B.C. physicians prescribing time outdoors to improve overall health: Q+A
A program launched in partnership with the BC Parks Foundation has local physicians prescribing time outdoors to improve overall health.
Vancouver physician Dr. Melissa Lem spoke on CTV Morning Live Monday to explain the program and the benefits of spending time outdoors.
Below is part of a four-minute interview, which has been edited for length and clarity. Watch the full interview in the video player above.
Keri Adams: What happens when we spend time outdoors and in nature? How does it benefit our mental health?
Dr. Melissa Lem: I think nature is honestly one of the best things that we can do for our mental health from improving anxiety and depression to boosting our concentration. Scientists think it's because green and blue spaces give our over-stimulated brains a break from the hard edges and the lights and sounds and busyness of cities and screens that we haven't really evolved to be able to handle yet.
Nature is this source of what's called soft fascination that rests our brains and reduces stress and fatigue. One of my favourite studies looked at young men in Japan who sat either looking at a city street or a forest and then men who sat in the forest for just 15 minutes significantly dropped their stress hormone levels, while the men in the city had no change.
Another really positive side effect of being connected to nature, especially after this summer of wildfires and heat domes, is that people who are more connected to nature are more likely to behave in pro-environmental ways like saving electricity, recycling and advocating for political change.
Jason Pires: What are the benefits for young people? And can you actually measure the stress levels increasing or decreasing from nature?
Lem: In adults there have been studies that show not only our cortisol or stress hormone levels drop, but also blood pressure and heart-rate variability, which is a sign of stress. In kids, nature is the ultimate jungle gym for kids' mental health. So kids who spend more time living and playing near green spaces are more resilient to stress and develop motor skills faster and improve their focus better.
A really interesting study looked at kids with ADHD who took three 20-minute walks downtown on a neighbourhood street or in a park and the kids who walked in a park improved their math and attention scores to the level of kids without ADHD, similar to effects of prescription stimulant medication, which I think is incredible.
So no one is saying that taking a walk in the park can replace medication, but I think it really speaks to how powerful nature can be as an adjunct to traditional medical treatments … it's really important that (kids) get a lot of nature time to keep their brains healthy.
Adams: Doctors are now prescribing time in nature through a partnership with the BC Parks Foundation. How is that program going?
Lem: It's been going really, really well. As we know, COVID-19 has been so difficult for so many reasons, but one silver lining is that people have rediscovered nature. This summer, a poll showed that over 85 per cent of Canadians said that nature time was key to maintaining their mental health during the pandemic. So our nature and health message is really resonating right now with a lot of people.
Pires: How do we incorporate more green time in our days? For parents, what should the ratio be between screen time and being out in nature?
Lem: In our program we have a really easy recommendation. We have a standard, science-based recommendation that people spend at least two hours each week in nature, and at least 20 minutes each time, to get that fastest drop in their cortisol or stress hormone levels.
With kids, the screen-time epidemic is huge. We really need to be counteracting that with more green time. Less screen time, more green time.
A lot of people ask what counts as nature, and research shows that what matters most is when you feel like you've had a meaningful nature experience. So it can be in your garden or a city park. It doesn't have to be on top of a mountain or in the back woods.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.