為學(xué)生開出的“大自然處方”

College can be a very stressful time for young adults, and this can be very taxing on their mental health. Fortunately there is a very accessible remedy for this stress — nature. Recent research shows that spending as little as 10 minutes in a natural setting can help relieve students of their college stress.

對于年輕人來說，大學(xué)是一段壓力很大的時(shí)期，這對他們的心理健康并不好。幸運(yùn)的是，有一種很容易緩解這種壓力的方法——大自然。最近的研究表明，只要在自然環(huán)境中待上10分鐘，就可以幫助學(xué)生緩解在大學(xué)中的壓力。

The review from Cornell University evaluates numerous studies on nature’s effects on the mental health of college students to find an effective “nature prescription” for students.

康奈爾大學(xué)的這一綜述文章評估了大量關(guān)于大自然對大學(xué)生心理健康影響的研究，目的是為學(xué)生找到一種有效的“大自然處方”。

“It doesn’t take much time for the positive benefits to kick in — we’re talking 10 minutes outside in a space with nature,” says lead author Gen Meredith, associate director of the Master of Public Health Program and lecturer at the College of Veterinary Medicine, in a media release. “We firmly believe that every student, no matter what subject or how high their workload, has that much discretionary time each day, or at least a few times per week.”

“這些積極的好處不用花很長時(shí)間就會(huì)表現(xiàn)出來，我們現(xiàn)在談?wù)摰闹皇窃趹敉馀c大自然親密接觸的10分鐘時(shí)間。”研究報(bào)告的主要撰寫人、公共衛(wèi)生碩士項(xiàng)目副主任兼獸醫(yī)學(xué)院講師Gen Meredith在一次媒體發(fā)布會(huì)上說：“我們堅(jiān)信，每個(gè)學(xué)生，不管他們的學(xué)科是什么，工作任務(wù)有多少，每天都有這樣的自由支配的時(shí)間，或者至少每周能有那么幾次時(shí)間。”

The studies included in the review compare the effects of a “green” environment versus an urban setting on the physical and mental health of students. The measures used in the studies include students’ heart rate, blood pressure, cortisol levels (a stress hormone), mood and their ability to focus. The review of the studies indicates that 10-50 minutes of sitting or walking in nature are the most effective at improving these measures.

這篇綜述中包括的研究比較了“綠色”環(huán)境和城市環(huán)境對學(xué)生身心健康的影響。研究中使用的指標(biāo)包括學(xué)生的心率、血壓、皮質(zhì)醇水平(一種壓力荷爾蒙)、情緒和注意力。對這些研究的綜述表明，在大自然中靜坐或步行10-50分鐘是改善這些指標(biāo)的最有效方法。

“It’s not that there’s a decline after 50 minutes, but rather that the physiological and self-reported psychological benefits tend to plateau after that,” notes co-author Donald Rakow, associate professor in the School of Integrative Plant Science.

“并不是說在50分鐘后指標(biāo)就會(huì)變差，而是生理益處和自我報(bào)告的心理益處在50分鐘后會(huì)趨于平穩(wěn)。”論文合著者、綜合植物科學(xué)學(xué)院副教授Donald Rakow指出。

One of the critical aspects of this review is that it provides students with something they can do on a daily basis to relieve their stress. Rakow comments: “While there is a lot of literature on longer outdoor programs, we wanted to quantify doses in minutes, not days.”

這篇綜述的一個(gè)重要角度是，它為學(xué)生提供了他們每天都能做到的方法，來減輕他們的壓力。Rakow評論道：“雖然有很多關(guān)于長時(shí)間戶外活動(dòng)的文獻(xiàn)，但是我們想將這一藥劑量化到分鐘而非天數(shù)。”

Researchers hope that their findings will encourage universities to integrate nature into their campuses and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of these resources. They note that several universities have organized “Nature Rx” or “Park Prescription” programs that encourage students to spend time exploring the natural world. Programs like this can help students add regular doses of nature to their daily routine.

研究人員希望他們的發(fā)現(xiàn)能夠鼓勵(lì)大學(xué)將大自然融入校園，并為學(xué)生提供能利用這些綠色資源的機(jī)會(huì)。他們指出，一些大學(xué)已經(jīng)組織了“大自然處方”或“公園處方”的項(xiàng)目，鼓勵(lì)學(xué)生花時(shí)間探索自然世界。這樣的項(xiàng)目可以幫助學(xué)生將自然元素加入到日常生活中。

“Prescribing a dose can legitimize the physician’s recommendation and give a tangible goal.” says Meredith. “It’s different than just saying: ‘Go outside.’ There is something specific that a student can aim for.”

“這樣開出的藥方能使醫(yī)生的建議合法化，并給出一個(gè)明確的目標(biāo)。” Meredith說：“這和僅僅說‘走出去’是不同的。這能讓學(xué)生有的放矢。”

The review is published in Frontiers in Psychology.

這篇文章發(fā)表在《心理學(xué)前沿》雜志上。