Living in the countryside is good for women's mental health (and beyond)

Women and the countryside: living in the countryside would extend life especially for women and mental health would benefit above all, thanks to less exposure to pollution and greater physical activity.

I want to go and live in campaign. Because? It seems that it is good for women: live in the greenIn fact, it would lengthen life especially of the girls and would benefit above all from the mental health, thanks to less exposure to pollution and greater physical activity.

To say it is an 8-year study by the TH Chan School of Public Health at Harvard, according to which American women living in homes surrounded by nature have a 12% lower mortality rate compared to those who live in areas with less vegetation. Several factors affect: better mental health, measured through i lower levels of depression, greater opportunities for social engagement, more frequent movement and less exposure to air pollution.

"We were surprised to find such a strong relationship between green exposure and lower mortality rates - explained ahttp: //www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/plants-death-rates-women/ researcher Peter James . We were even more surprised to find evidence that a large part of the benefits of high vegetation are linked to improved mental health. We know that planting greenery helps the environment and mitigates climate change. Our study suggests that there is another benefit, improved health, that can give policymakers a further boost to create healthier environments ”.

To draw these conclusions, American scholars have examined the health status of more than 100 women from 2000 to 2008. The data showed that in women living in green areas, the death rate linked to respiratory diseases was 34% lower, while that linked to cancer was 13% lower.

There are several factors that affect these points: first of all it is one better mental health, with lower levels of depression it is a factor that weighs for 30% on the benefits found in those who live in areas with luxuriant vegetation. The greater opportunities for social engagement, more physical activity, less noise pollution and less polluted air also contribute.

All living in the countryside then? Wish it were immediately possible! But there would be a solution, and even the Harvard researchers say so: if you simply redevelop cities, add green lungs here and there and follow new urban transport policies that reduce the use of cars? Utopia?

Germana Carillo