerable to threats that can't climb, leaving the anxiety intact.

  • by cascadingstylesheet ( 140919 ) on Friday August 02, 2019 @10:55PM (#59032838) Journal
    ... that they took into account that more trees tend to go with higher income and stability, right? That homeowners have more trees than apartment dwellers, etc.?
  • People with more stable lives are more likely to live near leafy trees and green spaces.
  • Pennsylvania has trees. Lots and lots of trees. Not sure about lack of psychological distress, but yep, we got trees.
  • I'm ordering some now for my basement apartment.
  • It could be about breaking up the monotony. For example, working on a city street where every building is a skyscraper.

    It's the epidemic of modern design, architecture and city planning where everything has to be pristine, flat, uniform, lifeless, giant glass dildos.
  • Perhaps it's breaking up the monotony of the surroundings. For example, working on a city street that's all skycrapers.

    It's the epidemic of modern design, architecture and city planning where everything has to be pristine, flat and uniform, whether it's flat grass areas or giant glass dildos everywhere.

    It may look good from the outside as a scale model and a snazzy presentation 3D mock up, but people have to actually walk through it at street level. Fucking architects.
    • Quite a few Australian cities have trees on the footpaths, even amongst the (few) skyscrapers. It's certainly common in the suburbs. When I bought my house it was surrounded by white sand and weeds. Now, almost 17 years later, it's got soil, trees and tall shrubs. And LOTS of birds.

      And this research focussed on living places, not working places. Most Aussies live in suburbs, though density is increasing.

      To the commentor who pointed out that older people tend to be home-owners and not apartment dwellers?

      "Aft

    • If you're thinking of London, it's really more of a butt-plug than a dildo.

  • Being an old fart with an enlarged prostate, I'm also less fidgety if there's always a tree or two around when I have to pee.

    Sorry for the oversharing.

  • "Exposure to grass was, surprisingly, associated with higher odds of psychological distress" ...which is unsurprising to anyone trying to keep their lawn looking decent.

  • Not if it falls on your head and crushes you to death
  • Interesting to read. Really, it explains lots of things. Unfortunately, I don't have time to give this study more of my attention because I'm a bit busy. I'm going to apply for my very first job and I haven't finished my resume yet. Now I'm thinking of a resume writing service like this one https://edureviewer.com/best-r... [edureviewer.com] (it's a review).

"It might help if we ran the MBA's out of Washington." -- Admiral Grace Hopper

Working...