There's nothing like the green, green grass of home. Or at least a patch of it close to wherever you may live.
According to a recent study from Finland and the Good News Network, visiting a local park, lake, or garden might be healthy for those who reside in metropolitan areas.
As the Good News Network continued to report, "Researchers found lower use of drugs for depression, anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, and asthma among urban residents who often visit green spaces—regardless of their income or level of education.
"The Finnish team said that the frequency of visits to urban green spaces, rather than simply viewing them from your house, was key.
"Previous studies have suggested that exposure to natural environments is good for health and well-being, but the evidence is inconsistent.
"The Finnish team looked at the number of green and blue spaces (bodies of water) within a community, then compared those to both the frequency of visits and the views of such spaces from home, to see if they were separately associated with the use of certain prescription medications.
"They chose prescription meds as a proxy for ill health and those for anxiety and insomnia, depression, high blood pressure, and asthma, in particular, because they are used to treat common and potentially serious health issues.
"They drew on the responses of 16,000 randomly selected residents of Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa—the three cities making up the largest urban area in Finland.
"The survey gathered information on how city dwellers over the age of 25 experience residential green and blue spaces within a one-kilometer radius of home.
"Participants were also asked to report their use of prescribed meds—drugs collectively known as mental health drugs used for insomnia and depression, as well as high blood pressure and asthma drugs—for periods ranging from within the past week, within the past year, or never," the Good News Network concluded.
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