“The Nature Fix”

1.  What were the three most surprising things that you learned from this book?

 I learned about human nature at the neural level because it is an imbalance between our
current lives and our current brains, the first victim in our paleolithic nervous system. The
connection with nature is very important for our cognition of what we think and then even a
small amount of exposure to the living world can improve our creativity and improve our
mood. Having evolved into a wild biological environment, our brains respond powerfully to
natural stimuli. Images of nature can get quick and positive responses in our brains. It helps
in the process of reflection and meaning by talking, writing, thinking, or creating about
feelings and actions involved with experiences. Physical activity changes the brain to improve
memory, aging, and decrease anxiety.
 I learned that going outside is beneficial for our mental health. But NOT going outside is
harmful. The lack of nature in our lives can even exacerbate depression, anxiety, and
attention deficit disorder. But going outdoors reduces inflammation and stress relief.
Improves concentration, restored mental energy, anxiety, fatigue, creativity, increases
vitamin D, alertness throughout the day and reduced risk of early death. However, children
are especially at risk in the age of rearing helicopters, computers, and iPhones because their
baseline outdoor experience is much smaller than previous generations.
 The outdoors may be an antidote to the effects of technology. We are not evolving as quickly
as technology, so our brains are not necessarily capable of handling the stimulus of multiple
tasks. I learned about the differing effects of technology and nature on our ability to pay
attention, comfort, safety, communication, and information. I believe attention is a limited
resource, and spending time in nature gives us fewer choices thereby streamlining our
attention and letting us function more efficiently and creative in different set of expectations
in relation to outdoor settings. In a lot of ways, it is a break from technology, and it makes us
more productive when we return.

2. Identify your two favorite pieces of research described in the book, one qualitative study and one
quantitative study.  Mixed methods can count for either one.  Just identify the study (assume all will
have read it) and explain why you found these so interesting.

 After reading this book, the most shocking quantitative research for me was on noise pollution
and child cognition, funded by the European Union. Researchers say it is the biggest and scariest
study to date. For this study, researchers followed several thousand children attending primary
schools near major airports. They found significant impacts on reading, memory and
understanding hyperactivity. I think this is important because for every 5 -decibel increase in
noise, reading scores fell the equivalent of a two-month delay, so that kids were almost a year
behind in the neighborhood that were 20-decibels louder. This resulted in the stress hormones
epinephrine and norepinephrine doubling in noise and causing delays in children's learning. I
consider that noise can affect our attention span, generate stress, nervousness, and irritability. It
can appear negative effects on our self-esteem or generate anxiety.
  The qualitative research I think was significant for me was conducted at the UK National Health
Service where he reported that patients with cancer using "aromasticks" had less anxiety while
using it. This is a placebo effect, but the authors did not know how odors might be working.
Associated with this, aromas such as lavender and rosemary caused a decline of the participants'
cortisol levels and increased the speed of blood to the heart. Aromasticks have a great used in
the hospital by the complementary therapy team to improve patients’ well-being and quality of
life by helping with symptom control. Essential oils may be inhaled by means an aromasticks (a
personal inhaler device containing essential oils) as a means of improving sleep, nausea, and
anxiety.

3. Discuss the distinctions you pick up between the Western and Eastern approaches being taken to
Nature and Health, and the research of Nature and Health.

 As we Know, the differences between Western and Eastern nature and Health are numerous,
because Eastern and Western people not only live in different environments but also educated
in distinctively different ways. Eastern and Western people have different attitudes toward their
life. Eastern people live in time, which means that they follow the natural order of time to do
what they ought to do and work step by step. Eastern people do not like their schedules to be
messed up and usually hate to change things once they decide the sequence. The eastern
medicine can work alongside these treatments to alleviate the side effects and helps the patient
feel better such as Acupuncture relieves headaches. Yoga helps with asthma symptoms. Herbal
remedies combat migraines. By contrast, Western people live in space, do more and think less.
Western approaches tend to focus on diagnosing, treating disease based on a patient’s
symptoms and tends to change the environment. People from the western are more open to
expressing their feelings. It is more flexible and freer to make decisions on his own. Western
medicine practitioners often recommend pharmaceuticals, physical therapy, surgery, or
psychological counseling.

4. What critiques do you have of this contemporary attention to Nature for health?

 Reading the book Nature Fix, I confirm myself that being in contact with nature, in any form, is
healing for us physically, emotionally, and mentally. Nature's health benefits through the book
or visual nature have been shown to contribute to better psychological well-being, superior
cognitive functioning, fewer physical ailments, and faster recovery from diseases. In addition,
nature helps us cope with pain. It has many offerings and helps people get rid of various
diseases. It gives us fresh air, fruits and vegetables that helps people to have excellent health. If
trees or plants were not there in our environment, human beginnings would not exist either.
However, from another point of view, nature for many people living in large cities is poor. They
cannot breathe the pure air of the flowers, where the car's exhaust produces high levels of lead
in the urban air. Concentrated energy uses lead to increased air pollution with a significant
impact on human health.
5. What connection can you make to what you just learned in N415 Community and Family Health in
terms of global health, health risks, prevention on a grand scale?

 After reading the book many questions appeared in my mind, each was closely related to what I
learned in N415. Exposure to nature not only makes you feel better emotionally, but also
contributes to your physical well-being, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and
the production of stress hormones. Being in touch with nature, or even watching scenes of
nature, reduces anger, fear, stress and increase pleasant feelings are measures of promotion
and prevention that makes a nurse in the community. There are many organizations around the
world that their actions and missions are to ensure that future generations can enjoy nature and
the outdoors in all their glory. Many of these organizations struggle against with these factors
that affect nature.

Health risk, nurses identify environmental health risk, participate in research, and use advocacy to
improve environmental quality. Nurses can contribute to environmental health by using
environmentally friendly practices and materials, as well as providing information to the public about
environmental health

6. What stands out as a way to connect to 'brain plasticity' and how will you make use of this
knowledge this summer?  (For yourself, your friends and family, your classmates and faculty (!), your
patients, the universe .... whatever 'population' and 'level of intervention' calls to you.)  No, you will
not have to evaluate your intervention and report back. :)

 Brain plasticity is the brain's ability to change throughout life. Changes that occur in the
structure of the brain as a result of learning or experiences. For this summer I plan to exercise
and walk outdoors for 30 minutes. Practice meditation and perform yoga exercises. Listening to
music that allows me to be in an atmosphere of relaxation. Plan with my family and friends to
spend several days away from the city enjoying nature and its benefits. Maintain a balanced diet
and be out of electronics for 1 hour.