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The lockdown in South Africa, and in countries all over the world, has forced us inside and out of public spaces.

Those first couple of weeks when we couldn’t really leave the house at all were difficult, and even now that s0me are back at work, many of us are still based at home.

Consecutive days and nights spent indoors, looking at the same four walls, can be emotionally and physically taxing.

Which is why, when the ban on exercise was lifted, people who had never shown an ounce of interest in anything physically strenuous were power walking their way to freedom.

It turns out that there’s a possible underlying reason for this: we may have been suffering from ‘nature-deficit disorder’, a non-medical condition that is particularly prevalent in children, but can affect adults, too.

The New York Times explains:

Numerous studies have shown the mental and physical benefits of spending time in nature, but for some people, it took a pandemic and stay-at-home orders for that desire to spend more time outdoors to feel like a necessity. Experts hope that desire for nature will remain once people physically return to their busy schedules.

“Ironically, the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, as tragic as it is, has dramatically increased public awareness of the deep human need for nature connection, and is adding a greater sense of urgency to the movement to connect children, families and communities to nature,” said Richard Louv, a journalist and the author of “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.”

The effects of nature-deficit disorder are strongest in children. Before the pandemic, more and more children were spending time indoors plugged into devices. During lockdowns, they weren’t leaving the house at all.

Some of the symptoms include stress, anxiety, and behaviour outside of the normal.

Research has shown access to green space is linked to a child’s well-being. For example, adding greenery to school play yards has been shown to increase prosocial behaviour in kids. They help, cooperate, comfort and share more; the loss of access to this greenery has the opposite effect. A 2013 study found that even viewing nature scenes can reduce stress and regulate heart rates.

Louv put together a list of ways that parents can help kids navigate time indoors (and it’s useful for adults, too):

• Pick a “sit spot”: find a place under a tree, or in a corner of the yard and get to know it, during the day, and at night. Find out which creatures live there or visit. Doing so, says Louv, will reduce feelings of isolation.
• Set up a world watching window: Find a window with a view that relaxes you and use it for cloud-spotting, bird watching or star gazing.
• Indoor Plants: bringing nature indoors will make you feel like you’re a little more connected to it. If you kill everything that you plant, download one of these handy apps.
• Go for a walk: even if it’s just across the street, get out there.

You can check out the rest of the list, here.

We forget how important it is to breathe fresh air and look at something that isn’t Netflix sometimes.

Consider this a friendly reminder.

[source:nytimes]