What would happen if you spent less time looking at your TV, computer or phone and more time gazing at a beautiful nature-scape?
You might very well see positive changes in your heart health, stress level, cognitive abilities and outlook on life. You might even notice a difference in your perspective on aging.
What’s more, if you’re not an outdoor enthusiast, research indicates that you can gain some of these benefits by enjoying an engaging view of nature through your window.
How Your Environment Affects Your Mental Health
You may already know that your surroundings can have a significant impact on how you feel. This can hold particular importance with regard to your home environment—both inside and outside—if you spend much of your time at home.
Being in a cluttered, messy or noisy environment can:
- Increase stress and anxiety levels
- Decrease productivity
- Interfere with focus
- Impair memory
- Dampen mood
- Cause difficulty sleeping
Naturally, keeping a tidy home is one way to help prevent (or alleviate) these issues. Regularly taking in an appealing view, courtesy of Mother Nature, is another.
La Posada at Pusch Ridge Offers Awe-Inspiring Views
The Southwest is famous for its breathtaking vistas, including panoramic views of canyons, valleys and other wide-open spaces.
Here at La Posada at Pusch Ridge, in southern Arizona, we’re fortunate to have spectacular views of the Santa Catalina Mountains. Residents can reap the benefits of this majestic scenery at home (perhaps while savoring a cup of coffee or sipping a glass of wine on the patio) or while they’re out and about in the community.
How Does Nature Help Mental Health?
Over the past few decades, researchers have found increasing evidence that being in nature benefits both our physiological and psychological health.
An article published by the American Psychological Association cites various studies supporting the mental health benefits of being in nature—such as improved working memory, a restored ability to pay attention and better performance on cognitive tests.
Evidence also shows that experiencing nature is associated with enhanced well-being, according to a published review of various studies. Specifically, the research suggests the benefits of being outside in nature include:
- A sense of meaning and purpose in life
- Better mood, increased happiness
- Fewer signs of mental distress
- Improved ability to manage life tasks
- More positive social interactions
Can’t Go Out? Take a Visual Voyage Into Nature
Some of the most recent studies have shown that simply viewing nature offers many of these same mental health benefits.
Although the effects may not be as pronounced as those you would experience if you were physically immersed in a natural environment, just looking at photos and videos can be psychologically beneficial. Apparently, the sense of being connected to nature is enough to do the trick.
As a bonus, a study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry found that viewing photos of natural environments boosted creativity. These findings underscore the importance of perception.
Can Experiencing Nature Change Attitudes on Aging?
In three studies, researchers examined the association between spending time in nature and views on aging. Two of the studies, which included middle-aged and older adults, demonstrated that spending more time in nature was linked to more positive views on aging.
The third study included adults ranging in age from 18 to 87 who were in “a more or less natural environment.” The results indicated that the older participants reported more positive attitudes toward aging but the younger ones did not.
The researchers concluded that “contact with nature is of great benefit to us all, but particularly to older people when it comes to their attitudes to aging.”
Come Experience Our Views in Person
If you’re familiar with the Tucson area, then you most likely already know about the stunning views of the Santa Catalina Mountains in Oro Valley. This dramatic landscape is one of the main reasons we chose this location for our new senior living community, La Posada at Pusch Ridge.
If you haven’t visited the area, you can get an idea of just how impressive the scenery is in the Santa Catalina Mountains from this U.S. Forest Service webpage.
However, there’s nothing like experiencing the sweeping view of the Santa Catalinas in person.
Of course, La Posada at Pusch Ridge offers many other compelling reasons to make our community your new home. For instance, we’re new enough that you could still be the first to live in a select number of our apartment homes. And, being among the first residents comes with the opportunity to help shape the culture of La Posada at Pusch Ridge.
To learn more about independent living in our vibrant new community, and to see the striking views you could enjoy every day if you join us, call 520-314-6790.
You can also request an appointment for a personal visit to La Posada at Pusch Ridge by filling out this brief contact form, and we’ll follow up with you promptly.
