A healthier urban environment: 10 ways trees can aid in improving fitness

To keep people healthy and the atmosphere cooler in cities, it is important to plant trees and doing so can create a beautiful and greener environment apart from  countering the challenge, The Conversation reported citing a study. 

It may seem that the solution is hard to implement but it just requires a strict plan and space where trees can be planted. The former is easily viable in cities.

Moreover, the health benefits an abundance of trees provides are massive both therapeutically and preventively. Following are nine ways people become healthier with the plantation of trees in an urban environment:

Preventing CDVs:

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular diseases result in 17.9 million deaths per year. A meta-analysis proved that an increase in trees directly impacts the mortality rate by 2-3% from CDVs. The data was obtained after conducting studies in 18 countries and over 100 million people took part in it.

Better air quality:

Trees improve air quality with the help of diminishing the excessive air pollution present in urban cities. Better air quality, better the chances of preventing pollution-borne diseases.

Cool environment:

The presence of trees and their shade help in making an area cooler. The congested environment of cities certainly needs the cool shade the trees provide more so in summer when many die due to excessive heat in urban environments.

Post surgery care:

For those who have gone through surgeries, trees speed up and help the process of healing. The fact has been proved by a study conducted in a hospital in Pennsylvania where gallbladder patients recovered faster if their room had a view of trees compared to those whose rooms faced a brick wall. The latter had a shorter stay in the patient’s room and went home earlier. They also needed fewer pain medications.

Disorder management:

As for the therapeutic benefits, studies show that walking 90 minutes in a natural environment helps in dealing with mental health issues including managing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression and anger issues.

Making physical activity easier:

Physical activity for the human body is important to prevent health complications and doing physically stimulating activities where trees are abundant, makes the process much easier and bearable.

Peaceful sleep:

Greenery and trees have proved to aid people in getting a good amount of peaceful sleep which is further important for physical and mental health.

ADHD Management:

It is beneficial for kids with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) to spend more time playing or doing other activities in a green environment.

Skin cancer prevention:

Most of the skin cancers are the product of extensive exposure to the sun. Leaves of trees and other greenery has the potential to absorb and reflect about 70-90% of the sun energy.

Saving health care costs:

As it has been established that trees prevent diseases in humans, then it is directly helping the poorer communities in avoiding the cost of health care.

Close to nature

Besides adding beauty to the cities, trees protect and provide natural habitat to a wide range of animal species. They offer mice, birds, bees, opossum, squirrels, and many other animals a safe space to hide from predators, sleep, and reproduce, as well as providing the residents of the concrete jungles a proximity to nature.