skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Want to be Healthier? Get Outdoors!

play audio
Play

Thursday, April 7, 2016   

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - As the weather warms up, birds chirp and flowers bloom, don't forget to take some time to enjoy what Mother Nature has to offer. Research shows it can make you feel better, inside and out.

Dr. Frances Kuo, director of the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory at the University of Illinois, has published articles on the benefits of green space since 2001.

She says people are instinctively drawn to places where their ancestors thrived, but the current obsession with electronic devices, poor urban planning and disappearing open space mean most folks are spending less time outdoors.

She says it's especially important for children to be exposed to greenery, and one of her latest research projects found symptoms of ADHD were reduced by using nature as a prescription.

"What we see is immediately after spending time in a green space, a child's ADHD symptoms might be temporarily reduced, and we also see that kids who spend time in green spaces generally have milder symptoms."

Kuo says the study found outdoor time has the same effect on kids, no matter their socioeconomic background. She says city planners need to keep that in mind when designing living spaces, particularly public housing.

She says tree-lined streets, grass, gardens and parks need to be included - because for some kids, it's their only exposure to the outdoors.

Kuo says being exposed to greenery also reduces anger, aggression and violence.

"Greener neighborhoods tend to have stronger social ties among neighbors," says Kuo. "They have lower levels of crime, including violent crime as well as property crimes, partly because people tend to use their outdoor spaces, and that introduces a kind of informal surveillance."

She adds exposure to green space goes even further. Her research also links the lack of green space to obesity, some infectious and respiratory diseases, cancer, cardiovascular disease, migraines, depression and anxiety.

She says while "nature deficit disorder" isn't an official medical diagnosis, many people find that spending more time in nature just makes them feel better.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021