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Bringing nature inside can improve your health. Here’s how to do it. [washingtonpost.com]

 

By Stacey Colino, Photo: Wenjia Tang/The Washington Post, The Washington Post, June 2, 2023

If you’ve watched even a few minutes of HGTV or skimmed a handful of real estate listings, you’re likely acquainted with the notion of “bringing the outdoors in.” But the concept is much more than just a home decorating cliché.

“As a species, we are part of the natural world and we have an inherent need to connect with nature, whether we realize it or not,” says psychotherapist Patricia Hasbach, author of “Grounded: A Guided Journal to Help You Reconnect With the Power of Nature — and Yourself.” “It’s about kinship. It fosters a feeling of being part of the larger world.”

Bringing in houseplants, opting for floral prints, using earth or sea tones — these types of choices reflect the scientific theory of “biophilia,” which proposes that humans have an innate desire to connect with nature, explains Mark Berman, director of the Environmental Neuroscience Lab at the University of Chicago. Also at play: “attention restoration theory,” the concept that exposure to nature relieves mental fatigue. Together, these theories have given rise to “biophilic design,” an approach to interiors that encourages incorporating natural elements.

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I appreciate any attention given to nature, as well as topics such as light and noise pollution. When you think about it, it's crazy that our modern society has become so out of touch with the world our ancestors has evolved in for 100,000's of years that we've had to come up with words/phrases like "nature", "the environment", "parks", and the word I learned in this article, "biophilic".

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