TORONTO -- A different sort of medical prescription is spreading across Canada, that of 鈥渘ature therapy鈥� where doctors, nurses and other health-care practitioners can prescribe going outdoors as part of a wellness routine.
Nature therapy, also called ecotherapy, is derived from the principles of ecopsychology 鈥� a broad term that describes using a person鈥檚 presence in nature to improve their mental and physical health.
鈥淕reen prescriptions鈥� began as a grassroots movements in the U.S. more than a decade ago, and have spread globally since. But studies have shown that exposure to nature helps to lower anxiety, counters depression and improves blood pressure, immune function and sleep.
鈥淚鈥檝e really started appreciating the health benefits of nature time when I moved,鈥� Dr. Melissa Lem, a family physician, told 麻豆影视.
Lem noticed a change in her stress levels when she moved her practice from northern B.C. to Toronto, and felt like lack of access to nature was the source.
鈥淚 found that I felt a lot more stressed when I was in Toronto, and so one day I was sitting in my apartment鈥nd looking out the window at the tiny little bit of sky I could see and thought鈥 think it鈥檚 because I鈥檓 missing nature time, that鈥檚 why I feel so stressed right now," she explained.
Lem says as she dove deeper into studying the health benefits of nature therapy, she discovered a new body of research which led her to create something she calls 鈥淧ark Prescriptions.鈥�
, an initiative of the BC Parks Foundation, is a program where health-care providers can write a prescription that advises patients to get out into nature, whether walking or biking, for at least two hours a week, and then track their progress at follow up appointments.
Lem plans on introducing an app to help make it easy for patients to track their time in nature and how their health has improved over time.
鈥淪pending time in these busy urban environments tires our powers of conscious attention because we have to constantly focus on lights, crowds and traffic to navigate urban environments鈥� spending time in nature is sort of this soft fascination that allows our brains to rest, it doesn鈥檛 require a lot of filter,鈥� Lem explained.
鈥淭here are also theories around and some evidence behind phytoncides being released by trees and plants within natural settings that actually improve the function of natural killer cells and your immune system."
More than 500 health-care workers across Canada have signed up to participate in the Park Prescriptions program, including Hamilton, Ont., family doctor Meghan Davis.
Davis said that Park Prescriptions allows doctors to align their suggestions for nature therapy and reassure patients who might be struggling with anxiety or dealing with cancer that there is "great science behind that suggestion.鈥�
Those who work within the medical field also enjoy the idea.
Kelowna B.C. medical student Peter Singh says nature helped soothe him after his father鈥檚 illness in 2014 and eventual death.
鈥淭hat was a very complicated time in my life鈥 was essentially just trying to get out of the house and run,鈥� Singh told 麻豆影视, adding that he was 鈥渓ucky鈥� there was a park nearby. 鈥淭he more I tried to run away from my problems鈥� the more I found myself spending time in that green space and realized that I wasn鈥檛 just running away from my problems anymore I was actually running to this place.鈥�
鈥淚 was seeking the comfort of the trees and the moss and the birds鈥ou forget about things for just that 20 minutes, it was very valuable to me and mental wellbeing.鈥�
Singh is now helping Lem bring her message and practice of Park Prescriptions to a wider audience through his membership of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment so that more Canadians can access nature therapy in the future.
