NPR

Greener Childhood Associated With Happier Adulthood

Research suggests the more of your childhood that is spent surrounded by green spaces, the lower your risk of developing mental illness in adulthood, whether in the city or the country.
A child takes in the sights under blooming Japanese cherry trees at the Bispebjerg Cemetery in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The experience of natural spaces, brimming with greenish light, the smells of soil and the quiet fluttering of leaves in the breeze can calm our frenetic modern lives. It's as though our very cells can exhale when surrounded by nature, relaxing our bodies and minds.

Some people seek to maximize the purported therapeutic effects of contact with the unbuilt environment by embarking on sessions of forest bathing, slowing down and becoming mindfully immersed in nature.

But in a rapidly urbanizing world, green spaces are shrinking as our cities grow out and up. Scientists are working to understand how green spaces, or lack of them, can

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR1 min readAmerican Government
Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Classified Documents Case Is Delayed Indefinitely By Judge
The classified documents trial had been scheduled to begin May 20. But months of delays had slowed the case as prosecutors pushed for the trial to begin before the November presidential election
NPR4 min read
Last-minute Candidate José Raúl Mulino Wins Panama's Presidential Election
José Raúl Mulino was set to become the new leader of the Central American nation as authorities unofficially called the race Sunday night after his three nearest rivals conceded.
NPR3 min read
'Long Island' Renders Bare The Universality Of Longing
In a heartrending follow-up to his beloved 2009 novel, Brooklyn, Colm Tóibín handles uncertainties and moral conundrums with exquisite delicacy, zigzagging through time to a devastating climax.

Related Books & Audiobooks