Kids Who Spend More Time in Nature Become Happier Adults

You don’t really need a study to tell you this, but it’s worth noting the science behind our intuitive guess that kids who spend more time in nature become happier adults.

A new study out of Denmark found that living near and spending time in nature is measurably better for your mental health, both short and long term.

The study followed more than 900,000 Danish people from 1985 to 2013 – taking into consideration their education, income, family history of mental illness, and how much green space surrounded them growing up. You can find the full study on the PNAS website.

KIDS IN NATURE NOW ARE HAPPY LATER ON IN LIFE

So, after studying nearly one million people across three decades, they found that “children who grew up with the lowest levels of green space had up to 55% higher risk of developing a psychiatric disorder independent from effects of other known risk factors.”

URBAN GREEN SPACES COUNT AS NATURE

The findings indicated that the “higher pace of life and social stress in the most urbanized areas could create a stronger need for restorative environments such as urban green space.”

HOW TO ENCOURAGE FREE PLAY IN NATURE

Kids are naturals when it comes to free play, but it’s always helpful to have a few ideas up your sleeve to combat the inevitable whine, “I’m bored!”

SWIPE UP FOR MORE on spending time in nature

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