Claiborne

Alyssa Claiborne
Professor Packer
English 2010
10/2/16!
Humans Separation from Nature!
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Over the years, people across the world, ranking in ages from 4-80 year olds,

have steadily become more entangled in the distractions of technology, and as a result
have lost an important connection with nature. Everything is made up of energy, nature
is a natural remedy for many of the problems today and science proves to us that if we
can reconnect with the natural world, many of todays illnesses can be cured. Studies
have shown that patients coming out of surgery heal drastically quicker when they have
a window overlooking trees and plant life than those who have a window overlooking a
city or other buildings. The healing effects of nature goes beyond the realm of external
wounds, but also have shown to have many internal benefits. Nature has the ability to
lower blood pressure, promote cancer-fighting cells, help with anxiety and depression,

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and even may help with symptoms of ADHD. Some studies have even shown that fake
nature, fake plants and animals, can have benefits on health (Sifferlin 2).!
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The Japanese began studies on nature and human health in the early 1980s.

Yoshifumi Miyazaki, a forest-therapy expert did a study involving people who were
asked to spend 40 minutes walking in a cedar forest and a following group was asked to
walk 40 minutes in a lab. The group that walked in the cedar forest had lower levels of
cortisol (the stress hormone), which is also involved in high blood pressure and
immune-system function. Miyazaki was surprised and said Spending time in the forest
induces a state of physiologic relaxation. (Sifferlin 1) In her article in Time Magazine,
Sifferlin states A large June 2016 study found that nearly 10% of people with high blood
pressure could get their hypertension under control if they spent just 30 minutes or more
in a park each week. Nature has the healing powers if we just take the time to connect
with it.!

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The connection between homo-sapiens and nature is always being studied, but

we are just now beginning to discover the many positive effects nature has on humans.

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Trees are said to contain more than 60% of the same genetic code as humans (Rokab
1). Chimps gene makeup is said to be greater than 95% identical to humans. It makes
sense to connect with those things similar to our nature on a regular basis. When we
distance ourselves from similar energies, we see the negative results in our health, and
in our environment. When we lose touch with the environment we can not connect with
it, so we end up destroying it. Its not a coincidence that plants breathe in the carbon
dioxide that we breathe out and they produce the oxygen we need to breathe in.
Humans and nature have so many things in common and we compliment each other so
much that neither of us could survive without the other. !
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Another chronic issue that has effected humans as a result of our detachment

from nature is mental health. Children in todays society are being diagnosed with ADHD
(Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) which many people are blaming video games
and tv shows to be the cause. Sifferlin believes that children can increase their attention
and concentration by interacting with nature. One University of Michigan study
discovered that people improved their short-term memory by up to 20% after a walk in
nature but had no benefits after walking through city streets.!
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Technology has grown faster in the past 20 years than it has in all of human

existence. However, this technology has had both positive and negative results on the
world. We need to stop and look at how to make todays technology more useful than
harmful. Youth today are spending hours a day playing video games and rarely getting
out to exercise, this is having a negative effect on our society, raising depressed obese
people who don't know how to interact with people or get in touch with nature. The
solution to todays problems is not to get rid of technology, but to use it in a way that

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helps up work side by side with nature, borrowing the ingredients of nature and not
stripping nature of its goods. Technological advances have been so beneficial in helping
us understand nature as well as helping us live healthier lives. We should be using
technology to figure out how we can create renewable resources and save the planet
from our damaging bi-products. Technology should be used to help kids learn and grow,
by simply having apps that teach them things about nature, or find organizations they
can be apart of that revolve around nature, such as planting trees, or flowers in a park,
rather than teaching them how to become popular on social media, and feed into social
garbage. !

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References:!

DeWitt, David. "Greater than 98% Chimp/human DNA Similarity? Not Any More." Greater than
98% Chimp Human DNA Similarity Not Any More. Journal of Creation, Apr. 2003. Web. 06 Oct.
2016.!

Rokab, S. (Director). (2014). Love Thy Nature [Motion picture]. United States: In the Light
Productions.!

Sifferlin, Alexandra. "The Healing Power Of Nature." Time 188.4 (2016): 24-26. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 6 Oct. 2016.!

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