PARIS—Spending time outdoors is long understood to offer mental health perks, including reduced stress, improved sleep and enhanced cognition. They determined that without outdoor parks, poor mental health could cost Australia alone an additional $145 billion annually. Health benefitsThe savings include not only the cost of mental health treatments and caretakers but also collateral expenses due to absenteeism or poor productivity and antisocial behavior, such as vandalism and domestic abuse. ADVERTISEMENTPutting a dollar amount on the health effects helps to make an argument for physicians to prescribe outdoor activities for mental health, Buckley explains. “While our parks provide many health benefits from ‘everyday’ use, they are increasingly becoming recognized as beneficial settings for nature-based health interventions for people with specific health conditions,” Shauna Jones, of Parks Victoria, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer November 16, 2019 21:00 UTC