Promoting to nature: a solution for human health, development well-being
Résumé
In 2018, 55% of the world's population was urban. By 2050, 68% of the population is expected to be urban. These figures reflect the development and expansion of urban areas. Despite the many benefits of the city, this urban transition is accompanied by changes in habits and life dynamics. Within cities, exposure to nature is less frequent, shorter or less intense. As the presence of natural elements can be considered a 'basic need' for humans, this increasing urbanisation can have deleterious physical, mental or social consequences. City dwellers benefit less from exposure to nature and its restorative effect.
In this paper, we conducted a literature review on the benefits of nature on human well-being and health. For this purpose, we used the biopsychosocial model of Markevych et al (2017). This model described three potential pathways linking greenspace to health: reduction of environmental stressors, increase in health-promoting behaviours, and psychological restoration. regarding this last point, specific to psychology, we will describe the restorative effect of nature based on a reduction in stress (stress reduction theory) and a restoration of attentional capacity (attention restoration theory).
Following these two theories, a lot of research has been published and we will try to give you a global vision of the benefits of nature during a long term exposure but also for more specific exposures (less frequent or via substitute such as photographs, videos or virtual reality). The contribution of exposure is not limited to the field of psychology, we will provide elements on the benefits of nature in everyday life, at work, at school or in medical care.
Finally, we will end our presentation with a warning about the preservation of nature and the promotion of pro-environmental behaviour.
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