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Look at a tree and it'll make you feel better | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper
Posted on: Monday, April 27, 2009

Look at a tree and it'll make you feel better

By Edward Eveld
McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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Everybody's looking for an antidote to the melancholy that comes with recession and its string of depressing news.

Seeking out happy hour specials comes to mind.

Or how about those dollar menu items?

Here's an idea, and it's free. Chin up. Look at trees. Improve your mood. Reduce stress. Feel better.

Research has found:

  • "Visual exposure" to settings with trees produced significant recovery from stress in five minutes, evidenced by changes in blood pressure and muscle tension.

  • Housing areas with more trees had lower rates of home violence than in similar housing with fewer or no trees. Ties to neighbors were stronger, too.

  • Desk workers without views of nature claimed 23 percent more incidents of illness in the previous six months than those with views of nature.

  • Hospital patients who had views of trees needed less medication and had faster recovery times after surgery than those without such views.

  • Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder experienced relief of symptoms after contact with nature. Being outside in paved, nongreen areas didn't relieve symptoms.

    Trees have value beyond aesthetics and even beyond their ability to reduce stress. In Kansas City, Mo., some trees are labeled with a "price tag" this month, courtesy of the Heartland Tree Alliance.

    The tags, about 135 of them, give a dollar value for each tree's benefits over its projected lifetime, such as improved air quality, stormwater reduction, higher real estate values, carbon storage and energy savings. Most are in the $1,000 to $30,000 range.

    For more, go to www.parksandpeople.org, www.arborday.org and www.treelink.org.

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