The Power of Nature: Green Road Project to Study Nature’s Healing Effects
By Sarah Marshall
It’s long been said that being outside, experiencing the
sights and sounds of nature, can help ease our ailments, but there has been no
physiological evidence to prove this theory. Now, researchers at the UniformedServices University of the Health Sciences (USU) are embarking on a
collaborative study seeking to scientifically measure the healing effects of
nature.
Over the last few years, researchers from USU’s Consortium for Health and Military Performance (CHAMP) have been working with architects
and engineers as part of an effort known as the Green Road Project. These
efforts have led to a Green Road site being built on the Naval Support Activity
Bethesda – one of six nationwide – which will help scientifically measure the
effects of nature, while providing a tranquil environment for service members
and their families. The project is led by the Institute for Integrative Health,
with funding by the TKF Foundation, and also includes collaboration with
scientists from the University of Arizona at Tucson, the Massachusetts General
Hospital, and the National Institutes of Health.
The Green Road site includes a paved pathway that
meanders through the wooded area behind USU, leading over to Sanctuary Hall –
living quarters for Walter Reed patients and their caregivers during long-term
care. Those who traverse the path can take a seat on a large bench covered by a
wooden awning, from which they can enjoy a breath-taking view of the vast
wooded area populated with tall trees, white-tail deer, and the sounds of birds
chirping – not to mention plenty of fresh air. There’s also a pavilion,
complete with picnic tables, a babbling water fountain, and a sitting area made
out of large rocks right beside a small, trickling stream.
This year, USU researchers plan to begin using the site
to measure the healing effects of those who spend time on the Green Road, as
opposed to traversing through busier, less “green” parts of the base, explained
Patricia Deuster, PhD, professor in USU’s Military and Emergency Medicine
Department and director of CHAMP. They’ll look to enroll service members from
all branches, as well as wounded warriors, and caregivers, and any others who
can access the base and therefore the site. It’s important to look at each of
these populations, Deuster noted, to see how a healthy person responds to the
different pathways, as compared to how a patient responds, or how a caregiver
may respond.
Those enrolled in the study will begin in CHAMP’s lab, in
Building 53 near Sanctuary Hall, where they will be prepared to wear mechanisms
for monitoring heart rate and collecting sweat before beginning their walk
through either the Green Road site or the other busier path, Deuster said.
After walking either path, they’ll return to the lab, where researchers will
remove the mechanisms, measuring their heart rate variability and biomarkers in
sweat.
Part of their research objective, she added, is to look
at these biological measures and gather evidence-based, quantifiable data,
without too much burden on participants. They’re also looking to measure the
psychological effects, and will do so by having participants complete a
questionnaire and engage in a conversation about their experience after walking
the different pathways.
The site will be used as part of a collaborative study to scientifically measure the healing effects of nature. |
“Our hope is to show that nature does have an effect on
the population and caregivers,” she said.
Their primary focus is on the military community, and
continuously seeking ways to help all service members perform optimally in all
aspects that impact them – psychologically, physiologically, spiritually, and
socially, she said. But they also hope these data will translate to the rest of
the population, perhaps by producing evidence that schools, for example, should
allow children more time outside during recess, or that nursing homes should
aim to take their patients outside more often.
As an added bonus, the Green Road is available to
patients, caregivers, and staff, to simply enjoy the beauty of nature.
“It’s a place where you can go and recover, restore who
you are … forget about the stressors of life for a moment, and just allow your
body to relax, and regenerate,” she said.