How Living Near Green Spaces Adds Years to Your Life
Have you ever noticed how being outside in nature makes you feel better? There’s a reason for that. Being in green spaces actually changes our DNA to make our bodies healthier and — amazingly — younger. A new study found that people who live near and spend time in green spaces could add about 2.5 years to their lives.
The reason for this is the difference between our biological age and our chronological age. Yes, we have two ages. Chronological age is the number we celebrate on our birthdays. Whereas, your biological age can be made older or younger by your lifestyle choices: where and how you live, your diet and exercise habits, and other healthy choices we make.
Risks for age-related health conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s increase if a person’s biological age is higher than their chronological age. Being in nature actually makes us younger, slowing down the aging process in our DNA and lowering our biological age.
“The research should encourage people to think more about their surroundings when making healthy living decisions,” said Lifang Hou, a preventive medicine professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and the study’s principal investigator. It should also serve as motivation to incorporate nature into people’s daily lives, according to another researcher, environmental epidemiologist Peter James. He says that this research shows that nature is something human beings need to be healthy.
One of Sunbridge’s main missions is to build a community focused on giving residents more opportunities to enjoy nature and the outdoors. Between our weekly outdoor events, our miles of hiking and biking trails and community green spaces for family and friends to gather, Subridge has nature in its DNA so you will, too!
Source: Washington Post
