The
impacts of landscapes on the mental health of people have been determined even
during the ancient times, and they were demonstrated by various societies all
over the world. The idea that looking at landscapes can help improve mental
health through reducing stress was already proven in the early Chinese and
Greek societies. In Europe, most of the early hospitals that were built had a
beautiful garden to help the patients to immediately recover from their
sickness and health problems.
A
variety of theories and methods have been raised to provide explanations and
evaluate the impacts of landscapes on the mental health of people. For example,
there is the stress recovery theory which states that landscapes have the tendency
to minimize stress, and so this in turn contributes towards a significant
improvement in the mental health of the people (Velarde 200). There have
already been many explanations that have emerged about how landscape can
minimize the stress levels of people. For instance, there have been
explanations which emphasize the capability of natural scenes and landscapes to
address the biological needs of people which in turn help to reduce stress. Some
explanations point out to the restorative impact of landscapes which help to
minimize stress and improve the mental health of people, while others indicate
that people simply have a strong relationship with nature and this relationship
has a positive impact on the health of people. This is where the concept of healing
gardens among hospitals emerged. Many hospitals have designed their rooms in
such a way that the patients can look at colourful gardens and other beautiful
landscapes through the windows while they are recovering from their sickness.
Because the patients are able to constantly look at these beautiful landscapes,
they are able to mentally relax and have a positive mindset towards recovery.
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Another
theory that describes the impacts of landscapes on the mental health of people
is the attention restoration theory. This theory provides details about the restorative
impacts of natural environments on reducing the fatigue and stress being
experienced by the mind on a regular basis. Restoration is related to
experiencing a reinvigoration of the physical and mental capabilities of people
which are being regularly reduced because of the need to address the challenges
of their daily routines (Abraham 61). The attention restoration theory suggests
that landscapes are perceived to be particularly effective in restoration
because they normally have the essential components in attaining restoration.
Landscapes
that provide restoration allow people to separate themselves temporarily from
their everyday life. While people see or are in the presence of these
landscapes, they are able to forget the problems and other challenges that they
are facing in their lives and just cherish the opportunity to enjoy the beauty
of their environment. People are able to be spared from stress while seeing
these landscapes and they are also able to know more new things which they can
match with the information that they already have in their environment. Because
landscapes are always images of beauty and serenity, the people are able to
find a way to meditate and think about themselves or other people who are close
to them. They are able to have that clear mind to think about what they want to
do in their lives and what changes they have to do to make sure that their
lives can be better. Thus, because the people are able to improve their ability
to concentrate and plan ahead while seeing beautiful landscapes, they are also
able to experience an improvement in their mental health in the long run,
something that is really helpful to the people as they face daily challenges.
Cited Works
Abraham,
Andrea. 2010. “Landscape and well-being: a scoping study on the health-promoting
impact of outdoor environments.” International
Journal of Public Health, Vol. 55, No. 1, pp. 59–69
Velarde,
MD. 2007. “Health effects of viewing landscapes – Landscape types in environmental
psychology.” Urban Forestry & Urban
Greening, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 199–212
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