Project One Tree: Boosting Your Mood to Relieving Stress, Little Known Mental Health Benefits Of Trees

There’s more to the leaves than meets the eye. Trees serve as both the backdrop of a treasured memory and the pleasant green patch our eyes search for when we look out our windows. Despite their stillness and silence, trees are incredibly powerful beings with the ability to improve and enhance everyone’s quality of life. Beyond keeping the ecology alive, trees offer surprisingly positive effects on people’s mental health and general well-being.

News18 Network, India’s largest news network, has launched ‘Project One Tree’, a movement aiming to mobilize every Indian to plant a tree as a measure against climate change. This marquee movement seeks to raise awareness about environmental conservation and foster collective action towards a greener, more sustainable future.

Here’s a look at how trees help improve your mental health:

Reduces Stress

Being surrounded by nature helps us feel calmer as it lowers blood pressure, decreases the heart rate, and lowers blood levels of the stress hormone cortisol. The oxygen that trees produce also aids in mental clarity and reset buttons. Stress levels have been demonstrated to decrease with as little as a three to four-minute break outside under trees.

Improve your mood and lessen depression

Have you ever noticed how happy a walk in the park can make you feel? And a big part of that is trees. The “feel-good” chemical dopamine is produced at higher levels when exposed to greenery. An abundance of first-hand accounts of people finding comfort, recovery, and renewal in the company of trees supports the scientific consensus regarding nature’s healing properties.

Fostering creativity

Trees can be a great muse for people who work in creative fields or for anyone who wants to improve their problem-solving ability. There is evidence that being outside among trees enhances creativity and cognitive performance. The calm environment promotes creativity and mental flexibility by allowing the mind to wander and explore novel concepts.

Improve Cognitive and Attention Capacities

According to the Attention Restoration Theory, we can restore our depleted cognitive resources by spending time in nature. In a straightforward study, individuals were given memory and concentration tests before and after being exposed to nature, and the results showed that those who spent more time among trees fared significantly better.

Encourage Social Interaction

Green areas are useful for more than just solitary reflection. They promote sociability and community interaction. Natural gathering spots created by trees provide a sense of community and social cohesiveness.

Ease Mental Exhaustion

Mental exhaustion can result from the frequent multitasking and information overload that characterize modern life. A break from this overstimulation can be found in trees. Your mind can rest and rejuvenate when you spend time in a natural setting with trees. It’s similar to pressing the mental energy reset button.

Physical activity

Walking in a forest, trekking, climbing, and other physical activities are common ways to interact with trees. Frequent exercise has been shown to have several positive effects on mental health, including a reduction in anxiety and depressive symptoms. Being in an environment with trees and getting exercise can both improve your mental health.

Meditation

We are naturally grounded in the present moment by trees. It can be peaceful to sit beneath a tree and listen to the wind-blown branches, the sound of leaves rustling, or the sound of birds tweeting. This type of mindfulness helps you focus on the present moment and let go of thoughts about the past or the future.

Encourage Introspection

A calm environment like a tree is ideal for introspection. Spending some peaceful time beneath them can facilitate mental organization, emotional processing, and a more objective outlook on life’s obstacles. It’s a type of reflection that can result in self-awareness and personal development.