Nature and Aging: Could Nature be the Fountain of Youth?

“I believe in God, only I spell it nature.” This famous quotation from Frank Lloyd Wright sums up the experience of many people when communing with the natural world. The power of nature has always been venerated by humankind. Cultures encoded awe, wonder, and deep respect for the natural world in traditions and rituals for millennia. We seek out nature to restore our well-being and feel connected to something grander than we are as single people in a big, wide, sometimes, confusing and scary world.

Given our ‘natural’ affinity for the natural world, is there research that explores this experience and its influence on healthy aging? Learn more in this month’s blog including the findings of research into effects of time spent in nature, concerns about climate change and seniors’ health, and maybe some new ideas about how to get that natural fix.

Photo credit: L. C. Osis

The Value of Being in Nature for Seniors

Gerontological research looks at ways to understand and support people are they age. There is interest in determining how nature can play a role in healthy aging. Research into nature-based interventions indicate multiple benefits of nature for the wellbeing of seniors. These include the following:

Improved mental health:

• Reduced anxiety
• Improved attention and memory

Improved emotional health:

• Improved interpersonal relationships
• Improved mood
• Reduced depression

Improved physical health:

• Improved immune system function
• Better management of chronic pain
• Reduced stress

Some places, such as Australia, have even looked at the economic benefits of time in nature. Their estimate is that regular visits to natural areas lead to mental health benefits that register a savings of 6 trillion USD annually. (Buckley 2020).

Benefits of Nature on Mental Health

Environmental psychology is a subfield of psychology that focuses on the interaction of people and their physical surroundings.

Among the benefits of time in nature according to environmental psychology research:

• Natural areas increase positive emotions and decrease negative emotions.
• People who live near natural areas have reduced long-term risks of depression, anxiety, and stress.
• Spending time in or around nature improves attention, working memory, and self-control.
• Contact with natural areas can increase pro-social qualities such as helpfulness and generosity.

Check out descriptions from people from across Canada listing how their time in nature and – wetlands specifically – improves their lives.

Nature, Aging, and Climate Change

Dr. Micheal Kobor, a biologist with University of British Columbia’s Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Aging, is looking for ways to help people age well as the climate changes. As Dr. Kobor explains,

“As humans, we are deeply connected to our environment. It’s a connection that becomes more evident as we grow older, with our natural surroundings playing a vital role in shaping our overall health and longevity.”

The natural environment impacts us through the air we breathe, the foods available for us to eat, and the places we can move in the natural world. Dr. Kobor continues, “aging is a complex, lifelong process.” The natural environment impacts us through the stressors we may face and the risks that affect both the healthspan and lifespan.

Dr. Kobor indicates that policy should future-proof our communities protecting green and blue spaces; ensuring access to appropriate housing and clean water; and reducing harmful exposures.

For some, taking action against climate change can also empower and connect. Seniors for Climate Action Now (SCAN!) is a group of Canadian seniors committed to the health of the natural world and its inhabitants today and for future generations. The group runs committees and working groups as well as offers classes and toolkits on climate change and ways to get involved to counteract it.

Recent action included protesting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The protesters were arrested for refusing to unblock a door, though security and police reported the group were cooperative when being removed. Showing you can make your point and be as polite as Canadian are generally expected to be! (The Canadian Press 2026)

Prescription for Nature

That title is correct: a prescription for nature. PaRx is an initiative that started with the BC Parks Foundation. The program was developed with ideas from healthcare professionals. PaRx enables healthcare professionals to provide prescriptions to their patients for experiences in nature. This “green time” helps with chronic conditions as well as overall wellbeing.

Imagine receiving instructions from your doctor to spend time in nature. You might be counselled to: “Apply walks liberally and repeat as necessary.” Or the dosage might stipulate, “Climb two mountains and call me in the morning.” After diagnosis you might be told, “Sit by a flowing river until the condition improves.”

Participating healthcare providers registered with PaRx receive custom prescriptions files and practical tools including quick tips, handouts, and guidance to prescribe and log nature prescriptions.

There are also PaRx Connectors. These professionals, while not healthcare professionals, register with PaRx to help people increase their skills, confidence, and commitment to experiences in nature.

PaRx is nation-wide, evidenced-based and connects healthcare and nature to support healthier people and a healthier planet.

Forest Bathing

Forest bathing originated in Japan in the 1980s and is known as shinrin-yoku. It is sometimes translated as forest therapy. The practice includes a therapy guide who helps participants engage in activities that increase their connection to nature through their senses. Smelling the flora, tasting the air, listening to the sounds of the forest both loud and soft.

