No doubt you might have heard about the health benefits of nature but, do you know that even greenery helps in controlling our unhealthy cravings?
A study from the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom stated that seeing more of greenery around can help in reducing the cravings.
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“It has been known for some time that being outdoors in nature is linked to a person’s well-being. But simply being able to see green spaces adds a new dimension to previous research,” says Martin, for whom the current research was part of a Master’s degree project.
“This is the first study to explore this idea and it could have a range of implications for both public health and environmental protection programs in the future,” she adds.
The researchers’ surveyed 149 participants aged 21–65 years for this study and asked them that do they really sit around nature or how much time they spend around trees. They also questioned the participants on the frequency and intensity of their unhealthful cravings, as well as how these affected their emotional health.
Apart from this, they also looked at the proportion of green space present in each participant’s neighborhood, the access to green views from their home, their access to a personal or community garden and how often they used public green spaces.
They found that people who have more access to gardens are healthier and have fewer cravings than the one who don’t spend much time in nature.
“Future research should investigate if and how green spaces can be used to help people withstand problematic cravings, enabling them to better manage cessation attempts in the future,” says study co-author Sabine Pahl, Ph.D.