Shinrin-yoku is based on three traditional concepts:

• The first is Yūgen. This is a keen awareness of the beauty of the world that surrounds you. The profound nature of the connection is said to be beyond words.
• The second is Komorebi. This translates as “sunlight leaking through trees.” It describes the interplay of light and flora.
• The third is Wabi Sabi. This concept celebrates the beauty found in imperfection and impermanence.

Forest bathing and the philosophy behind it is a call to immerse yourself in the beauty of the natural world. It is a reminder to enjoy things as they are right now knowing they will change into something new or different. This is an invaluable lesson at any stage of life, what is here now is precious – it will come and go in its own time.

It is an invitation to experience the current moment without ties to past or future, for right now. As Susan Albers, a psychologist with the Cleveland Clinic, stated,

“The sights, sounds and smells of the forest take us right into that moment, so our brains stop anticipating, recalling, ruminating and worrying.”

This can offer a break from patterns of anxiety, fear, or sadness. Not a denial of any emotion or thought, but a chance to change or shift ingrained patterns. Give the brain something new to try!

Research into the effects of forest bathing is in the early stages. However, studies so far indicate that forest bathing can reduce cortisol, a stress hormone, and potentially lead to an increase in cancer-killing proteins and immune cells. There is also some evidence of improvements in stress, anxiety, and depression.

Additional benefits from being in a natural forest:

• Higher oxygen levels – forests have higher oxygen levels than indoor or urban locations. This can support oxygenation of your blood and improve brain function.
• Exposure to phytoncides – these are antimicrobial compounds released by trees and plants. Inhaling phytoncides may support the immune system and reduce stress.

To try it for yourself, here are a few suggestions.

Inglewood Bird Sanctuary (Calgary) has created a 1-kilometre loop certified by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy as Calgary’s first official forest bathing trail. The self-guided trail includes 5 stations that lead you through a sensory experience. While it isn’t the same as being in a natural forest, it can be an easy and safe way to explore and notice the natural world.

Check out Wild Results for one-on-one or group forest bathing with a Certified Forest Bathing Guide & Forest Therapy Practitioner. Additionally, each experience is an occupational therapy session and can be submitted to insurance as such.

Bringing the Benefits of Nature Inside

There is also some evidence that if you can’t get out into nature, you can bring some of its benefits to your indoor world.

Evidence shows that looking at images of the natural world can create calming brainwaves and reduce stress. Additional research indicates that viewing photos, 3D images, videos of nature or virtual reality of the natural world led to a more relaxed state than viewing other kinds of images.

Bringing elements of the natural world inside can also help. In a study in Japan, participants in hotel rooms breathed in Japanese cypress oil. They experienced a measurable drop in adrenaline and an increase in natural killer cells.

There is also research indicating that bringing in plants or flowers has positive effects on the brain and nervous system when compared to non-natural elements. These same benefits were identified for people inside a wooden room versus people inside non-wooden rooms.

As Professor Ming Kuo, Associate Professor of Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, explained when speaking to the BBC, nature calms what needs to be calmed and strengthens what needs to be strengthened.

Whether you can get out to meet the natural world or find ways to bring the natural world to you, the benefits highlight our connection to nature and potential for nature to help reduce stress, a major factor in aging. Taking action on climate change may help empower and bring social cohesion with others who share ideals and ideas.

As John Muir wrote,

“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.”

We may find that if “we pick ourselves” to test this on, we too are hitched to everything else – including the forest where we can bath, the healthcare professional who writes us a prescription for nature, the actions we take to protect and nurture the natural world as it protects and nurtures us in return.

Join the Conversation

The best part of lifelong learning is sharing ideas. If you have comments, questions, or a personal story related to this post, I'd love to hear from you. Please email Maureen at info@calgarylifelonglearners.ca

Your feedback may inspire future CALL Blog posts.

Author

Lara Osis is a writer and editor with a background in knowledge translation and qualitative evaluation. She worked in chronic disease prevention within the healthcare system and in the wellness space in complementary health services for 15 years. While part of cancer prevention and chronic disease risk reduction groups, she worked on a running program for people who use commercial tobacco; skin cancer risk reduction; and evaluation of oral health programs for children. She taught Tai Chi and Yin Yoga as well as providing reflexology to help people improve or recover their health. Currently, she is a freelance writer and editor as well as developing a practice in family constellation. This modality identifies and addresses hidden dynamics to provide relief from unconscious patterns recognizing that our family’s past can live in our present circumstances.

Lara Osis, Writer-Editor Freelance

References & Resources

Download a list of references cited in this post.

Learn more about CALL

Check out the Interest Groups offered to CALL members.

Learn more about membership in CALL.

Follow us on Facebook